August 26 Florence Freedom Game Notes
August 26, 2014 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE FREEDOM (38-48) @ JOLIET SLAMMERS (34-53)
Tuesday, August 26, 2014 - 8:05 p.m. ET
Silver Cross Field - Joliet, IL
Game #87 - Road Game #36 (38-48), (10-25)
LHP #30 Dave Middendorf (4-7, 5.07 ERA) vs. RHP #18 Andrew Strenge (0-1, 2.45 ERA)
Last time out...
The Southern Illinois Miners (52-35) hit two home runs on their way to an 8-4 defeat of the Florence Freedom (39-48) Sunday night. The game was tied at one until the fourth. Frank Martinez doubled to start the frame. One out later Chris Burke doubled him home. Then with two away Steve Marino launched a two-run home run to extend the lead to 4-1. Florence made things interesting in the eighth as Buddy Sosnoskie singled to lead-off the inning. Two outs later Blair singled him home to cut the Miners' lead to 4-2. The hit finally chased Matt Bywater (7-4) from the game as the left-hander went seven and two thirds innings, only allowing four hits. Ryan Solberg drew a walk and Sam Eberle singled home Blair to make the score 4-3. But in the bottom of the eighth the Miners ran away with the game with the big blow coming from an Aaron Gates three-run home run off Ed Kohout.
For Starters...
Dave Middendorf is coming off a rough outing on August 20 against the Windy City ThunderBolts as he went four and two thirds innings, giving up eight runs, seven of which were earned, on nine hits. He did not walk anyone and struck out six in a no-decision as the Freedom won 10-9. Middendorf is looking for his first win in a little more than a month as he last picked up a victory on July 24 against Rockford. The Freedom acquired Middendorf in a trade from the Lake Erie Crushers on March 12, 2014. He was one of the top pitchers in the entire Frontier League in 2013, going 12-7 with a 2.60 ERA in 21 games, 19 starts for the Crushers. He pitched two years in the Royals' minor league system, reaching as high as Idaho Falls (Pioneer League). He went 3-4 with a 6.28 ERA over those two seasons with three saves. He made 39 appearances, all in a relief role and struck out 52 while walking 19 over 67.1 innings of work. Middendorf was named an NCAA Division II first-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after posting a 9-3 record with a 1.73 earned run average. His 127 strikeouts in 2011 set a new single-season record at NKU and were good for second among all Division II pitchers. He also set a career mark for strikeouts with 349 over his four years with the Norse. His 25 career wins rank third all-time at NKU and his 2.53 career ERA is fourth. Along with the All-Americans honors, Middendorf was named the Great Valley Conference and Midwest Region pitcher of the year.
Slammin'...
The Freedom's record against the Slammers this season is 2-1. They beat Joliet by scores of 4-1 and 6-2 on August 15 and 16. They lost the series finale at home by a count of 3-2 as they held Joliet to three or fewer runs in all three games.
Hitting and fielding issues...
Florence has the worst team batting average in the FL (.239) and is tied for the worst fielding % (.968).
Save me...
With former closer Jorge Marban moving into the rotation, RHP Ed Kohout has picked up six saves in the month of August. The bullpen is 8 for 8 in save opportunities this month.
Road woes...
The Freedom have a record of 10-25 on the road this season, the fewest road wins in the league.
Excellent Eberle...
Sam Eberle leads the league in On-Base Percentage at .449 and has reached base safely in 28 consecutive games.
A Hot August...
This season the Freedom have already won more games in the month of August (12) than any other month this season.
Leading after six...
The Freedom have an impressive record of 29-5 when leading after six innings.
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Frontier League Stories from August 26, 2014
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- August 26 Florence Freedom Game Notes - Florence Y'alls
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