Florence Hits Two Slams in Doubleheader Sweep
Published on May 17, 2026 under National Association (NA)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls (4-5) won the series against the Evansville Otters (5-4) with a doubleheader sweep on Sunday afternoon. The Y'alls took game one 13-6 and won their second rubber match of the season 6-4 in game two.
Game one was a continuation of yesterday's postponed matchup, starting with a 3-3 tie in the top of the sixth. Max Whitesell took the mound for the Y'alls in relief of Zac Westcott's five-inning start last night. Whitesell allowed a solo shot to the second batter he faced, but locked in quickly and retired the next eight batters he faced. The Wright State alum earned his first win of the season, tossing three complete frames and collecting three punchouts.
Down 4-3 before their first at-bats of the day, Florence exploded and scored multiple runs in all three innings down the stretch. Brendan Bobo launched his third homer of the season, a go-ahead two-run blast to take a 5-4 lead that the Y'alls wouldn't surrender. The Y'alls used six hits in the seventh to plate four more runs with RBIs from Dillon Baker, Jackson Tucker, and Hank Zeisler. Evansville walked the bases loaded, and Tyler Shaneyfelt made them pay with the most electric play in sports, an inside-the-park grand-slam home run. This was Shaneyfelt's first professional home run and gave the Y'alls a 13-4 lead. Blake Donnan allowed two-runs to close the 13-6 win.
In game two, Liam Alpern made his first professional start after two solid appearances out of the bullpen. The Swarthmore alum didn't do himself any favors with five walks and two hit batsmen across just 2.1 innings, surrendering four earned. Travis Phelps entered and allowed two of Alpern's runners to score in the third to finish the rookie's line.
The rest of the bullpen was phenomenal, with Ahmad Harajli, Chase Hopewell, and Aidan McEvoy combining for four shutout innings to close the game. Harajli earned his first professional win, and McEvoy notched his second save of the season.
The long ball guided Florence once again, but this time they came off the bats of the rookie, Brett Blomquist, and the Captain, Hank Zeisler. Blomquist cranked a grand slam to right field for his first homerun of the season in the second inning, which gave Florence a lead at the time. Tied 4-4 in the third, Zeisler came through with his third blast to finish the scoring at 6-4.
Florence receives the off-day on Monday before heading to Washington, PA, to open a three-game series against the Wild Things on Tuesday morning. Florence will send LHP Jonaiker Villalobos to the mound for his second start of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 10:35 AM ET.
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