Offensive Explosion Leads Florence to Split
June 23, 2016 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
Austin Newell of the Florence Freedom
(Florence Y'alls)
Florence, Ky. - The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, scored a season-high 12 runs in game two to split a twin bill with the Evansville Otters.
Austin Newell led the team offensively on the day, knocking around two triples and finishing the night 5-for-7 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Andrew Godbold added four hits, three RBIs, and two runs for Florence (9-25).
Game One: Evansville 6, Florence 3
The Freedom were hampered by miscues in game one as Evansville took a 6-3 victory.
The Freedom jumped out to an early lead in the second inning. Godbold delivered a one-out double and Garrett Vail singled him home, extending his hitting streak to seven games.
Newell kept the offense rolling in the third as the veteran laced a triple down the right field line. The next batter, Richard Seigel, drove Newell home with a fly ball deep into right field, putting Florence ahead 2-0.
Evansville knocked around three hits in the fourth inning and capitalized on a pair of Freedom errors to take the lead 3-2 after four innings.
Evansville put up another three-spot in the sixth and led 6-2 heading to the seventh and final inning. The Freedom threatened, scoring one in the seventh, but were unable to come back against the Evansville bullpen.
Zach Isler took his fourth loss of the season, allowing all six runs (four earned) and nine hits, while striking out three. Jeremy Hutchison came on to replace Isler in the seventh, but walked the bases loaded with two away. Pete Levitt finished off the inning by forcing a ground out.
Offensively, Godbold led the team with three hits and a run, while Newell and Travis Weaver both had multi-hit games.
Game Two: Florence 12, Evansville 4
The Freedom scored a season-high 12 runs and Davis Adkins pitched five innings of three-run ball as the Freedom split the doubleheader with a 12-4 victory.
Every Freedom player recorded at least one hit in the ballgame. Newell led the way with three, while Mercurio and Oldham both finished with two.
The Freedom jumped all over Luc Rennie in the bottom of the first. The first five Florence hitters reached base, including RBI hits from Newell, Godbold, and Seigel. Newell added another RBI in the second on a single and the Freedom led 5-0 after two innings.
In the third, Isaac Wenrich delivered the second triple of the day for Florence, bringing home Richard Seigel. Wenrich scored when Mercurio laid down a bunt for a hit later in the inning.
Newell's triple in the fourth added another run for Florence as he came around on a sacrifice fly from Seigel and the Freedom led 8-0 through four innings.
Partially overshadowed by the offense, Adkins was lights out for his first four innings of work, only allowing two base runners (hit, walk). In the fifth, he gave up a three-run home run to John Schultz, but he earned the win in his first professional start.
Florence answered right back in the bottom half of the fifth as the Freedom's lead ballooned to 12-3. Six Freedom hitters reached in a row, bringing four runs in and putting the game out of reach.
The Freedom scored in each of the first five innings, accumulating their highest run total of the season. Adkins, Matt Pobereyko, and TJ Bozeman combined to throw seven innings of four-run, eight-hit baseball with no walks and five strikeouts.
Florence looks to take another series from the Otters in the rubber match tomorrow. Jeremy Gooding (2-4, 4.57 ERA) will face off against Tyler Vail (1-1, 3.82 ERA) with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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
 Austin Newell of the Florence Freedom |
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