Freedom Cream CornBelters in Opener
June 29, 2018 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
NORMAL, Il - With a good crowd on-hand to see Jose Canseco hit in the three-hole as the Normal CornBelters designated hitter, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, rained on their parade with a lop-sided, 9-1, victory in the opener of a weekend set at the Corn Crib.
Florence (20-22) attacked Normal (18-22) starter, Jacinto Garcia (3-2) plating a pair of runs in the second inning to take a, 2-0, lead. Xavier Turner started the frame with a hit by pitch and found himself standing on second after a well executed hit-and-run single to left from Keivan Berges. Berges and Turner would double-steal next, setting up runners at second and third. With two outs, Austin Wobrock deliverd his first of two, two-run base knocks with a single to right as the Freedom jumped in front.
Freedom right-hander, Steve Hagen (6-2) started his outing by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the first, punching-out Canseco in his lone at-bat to bring Florence back to the dish with a two-run lead in the top of the second.
The game would break wide open in the Freedom half of the third, as Florence sent ten men to the plate in a six-run frame. Caleb Lopes led-off with his first of two-singles on the night, setting up a Skylar Ewing big-fly to left. The round-tripper was the second of the season for Ewing, and put the Freedom up, 4-0. Andre Mercurio made it three-straight hits to start the inning, but was thrown out at second trying to stretch the single in to a double. Turner then followed a stand-up double and came around to score on a Jordan Brower double down the line in left as the Florence advantage reached five. Jacob Wark worked a walk two-batters later and Austin Wobrock made the score, 7-0, with a double that split the outfielders in left-center, scoring both base-runners. Still not done scoring in the inning, Jimmy Heck, who replaced Ricky Ramirez Jr. in the lineup after the latter was ejected in top of the second, plated Wobrock from second with a sharp single of his own, giving the Freedom an eight-run edge after two and a half frames.
Hagen faced just three over the minimum over the second through eighth innings, but was treated to one more run of insurance in the Freedom half of the sixth. After Heck walked to start the frame, Lopes pushed him to second with a single. Ewing then moved Heck to third with a deep fly-out to center and Mercurio delivered a sacrifice fly as the score moved to, 9-0, Florence.
Garcia would exit the game after seven innings, conceding nine earned runs on twelve Freedom hits with two walks and five strikeouts on the way to his second loss of the season.
Out in the bottom of the ninth in search of a complete-game shut-out, Hagen watched Jimmy Fletcher reach on an error by third baseman Jeremy Scott, who entered the game in Turner's spot in the eighth, giving the CornBelters their first base-runner since the bottom of the fifth. Santiago Chirino singled Fletcher to third next before Hagen recorded a pair of outs in succession to keep runners on the corners. Andrew Godbold broke up the shut-out with an ensuing single, but Joel Davis grounded out to Wark at first to end the ball-game one batter later, giving Florence the, 9-1, victory in the series opener.
Hagen finished his spectacular outing having gone the distance while allowing no earned runs on five scattered hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
The Freedom will look to take the series from Normal on Saturday, sending right-hander Jordan Kraus to the hill opposite righty Mark Hendricks for Normal. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. CT at the Corn Crib in Normal, IL.
Frontier League Stories from June 29, 2018
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