AUBURN – Playing two games in 24 hours against the same team can serve as a momentum-turner or reaffirm your frustration with the status quo.

Put Edward Little in the former category, Leavitt in the latter. The Red Eddies knocked off the Hornets for the second straight day, using timely hitting and pitching to pick up an 8-2 victory at Pettengill Park.

Adam Lutz overcame some mechanical problems to hold the Hornets at bay in six innings of work. He surrendered one hit in every inning and walked four, but kept them from breaking through with a big hit.

“This is the first time I’ve pitched off this mound,” said Lutz, who also had to battle through some rain showers in the middle innings. “It’s lower than usual. I like high mounds. I feel like I have more power and more control. My mechanics were off just a little bit today. My curve ball wasn’t working as well, but my circle change was hitting its targets and so was my fastball.”

“He’s such a competitor that he can fine-tune when he needs to,” said EL coach Scott Annear. “He just couldn’t get himself comfortable.”

After an 0-5 start, the Red Eddies have now won three of their last four, including a 7-5 triumph over the Hornets on Thursday.

Leavitt, meanwhile, dropped to 2-7 by leaving 11 men on base.

“That’s been the story of our season. We’ve been leaving a ton of people on base,” Leavitt coach Dave Morin said. “You’ve got to keep creating situations and hoping they fall in. Today, we get a couple of key hits, and this is an 8-7 game. You’ve got to keep plugging.”

The Eddies put the Hornets in a hole quickly, taking a 1-0 lead on Corey LaRue’s RBI double in the first, then adding two more on a bases-loaded walk by Lutz and a ground out by Kevin Smith that scored Alex Janelle. They broke it open with five in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Adam Redmun, an error, an RBI double by Mike Lutz and a two-run single by Adam Lutz.

“I feel like our offense is starting to come along and starting to gel,” Annear said. “I think they’re starting to gain confidence, and by doing that, they can start to realize situational hitting pays off.”

Lutz gave up two unearned runs in the sixth, but frustrated the Hornets again by getting Evan Barker to pop out to short with the bases loaded and two outs. Mike Muise worked a scoreless seventh in relief, thanks in large part to Kyle Bussiere, who gunned down Nick Letourneau at the plate with a perfect throw from center field to end the game.

Bussiere led EL with three hits, while Smith and Adam Lutz each collected a pair. Barker and Justin Kent had two hits apiece for the Hornets.