Florence Tops CornBelters in 10
June 3, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Normal CornBelters News Release
FLORENCE, Ky. - The Normal CornBelters, presented by Illinois Corn Farmers, hit the halfway mark of their 12-game road trip with another ninth inning comeback, but fell via walkoff home run in ten innings 8-7 to the Florence Freedom on Sunday night at the Home of the Freedom.
The CornBelters struck quickly as Pat McKenna homered inside the right field foul pole with one out in the first inning for a quick 1-0. Normal added a run in the third when Alvaro Ramirez led off with bunt single and moved to second on a walk, then scored on a ground single by Steven Felix to push the lead to 2-0.
The Freedom scored an unearned run in the third to cut the Belters lead to 2-1 after Tucker Nathans led the frame with a walk, advanced to third on a single by Junior Arrojo and scored on a throwing error. The Freedom tied the game with two outs in the inning when Chris Curley rocketed a shot off Normal pitcher Tyler Lavigne's leg to score Arrojo.
Florence took a 3-2 lead in the fourth when Peter Fatse homered over the right center field wall. The Freedom made it 4-2 on a bloop double by Arrojo with two outs, scoring Nathans after he had reached with a single. The Freedom increased their lead to 6-2 with a sixth-inning two-out double by Chris Curley and a hard grounder back to the pitcher by Eddie Rodriguez.
The CornBelters cut into the lead with two outs in the seventh when Sean Wilson walked and was plated by a triple to deep center field by Alvaro Ramirez to cut the deficit to 6-3. Ramirez then scored on a single by McKenna to make the score 6-4.
The Freedom extended the lead to 7-4 in the seventh as Peter Fatse scored on an infield single by Junior Arrojo. The Belters got a run back in the eighth when they loaded the bases and Brantley Meier delivered a pinch-hit RBI single, but left the bases full to end the inning still down two runs.
The Belters mounted their second straight ninth-inning comeback, tying the game at 7-7. McKenna was hit by a pitch to lead off, followed by a single by Jordan Stouffer. A balk moved the runners to second and third, and consecutive RBI singles by Pat Trettel and Steven Felix scored both runners to tie the game.
The Freedom ended the contest with two outs in the bottom of the tenth when Chris Curley slammed a 1-1 pitch high over the wall in right center field.
Elio Briones pitched the tenth to take the loss to fall to 0-2. Jose Velazquez earned his first decision with the win.
The CornBelters take Monday off as they travel to Canada for the first time to face the London Rippers for a three-game series in the Ontario city. Left-hander Tyler Stovall (1-1, 7.27 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for the CornBelters. Game time is 5:30 p.m. Central on all three nights, with pre-game on WJBC.com beginning at 5:20. The CornBelters conclude the two-week road trip with a weekend series at Washington, Pa. before beginning a six-game homestand on Monday, June 11. More information can be found at www.normalbaseball.com, on Facebook, on Twitter (Normal_Baseball) or by calling 309-454-BALL (2255).
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Frontier League Stories from June 3, 2012
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- June 3 Joliet Slammers Game Notes - Joliet Slammers
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