Auburn brings out the brooms, sweeps twin bill with Falls City

FALLS CITY - Auburn traveled south Thursday night for a doubleheader with Falls City on a mild night with blustering winds at Southeast Nebraska Communications Field. Thursday's meeting was originally supposed to be a single game, but it was changed to a doubleheader after the school's game on April 5 was postponed because of weather.  The Bulldogs shut down the Tigers offense in game one, taking a 3-1 win, and came from behind to win game two by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning. 

Game One

A dynamite pitching matchup wad featured between Auburn's Travon Shaw and Falls City's Carson Bredemeier. Neither pitcher disappointed, as both right-handers went the distance. The sophomore Shaw escaped trouble in the third, stranding a Tiger on third base with a strikeout of Bredemeier. In the fourth, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out. 

Falls City scored its only run after Shaw walked center fielder Bryson Butrick, allowing Jon Craig to score to make it a 2-1 game. 

But Shaw was able to get a strikeout and induce a ground ball to get out of the frame without further damage. He then navigated through trouble again in the fifth, stranding two baserunners with another strikeout. 

Auburn went up 2-0 in the fourth thanks to an RBI single from sophomore Levi Boellstorff. Auburn scored its first run of the game after Falls City botched a potential double play ball up the middle. Bredemeier then issued a walk to score the run. 

After the Tigers pulled within one, the Bulldogs answered in the top of the fifth, when Braden Gerdes delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle.  From there, Shaw continued to keep the Tigers bats at bay. He struck out the side in the sixth and after allowing a leadoff single in the seventh, he produced an infield popup and two groundouts to end the game. 

Shaw allowed one run on six hits while striking out nine. Bredemeier went seven innings allowing one earned run along with three strikeouts in the loss. Two errors by the Tigers in the game allowed two unearned runs to score, which proved costly in the narrow defeat.

Box Score:

Auburn (2-7): 0, 1, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0...3, 7, 1

Falls City (2-7): 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0...1, 6, 2

WP: Shaw

LP: Bredemeier

Game Two

With Falls City leading 6-3 in the fifth, Landon Casey reached on an error to start the inning. He proceeded to steal second and the next pitch to get into scoring position. Travon Shaw singled to put runners at the corners. Casey then scored on a passed ball with Shaw moving up to second.

Tiger's starting pitcher Jaxyn Strauss then tossed a wild pitch, allowing Shaw to advance to third. Eli Albury then scored Shaw with an RBI groundout to first base. Strauss escaped the fifth with no further damage, but the Bulldogs were able to score two runs with just one hit in the inning to pull within one run. 

They would tie in the sixth when leadoff hitter Austin Lavigne smoked an RBI single back up the middle with two outs. Strauss was pulled after six innings of work with Kyler Frederick moving from catcher to pitcher in the seventh. The Bulldogs then sent nine hitters to the plate, scoring three runs thanks to two walks and four hits.

Casey came on in relief in the fifth for Auburn and shut down the Tigers offense over the final three frames. In the home half of the seventh, Casey struck out Wyatt Olberding to end the game with a runner on third, securing the 9-6 comeback win. 

Falls City jumped out to the early 4-0 lead after two innings of play against left-handed Bulldog starter Kellen Moody. Auburn answered with three runs of its own in the third, but the Tigers added two more in the fourth off Moody for the three-run advantage. Kadyn Strecker led off the fourth with a double to the left center gap, and Carson Bredemeier then smoked an RBI single to the left of second base. Bredemeier advanced to second on the throw to the plate.

Two pitches later, Bredemeier advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored after Jon Craig reached on a throwing error on a ground ball to third.

But Casey was money out of the bullpen for the Bulldogs, allowing just two hits while striking out six in three innings of work to earn the win on the mound. 

Box Score:

Auburn (3-7): 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 1, 3...9, 9, 3

Falls City (2-8): 2, 2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0...6, 6, 4

WP: Casey

LP: Frederick