July 26 Florence Freedom Game Notes
July 26, 2015 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE FREEDOM (28-31) vs. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS MINERS (38-21)
Sunday, July 26, 2015 - 6:05 p.m. ET
UC Health Stadium - Florence, KY
Game #60 - Home Game #36 (28-31), (15-20)
RHP #22 Coleman Stephens (3-4, 4.74 ERA) vs. RHP #10 Jarett Miller (3-2, 3.86 ERA)
Last time out...
The Freedom fell by a score of 3-2 to the Miners on Saturday. The Miners got on the board in the first inning against rookie left-hander Patrick McGrath (0-1) when Michael Earley homered to right field. They tallied another run in the second inning as a batter reached on a Freedom error and eventually came around to score on an Adrian English RBI fielder's choice. A Steve Marino sacrifice fly made it 3-0 Miners in the third inning. McGrath went four innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits in his professional debut. Florence rallied for two runs in the seventh inning as Steve Carrillo delivered a two-out, two-RBI double to cut the Miners' lead to 3-2. But they could not finish the rally as at one point four straight hitters struck out looking down the stretch. Brian Portelli made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Travis Weaver of a home run and end the game. Adam Lopez (8-0) went six shutout innings of one-hit ball to get the win.
For Starters...
Coleman Stephens is coming off the Disabled List today to make his 10th start of the season. In his most recent start on July 3, Stephens got the win as he went six innings, giving up five runs on five hits in an 8-5 win for Florence over River City. Stephens faced Southern Illinois on June 21 and took the loss as he allowed four runs on five hits over five innings of work in a 4-0 loss for the Freedom. 2015 is Stephens' fourth season of professional baseball and his second go-around in the Frontier League. Florence acquired Stephens as part of a three-team trade on December 28, 2014, which saw Jacob Tanis head to Windy City. The right-hander made his professional debut in 2012 with the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the North American Baseball League. Stephens split the 2013 season between the Fort Worth Cats of the United League and the Frontier Greys, compiling an 8-3 record in 20 appearances, 18 starts. Last season, Stephens played in the American Association, splitting time between Amarillo and Gary.
Rubber match...
Tonight is the rubber match of the three-game series. The Freedom have a record of 5-5 in rubber matches so far in 2015, dropping their most recent one to Rockford. If the Freedom win tonight they would become the first team to defeat the Miners in a series away from Rent One Park this season.
Offensive woes...
The Freedom have only scored two runs in each of their past five games. They are 2-3 during this stretch and are hitting .169 as a team over the past five contests. Luckily for Florence, their team ERA over the past five games is 2.40.
Walking it out...
The Freedom (217) and the Miners (214) are second and third in the league respectively in walks drawn this season.
Run like the wind...
The Freedom's 101 stolen bases are first in the league; they have also been caught 42 times, the most in the league. Southern Illinois is the exact opposite, as they have the fewest steals (24) and the fewest caught stealing (7).
Home Sweet Home?
The Freedom's home record this season is 15-20, the third worst mark in the league. Meanwhile, the Miners are the best road team in the Frontier League at 19-7.
On the mound...
The Freedom's team ERA continues to go down each month. In May the Freedom had an ERA of 5.61. In June they had an ERA of 4.31. So far in July their ERA is a sparkling 2.60.
Glovework...
The Freedom's fielding percentage of .982 is the best in the Frontier League.
Transaction Wire...
The Freedom placed LHP Zach Wendorf on the 7-Day DL and activated RHP Coleman Stephens.
Tonight's special jersey...
Travis Weaver is wearing the blue #61 jersey tonight to benefit the Brain Injury Alliance of KY.
• Discuss this story on the Frontier League message board...
Frontier League Stories from July 26, 2015
- Freedom's Offense Struggles in Loss to Miners - Florence Y'alls
- ThunderBolts Take Game Three against Slammers - Joliet Slammers
- ThunderBolts Win Series with 14-5 Win in Joliet - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Otters Earn Sweep on Oliver's Complete Game Shutout - Evansville Otters
- Oliver Tosses Complete Game Shutout, Wild Things Lose 1-0 - Washington Wild Things
- Richards Repeats Stellar Performance as Grizzlies Win Series at Normal - Gateway Grizzlies
- Grizzlies Pull Away from CornBelters - Normal CornBelters
- Boomers Skid Stretches with 7-2 Defeat to Rockford - Schaumburg Boomers
- Aviators Bust Boomers, Complete Sweep - Rockford Aviators
- Crushers fall in a pitching duel as the Beach Bums break the scoreless tie in the eighth - Lake Erie Crushers
- July 26 Florence Freedom Game Notes - Florence Y'alls
- Evansville Otters Game Preview - Evansville Otters
- Normal CornBelters Game Tonight - Normal CornBelters
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
