AUBURN - Those fans that weren't one of the 1,603 people that paid to see the Auburn Doubledays battle the Batavia Muckdogs at Falcon Park on Sunday sorely missed out.

Not just on the chance to win $1,000, as the Doubledays promote every Sunday, but on two stellar seven-inning baseball games where Auburn came out barely, but excitingly victorious.

Auburn was paltry in the hitting department in game one, but it took just one crack of the bat to give the Doubledays a 3-2 win, while the second game contained seemingly endless hitting and scoring in Auburn's slight 11-10 victory. The Sunday sweep gave the Doubledays not only a couple of much-needed Pinckney division wins over the then-division-leading Muckdogs, but the advantage in the four-game series as well. The Doubledays (8-9) have won three straight to put together their longest winning streak of the season. With the pair of wins, they also knocked Batavia from the top of the division. The Doubledays are 2.5 games behind first-place Mahoning Valley and two games in front of Jamestown, who is in the basement of the division.

“This was a good experience and it'll give us a lot of momentum,” Doubledays first baseman Lance Durham said. “Our hitting has come around big time and our pitching is getting there.”

Auburn managed a meager four hits in the first contest, as Muckdogs starting pitcher Christopher Corrigan gave up three in four innings, but struck out three in a should-have-been victory until LaCurtis Mayes came in as a reliever in the seventh inning. Mayes walked both Karim Turkamani and Kevin Nolan to start the inning before center fielder Markus Brisker belted a three-run home run into the trees in left field to give the Doubledays, and closer Josh Wells (1-0), the eventual win. Mayes got the blown save and his first loss of the year.

Auburn also escaped game two victorious after things looked bleak early on. Batavia cracked five hits as Doubledays starter Matt Wright uncharacteristically struggled mightily in just his 2-3 of an inning on the mound. Wright had two walks to start the game and shortstop Jimmy Gonzalez committed the game's only error as Batavia mounted a 6-0 lead after the first inning.

But this season's Doubledays team seems to have the amazing ability to rebound from anything. After stranding two runners in the first inning, they were relentless against Muckdogs' starter Tyler Leach, scoring five runs in the second before Leach was pulled for Andres Rosales. Both teams went through four pitchers each, with Daniel Richardson suffering his first loss of the season, while Austin Armstrong (1-2) got his first win.

Batavia tallied 11 hits to Auburn's 14, but the Muckdogs stranded 10 runners to the Doubledays' seven. Ryde Rodriguez, Jairo Martinez and Guillermo Toribio each paced the offense with two RBIs.

Auburn scored one more run in the third and three in the fourth, but it was Durham's two-run single that could eventually be the turning point in the Doubledays' season.

“I just hit the ball and tried to run it out to first,” Durham said. “I was just glad to have put it in play. I was running straight ahead and didn't even see what happened.”

Niko Vasquez bobbled the well-hit ball by Durham to allow the two runs to score, and not even an Alan Ahmady RBI double in the top of the seventh could make up for the miscue. Brad Glenn made an outstanding grab in left field for the second out in the inning and Armstrong stranded Ahmady by striking out Rodriguez swinging to end the long day of baseball.

Durham and newcomer Yan Gomes led the Doubledays with three RBIs each, including a homer for each. Durham's was a solo shot in the third, while Gomes blasted his two-run home run in the fourth.

The Doubledays turn their attention towards sweeping the Muckdogs in the final home game of the week, today at 7 p.m.

Doubledays 3

Muckdogs 2

Doubledays 11

Muckdogs 10