Freedom Comeback to Beat Miners
August 24, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
Freedom Comeback to Beat Miners
(Florence Y'alls)
Marion, Ill. - The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, fought back from an early deficit for the second consecutive night and held on to defeat the Southern Illinois Miners 5-4.
Once again the Freedom (39-47) found themselves in an early hole through three innings, but they responded, tying the game in the fifth and taking the lead in the seventh. Freedom pitching did not allow a hit after the third inning today and stranded the tying and winning runs in scoring position in the ninth.
Taylor Oldham put the Freedom on the board with his 13th home run of the season, a solo shot in the first.
The Miners (57-29) scored the next four runs to take a 4-1 lead through three innings. Florence pitching settled down from there, holding the Miners hitless in the final six frames.
The Freedom rallied to tie the score in the fifth, plating three runs on five hits. With two on, Andrew Godbold laced a two-RBI triple to right-center field, pulling the Freedom within one. The next batter, Austin Newell, drove Godbold home on a groundout to second, tying the score at four.
The Freedom took the lead in the seventh with a pair of two-out hits. With nobody on, Newell singled up the middle and then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Cuthrell laced a ball to center, scoring Newell and giving the Freedom their first lead at 5-4.
With the score still 5-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Kraus issued a pair of walks to leadoff the inning, putting the tying and winning runs on base. The Freedom called Pete Levitt out of the bullpen and he forced a deep flyout, but both runners moved into scoring position. With only one away, Brualio Torres-Perez came in to face two lefties. He forced Riley Moore and Aaron Gates to groundout, ending the ballgame and giving Florence the win.
The Freedom had 16 hits in the ballgame spread out between the nine starters. Andre Mercurio went 3-for-3, while Oldham scored two runs and Godbold drove in two. Newell and Cuthrell both delivered key two-out hits in the seventh to give Florence the lead. In total, the Freedom have scored 11 runs on 31 hits in the series.
Kraus pitched into the ninth, allowing four runs on six hits with five walks and five strikeouts. From the fourth through ninth innings, he allowed just three base runners on walks. Levitt recorded one of the three outs in the final frame, while Torres-Perez earned his first professional save.
Alex De Leon and Nolan Earley both recorded multi-hit games for Southern Illinois, while Brooks Trujillo became the second Miners starter in the series to allow double-digit hits (10).
The Freedom go for a series win in a 7:05 p.m. rubber match with the Miners tomorrow. Florence will send Cody Gray (7-3, 3.08 ERA) to the hill against Southern Illinois' Dyllon Nuernberg (6-5, 4.07 ERA).
To keep up with all the latest Florence Freedom news and to learn about exclusive deals and contests, make sure to like the team on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter.
The Florence Freedom are members of the 12-team professional Independent Frontier League and play a 96 game schedule, with 48 home games at UC Health Stadium, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky. In 2015, the Frontier League recognized the Freedom as the league's organization of the year and awarded the team with the league's All-Star event. The 2016 season will mark the 13th year the Freedom have played in Florence.
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 Freedom Comeback to Beat Miners |
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