May 5th, 2022
In its first season in the PGCBL last summer, the Auburn Doubledays achieved a great level of success on and off the field and are hoping to continue that momentum in year two.
The Doubledays, who joined the PGCBL in 2021 as a former New York-Penn League member, immediately found success, finishing 26-19, good enough for second place in the Central Division. They ended up reaching the semifinals of the PGCBL playoffs.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better season,” Head Coach Ben Julian said. “To have the success that we did, I think that’s a testament to those players and their willingness to come together as a team. We had great support from the city, the stadium we played at was absolutely phenomenal, one of the top collegiate summer venues in the nation. Between the city, the venue and the players coming together, it was really a pretty special season.”
The fans also enjoyed the new and exciting type of baseball that Auburn brought to the city.
“They weren’t really sure at first but they quickly warmed up to us. I heard a lot of great feedback from the fans about how interactive our players were and how much fun the level of baseball was as opposed to Minor League Baseball, so I think that’s really great for the league,” Julian said.
As for this season, the team will be bringing in some big-time players. Two of them are University of Virginia commits in shortstop Juan Carlos De La Cruz as well as utility player Aidan Teel. In 2021, the Doubledays had a player from Virginia in infielder Griffin O’Ferrell, who went on to win PGCBL player of the year.
They will also bring in outfielder Will Ray (Wake Forest), a trio of Radford teammates in pitchers Jackson Vantassel and Foster Seitz as well as infielder Avery Spencer.
A key returner will be pitcher Brandon Matthews (Youngstown State), who made 12 appearances out of the bullpen for the Doubledays and picked up a pair of saves in the process.
“I try to get my guys to really buy in to each other and playing the game the right way,” Julian said. “If you constantly play hard, and it’s tough, it’s a grind for the body and the mind to play as much as we do, so it’s a goal to get them better and come out and compete every day.”
The group in Auburn will continue this goal to get the program to be one of the best the country has to offer. Last summer, Auburn regularly had over 1,500 people at Falcon Park.
“I think that the league itself is one of the top leagues in the country, which is really beneficial,” Julian said. But you combine the city, the stadium and what we do as a coaching staff and as an ownership for the league, it should be a success for years to come.”