Freedom Stunned on Eighth Inning Grand Slam in 12-9 Defeat
Published on July 29, 2011 under Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
Doug Sanders hit a grand slam in the eighth inning as River City overcame a two-run deficit to stun the Freedom 12-9 on Friday night in O'Fallon, Mo. Florence was swept in the three-game series and went 0-6 this season at T.R. Hughes Ballpark.
The Freedom led 9-7 entering the bottom of the eighth in a wild contest that saw Florence trail by as many as four. Jareck West led off the inning with a single against Freedom reliever Chad Robinson. After a strikeout, Bobby Burk walked and Zeb Engle came on in relief. He hit pinch hitter Matt Serna with a pitch to load the bases and Sanders blasted a grand slam to right to put the Rascals on top 11-9. Chad Maddox added an RBI single later in the inning to make it 12-9.
Juan Valdes led off the game for the Freedom with a homer to right field. It was his sixth homer of the season, with four of them coming at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. John Malloy followed with an infield single and scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to make it 2-0.
The Rascals responded in the bottom of the frame against Freedom starter Steve MacFarland. After back-to-back walks, Jason Patton clubbed a three-run homer to right to give the Rascals a 3-2 lead. Stephen Holdren doubled and MacFarland was taken out of the game without recording an out. Brandon Mathes came on in relief and retired the first two he faced. However, Jareck West, Danny Sawyer and Bobby Burk hit consecutive, two-out RBI singles to extend the lead to 6-2 after one inning.
John Malloy hit a two-run single to center in the second inning to cut the deficit to 6-4. River City plated an unearned run in the bottom of the inning on an error by Mathes covering first base to make it 7-4.
The Freedom tied the game in the third. Willie Holmes singled and came home to score on a throwing error by shortstop Bobby Burk. Valdes hit a two-out, two-run double off the wall in center to tie the game at seven.
Jarred Frierson led off the fifth with a home run that cleared the 38-foot wall in right, his fourth long ball with Florence as the Freedom took an 8-7 lead. John Malloy's two-out RBI single tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Malloy was 3-for-5 with three RBI and Valdes was 2-for-4 with three RBI.
The Freedom bullpen had pitched five consecutive scoreless innings until the eighth. Engle (1-2) took the loss, while Kolby Moore (1-0) threw two-thirds of an inning for the win. Brandon Cunniff tossed a perfect ninth for his sixth save.
Florence starts a three-game road series against second-place Southern Illinois on Saturday night at 8:05 ET. Anthony Bello (2-3, 4.03) will pitch for the Freedom.
Frontier League Stories from July 29, 2011
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