Auburn moves on in tourney

Local baseball roundup, By Journal Sports Staff

ROSEVILLE — The Auburn Little League 9-10-Year-Old All-Star baseball team defeated District 54 Timber 9-7 in a come from behind win in the third round of the section tournament Monday night.

Tim Bendana doubled to help Auburn tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. Steven Smith then had a single to give them the lead. Travis Tidd hit a double and added another run for the final score.

Ryan Lipsmeyer had two singles and stole home for the second night in a row. The key defensive play of the game was when pitcher Michael Gray picked off a Timber runner at second base in the bottom of the sixth inning. He then went on to strike out the next two batters for the win.

Auburn plays today at Roseville High School at 7 p.m.

On Sunday night, Auburn beat District 5 champion Rio Linda 9-8 in seven innings in the second round of the section tournament. Josh Klem pitched all six regulation innings and Nick Linthicum struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win.

Klem had a triple, three singles and two RBIs and scored once at the plate. Matt Dougherty added a key double off the bench, Lipsmeyer hit an RBI double and two singles, scoring four runs, and Derek Bovee doubled and singled.

District 5 Eastern LL Seniors 7, Auburn 3

Auburn's age-15-16 team struggled at the plate and in the field in Sunday's section-tournament game. Eastern scored twice in the first inning, once in the third and four times in the fifth for a 7-0 lead.

Andy Launier went 2-for-3 and Chris Foreman 1-for-1 to lead Auburn, which scored all of its runs in the seventh. Starter Andy Clifford pitched five solid inning and Chris Dougherty and Taylor Reese finished up on the mound.

Auburn Post 84 Juniors sweep Granite Bay

Auburn's age-15-17 American Legion squad swept Granite Bay in a three-game series, winning 7-1 on the road Thursday and 10-16 and 11-4 in a doubleheader at James Field on Saturday.

Coming off a rare loss to Grass Valley on July 16, Auburn got a five-hitter with eight strikeouts from Jesse Morales (5-1) on Thursday. Andy Launier had a solo home run and Andy Clifford a two-run homer, Danny Sinacori, Niko Bajorek and Morales each had two hits, and Trevor Mraz and Jeff Murray each ripped a double.

In Saturday morning's game, Ryan Dominguez (3-3) scattered 11 hits in six innings of pitching and Moralez finished up. Launier went 2-for-2 with five RBIs, including a grand-slam homer to center field that plated Paul Zimmerman, Dillon Gray and Bajorek. Ryan Pendergraft added two doubles and an RBI, Mraz was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Gray 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.

The afternoon game saw Bajorek (6-2) allow eight hits and only three earned runs while striking out five. He helped his cause by leading the team with a 3-for-3 day, with three runs and an RBI. Murray was 2-for-4 with two runs and a pair of RBIs, Gray had a double and three RBIs, Ed Ryan and Kurtis Markin were each 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Morales was 1-for-2.

Auburn, which finished 19-7 in league play, will compete in this week's playoffs Wednesday through Sunday at James Field.