FL Florence Y'alls

Freedom Squander Late Lead in Loss

August 17, 2018 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release


FLORENCE, Ky - Fresh off a long travel night that saw the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, return home around 7 a.m., offense was in large supply, as Florence managed 10 hits and eight runs, but fell apart late in relief on the way to a, 10-8, loss to the Evansville Otters on Friday night at UC Health Stadium.

Trailing 8-7 in the top of the eighth, Evansville (41-41) struck for three runs off Freedom (41-41) reliever Evan Korson (1-1), to take a, 10-8, lead. With two outs, David Cronin singled, and Ryan Long singled behind him to put runners on the corners. Travis Harrison then singled to center to score Cronin, and reigning Frontier League MVP, Jeff Gardner, cleared the bases with a two-RBI double to right.

Alex Phillips entered for the ninth and retired all three Freedom batters he faced to earn his fifth save of 2018.

The Otters utilized timely hitting to take an early, 1-0, lead against Freedom starter Steve Hagen. Cronin lined a ball up the middle to start the game, and Hagen subsequently plunked Long to put two on with nobody out. However, a 6-4-3 double play earned Hagen two quick outs, but Cronin was able to move to third before scoring on a Gardner single to the wall in right field.

The trademark of the Freedom offense this season has been scoring runs with two outs, and the Freedom did so again, racing out to a, 3-1, lead in the bottom of the first. Caleb Lopes singled on the first pitch he saw, and Ricky Ramirez Jr. was able to work a four pitch walk to set-up Keivan Berges with two-on, and two-outs. Berges came through, hammering a three-run shot off the light pole in left field for his team-leading fourteenth round tripper of the season.

Evansville wasted no time tying the game, as Austin Bush led the second inning off with a hard single. With Bush on first, Brant Whiting deposited a ball into the Freedom bullpen, his second home run of the year tied the game at, 3-3.

Hagen was removed heading into the third inning in favor of southpaw Mike Castellani. Hagen threw two full innings and gave up three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Against Castellani in the third, Long led off with a single to straightaway center, and the Otters re-took the lead as Harrison smacked a double to push the Otters in front, 4-3. Harrison then advanced to third on a fly-ball to left before scoring on a Bush grounder to second, giving Evansville a two-run advantage.

The scoring continued, as the home team responded in the bottom of the third. Lopes continued to hammer Evansville pitching, leading off with a double before scoring on a single from Skyler Ewing one batter later. Ramirez Jr. followed with a single of his own, and Berges walked to load the bases with nobody out. Otters starter, Austin Nicely would wiggle out of the jam, however inducing a fielder's choice and tallying a pair of strikeouts looking to hold on to the visitors one-run lead at, 5-4.

Three straight singles from Long, Harrison, and Gardner loaded the bases for the Otters in the fifth, and they cashed in on a Bush sacrifice fly to center. Whiting followed that with an RBI-knock of his own, shooting a long single off the wall in left field to score Harrison and make it a, 7-4, game. Castellani was removed with two outs in the frame, giving way to right-hander, Eric Gleese, who rolled a 6-4-3 double play just one pitch into his appearance.

Florence made it a one-run game against Nicely in the fifth, as Berges followed a Ramirez Jr. single by lacing his second big-fly of the game, shrinking the margin to, 7-6. The screaming liner landed in the Freedom bullpen in right, giving Keivan fifteen bombs on the season, and upped his team leading RBI total to 57 with five on the night. Berges now has ten runs batted in over his last two games against the Otters.

Matt Chavarria (3-0) replaced Nicely to start the sixth, ending the southpaw's night having spanned five complete innings while surrendering six earned runs on eight hits, with four walks and four whiffs.

Chavarria was able to record two fast outs in the sixths, but saw Lopes reach when Cronin dropped a pop-up in shallow right field. Ewing made it hurt, smashing his eighth double of the season to the gap in left-center, scoring Lopes to knot the game at 7. Jordan Brower would put the home team on top for the second time in the home half of the seventh, skying his eighth homer of the year to right field power alley and pushing Florence in front, 8-7.

The Freedom and the Otters will battle two more times this weekend, with the Freedom handing the ball to righty Chuck Weaver opposite power right-hander, Ty Hensley for the Otters. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 PM at UC Health Stadium.

The Florence Freedom are members of the Independent Frontier League and play all home games at UC Health Stadium located at 7950 Freedom Wayin Florence, KY. The Freedom can be found online at florencefreedom.com, or by phone at (859) 594-4487.

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