Long Ball, Gooding's Start Lead Freedom to Opening Night Win
May 13, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
Florence Freedom Pitcher Jeremy Gooding
(Florence Y'alls)
Florence, Ky. - The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, opened up their 2016 season with a statement win over the Windy City Thunderbolts.
The Freedom rode three fourth-inning home runs and a solid start from Jeremy Gooding to the 7-1 victory.
Trailing 1-0, Florence got its scoring started in the fourth with three long balls from Collins Cuthrell, Andrew Godbold, and Garret Vail. Cuthrell drove a line drive just over the wall in left field, while Godbold and Vail blasted home runs to deep centerfield.
Those three long balls gave Florence the lead and they never looked back. After allowing a home run to Reggie Lawson in the second, Gooding settled down, allowing just a total of four hits and one run in 6.1 innings. He struck out seven and did not allow a walk.
The Freedom continued their offensive showcase in the next two innings. In the fifth, Collins Cuthrell plated two more on a single through the right side, scoring Daniel Fraga and Taylor Oldham. Back-to-back singles to lead off the sixth allowed Oldham to try his hand at driving in runs. A single past the shortstop and under the glove of the left fielder pushed Josh Henderson and Vail across the plate to make the lead 7-1.
Florence's bullpen held strong as well. Pete Levitt and T.J. Bozeman allowed just one hit, while tossing 2.2 scoreless innings.
The Thunderbolts mustered only three hits after Lawson's home run and did not have a runner reach third base. Brady Muller gets the loss after giving up five runs in his five innings of work. The Freedom take on Windy City tomorrow night at 6:05. Florence will send Clayton Crum to the hill, while the Thunderbolts will counter with Clay Chapman.
To keep up with all the latest Florence Freedom news and to learn about exclusive deals and contests, make sure to like the team on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter.
The Florence Freedom are members of the 12-team professional Independent Frontier League and play a 96 game schedule, with 48 home games at UC Health Stadium, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky. In 2015, the Frontier League recognized the Freedom as the league's organization of the year and awarded the team with the league's All-Star event. The 2016 season will mark the 13th year the Freedom have played in Florence.
Images from this story
 Florence Freedom Pitcher Jeremy Gooding |
Frontier League Stories from May 13, 2016
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