Freedom Finish First Half with Win
July 12, 2009 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Freedom handed Southern Illinois pitcher Ryan Bird his second consecutive loss and took the series with a 4-2 win Sunday night at Champion Window Field.
Bird (6-2) had reeled off 17 straight wins dating back to 2008 before losing on July 7 to the Washington Wild Things. The reigning Frontier League pitcher of the year gave up six hits and a season high three walks, surrendering four runs in five innings of work.
Justin Pickett drove in the game's first run in the second inning with a RBI ground out. Florence put up a run in each of the next two innings as they slowly but surely built a 3-0 lead. Erold Andrus and Pickett provided the RBIs in the third and fourth innings.
Andy Clark started for the Freedom but had to leave in the fourth with a right arm injury. John Tesseyman came in to finish off the third, but fell into trouble in the fourth when the first four Miners all reached on singles with two of them scoring to make it a one run game.
Everett Saul entered with nobody out and men at first and second and escaped with the Freedom still leading by a run after a lineout to center and back-to-back strikeouts.
Saul (7-2) ended up being the winning pitcher as the right-hander faced the minimum in four innings with four strikeouts. Saul's seventh win ties Robert Fagan of Lake Erie for the Frontier League lead at the halfway point.
Florence added the game's final run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Tim Grogan singled up the middle to score Jay Johnson.
Saul and Jimmy Stanley combined to end Minor threats in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings all with double plays. Stanley picked up his third save after Matt Stiffler made the catch on a deep fly ball to left field for out number two, and then gunned out Pedro Lopez at third trying to advance to end the game.
The Freedom (23-24) carry a two game winning streak into the all-star break and will sit in third place, 5.5 games back of first place Kalamazoo in the Frontier League East. After the break, the Freedom will travel to Southern Illinois (26-22) to take on the Miners at Rent One Park starting Friday night.
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Frontier League Stories from July 12, 2009
- Wild Things Lose in 10 - Washington Wild Things
- Beach Bums Fall in First Half Finale - Traverse City Beach Bums
- Windy City Sweeps to Complete Perfect Homestand - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Freedom Finish First Half with Win - Florence Y'alls
- Rascals End First Half with a Sweep of the Crushers - River City Rascals
- Rascals Complete Sweep of Crushers - Lake Erie Crushers
- Sliders Comeback Runs Short - Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti
- Kings Fall 2-1 - Kalamazoo Kings
- RiverHawks Finish Sweep with 2-1 Win - Rockford RiverHawks
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