FL Florence Y'alls

Bays Blows Lead Against Roosters – Freedom Fall from First Place

by Chris Meiman
June 14, 2005 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls


The Florence Freedom failed to complete their sweep of Richmond Monday, falling to the Roosters 6-4 in the finale of a three game series at Champion Windows Field. Hector Urena's two out two-run single in the top of the ninth off Freedom closer Lenny Bays drove in the game winning runs. Richmond score all six of its runs in the final two innings, including four off of Bays, who dropped to 0-2 and saw his ERA climb to over 7. All of this spoiled a fine outing from Freedom starter Joel Posey, who pitched shutout ball into the eight inning before giving up a two-run home run to Urena. Posey allowed only four hits and struck out 11. All four Freedom runs came via the solo home run. Mike Galloway hit his league leading eighth home run of the season in the 3rd. Tom Hall, Scott Martin, and Kyle Geswein hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the 5th off of Rooster starter Tony Casoli. Casoli hung around for eight innings, long enough to outlast the Freedom and pick up his second win in three decisions. The loss for Florence was doubly tough because it dropped the Freedom out of a first place tie with the Washington Wild Things, who defeated Ohio Valley 13-6. Florence is tied with Chillicothe for second with a 10-8 record. Galloway kept his season long hitting streak alive, now at 18 games. Galloway's .429 batting average is third best in the Frontier League. Galloway also leads the league in RBI (23), hits (32), and Slugging Percentage (.827). He is second in extra base hits and runs scored. Tom Hall saw his hitting streak stopped Sunday night at 14, going 0-3 as the Designated Hitter.

The Freedom won Sunday evening 7-5, scoring all 7 runs in the first two innings. The five run first was highlighted by Scott Martin's grand slam. Brandon Cornell also homered for the Freedom. Slugger Kyle Geswein, who had appeared in three games as a pitcher, took the mound for his first start of the season Sunday night and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits over 4 innings, but did not record a decision. Geswein saw his ERA climb from 2.45 to 7.04. It was the second consecutive win despite a poor starting performance. Geswein took the starting spot of Jason Sena, who had been demoted to the bullpen before the start of the series. Newly acquired pitcher Ted Rowe pitched three scoreless innings to claim the win (1-0). Lenny Bays pitched an inning and two thirds to pick up his league leading fifth save.

The Freedom out slugged the Roosters 16-12 on a steamy Saturday night in front of the best crowd at Champion Windows Field since Opening Day. Eight balls left the ballpark, two off the bat of Mike Galloway, who drove in 5 on the night. Scott Martin and Brandon Cornell also played long ball for Florence. Freedom starter Mark Harris did not fare well at all, giving up three home runs amongst nine hits over 4 2/3 innings in which he allowed 6 runs, 4 earned. Mike Causey was only slightly better, allowing two runs over 2 1/3, but was awarded the victory to make his first decision a winning one.

Freedom Flags – Former McNick Rocket and Miami Redhawk Zach Schmidt has hit his way into the starting lineup. With three of the four starting infielders hitting below .250, Schmidt's .313 average and solid glove work has earned him three straight starts. Two at third base and one at second base...Jason Sena was demoted to the bullpen before the start of the series and has responded well. Sena pitched an inning Saturday and 1/3 of an inning Sunday and gave up a total of one hit and one walk while striking out three...Alex Derhak caught Monday evening, giving Scott Pickens a day off. Pickens is struggling badly with the bat; his 1-3 Sunday evening raised his average to .111. Derhak's 0-4 dropped him below .300 for the season, but Freedom manager Jamie Keefe had been getting at bats for the backup catcher, starting him at first base on Sunday. Keefe will continue to stick with his former Paint backstop despite the poor average.

Upcoming Series – The Freedom left right after the game Monday night for a 500 mile bus ride to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Mid-Missouri Mavericks. The Mavericks have won 5 of 7 and two straight series after starting the season with ten straight losses. Tuesday night, the Freedom will send out hard-luck starter Mike Dennison (1-3 2.51) against Danny Shuck (1-2 5.71). Jason Bowlin and Mark Harris are also scheduled to take the ball for Florence, while Mid-Missouri will tentatively go with Chad Giannetti on Wednesday and start Augustin Rodriguez on Thursday. After Mid-Missouri, the Freedom will travel to O'Fallon, Missouri to take on the River City Rascals. Florence will return home a week from today to take on Mid-Missouri and River City. Start times for all three games will be 8:05 EDT and can be heard online at choicefmradio.com or on the radio at WZFR 97.7 or WRHX 107.9 in Northern Kentucky.

Chris Meiman covers Florence Freedom Baseball and Cincinnati minor league hockey. He can be reached at chrismeiman@yahoo.com.

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