Rascals Finish Sweep of Freedom on Sunday
Published on June 3, 2018 under Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE, Ky - Plenty of opportunities presented themselves but the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, never got the timely hit they needed as the River City Rascals completed the series sweep in addition to handing Florence their ninth straight loss in a, 7-3, finale on Sunday at UC Health Stadium.
Chuck Weaver (0-1) gave Florence (8-12) yet another quality start, their sixth over the nine game drought, but River City (14-6) seized momentum early with a pair of first inning runs. After the second batter of the game reached on an error by Nick Crouse at third base, back-to-back singles by Clint Freeman and Braxton Martinez loaded the bases. Then, Weaver balked, allowing one run to cross before Paul Kronenfeld made the score, 2-0, with a ground-out to first.
Rascals starter Hector Hernandez (3-0) sat down the first six Freedom batters he faced, but in the third inning, a trio of singles by Craig Lepre, Austin Wobrock, and Brandon Pugh loaded the bases ahead of a Connor Crane sacrifice fly as the Freedom cut the deficit in half. This single by Wobrock pushed his hitting streak to six games. Hernandez would tally six strong innings allowing just a pair of Freedom runs on five hits with two walks and five punch-outs.
After a scoreless fourth frame, River City stretched their lead back to two courtesy a solo-shot by J.D. Hearn that bounced off, then over the wall in right for his second home run of the year as River City took a, 3-1, lead.
The Freedom responded in their next at-bat, using a pair of singles from Pugh and Crane to set-up an RBI-single from Jose Brizuela that pulled Florence back within one at, 3-2. Andre Mercurio walked to load the bases next, but Keivan Berges grounded into a back-breaking inning-ending double play to quell the rally.
Weaver would finish his debut start having logged six innings and one earned run on five hits with eight strikeouts and a pair of walks in the losing effort. With the starter out of the game, River City went to work on the bullpen tallying an insurance run in the seventh off Marty Anderson, thanks to a delayed double steal that saw Hearn swipe home to make it a, 4-2, ballgame.
Still fighting in the bottom of the eighth, Berges launched his second round tripper of the year, a towering blast that landed in the Freedom bullpen to again pull Florence within one.
However, in the top of the ninth, River City capitalized on a Crane error in right field that loaded the bases with a run-scoring hit-by-pitch surrendered by Eric Gleese in relief as the Freedom deficit became, 5-3. With the bases still loaded, Paul Kronenfeld smashed a sharp base hit into right, scoring two and giving the Rascals a, 7-3, advantage.
With closer Cody Mincey on in the ninth for the third time in as many days, Florence went down in order, grabbing their ninth straight loss and first by more than two runs.
The Freedom will have an off day on Monday before beginning a three game series on Tuesday against the Southern Illinois Miners. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 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 Way in Florence, KY. The Freedom can be found online at florencefreedom.com, or by phone at (859) 594-4487.
Frontier League Stories from June 3, 2018
- Miners Win Fourth Straight, Sweep Otters - Southern Illinois Miners
- Otters Swept on the Road by Miners - Evansville Otters
- Rascals Finish Sweep of Freedom on Sunday - Florence Y'alls
- Lake Erie Drops Series Finale in Extras - Lake Erie Crushers
- Rascals Complete Sweep with 7-3 Win - River City Rascals
- Bolts Drop Series with 8-1 Loss - Windy City ThunderBolts
- Boomers Tally Wild Walkoff Win - Schaumburg Boomers
- Rain Postpones Finale vs. Joliet - Traverse City Beach Bums
- Wild Things Hit Three Home Runs in Series Finale Win - Washington Wild Things
- Big Sixth Inning Powers Crushers to Win - Lake Erie Crushers
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