Timely Hitting Helps Freedom Salvage Series Finale
Published on August 19, 2018 under Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE, Ky - In desperate need of a win in the home series finale against the Evansville Otters, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, used clutch-hitting to secure the afternoon affair, 6-3, on Sunday at UC Health Stadium.
Scoring in their first at-bat has become a trademark of the Freedom (42-42) offense in 2018, as they plated their 76th first inning run to take a, 1-0, lead off Evansville (42-42) starter Tyler Beardsley (4-8). Ricky Ramirez Jr. singled for the Freedom's first hit of the afternoon, and Skyler Ewing worked a walk to put two on with two out. Keivan Berges stepped to the plate and continued to punish Evansville pitching by splitting the gap in left to drive in Ramirez Jr. The inning ended as Ewing was thrown out at the plate in an attempt to make it a two-run game.
The visitors were able to tie the game at one against Freedom starter Christian DeLeon (6-4) in the top of the third. David Cronin led off with a single, and went first-to-third on a single from Ryan Long. One batter later, Travis Harrison hit one deep enough to center to score Cronin on the sacrifice-fly.
Evansville struck twice in the visitors' side of the sixth, taking a two-run lead. Brant Whiting and Taylor Lane tallied back-to-back singles, and were bunted into scoring position by a pinch-hitting Mike Rizzitello. Subsequently, Hunter Cullen blooped a single into left-center, scoring Whiting as Berges charged to gather it in the outfield. The ball would squirt under Berges' gove, allowing Lane to score and Cullen to take second base as the score moved to, 3-1, Otters.
Florence promptly responded in their next at-bat, batting around on the way to claiming a, 5-3, edge. Ramirez Jr. started the rally by hitting a high fly-ball to center that Cullen lost in the sun, allowing Ramirez to motor his way to second on the two-base error. Berges and Brower then walked to load the bases with one out, setting up a clutch two-run double off the bat of Taylor Bryant that split the gap in right-center. With the score tied at three, Beardsley walked Ryan Rinsky, loading the bases again. Garrett Harris would take over on the mound, and was greeted by a John Price Jr. two-RBI single, both runs charged to Beardsley as the Freedom jumped in front by a pair.
Beardsley was charged with five total runs, four earned, over 5.1 innings, walking six batters and whiffing three.
The Freedom went to their bullpen in the top of the seventh, turning to southpaw, Evan Korson. The Otters managed ten hits off starter, DeLeon, but scored only three runs over his six innings, striking out twice and earning a pair of free passes.
Florence manufactured an extra run of insurance in the seventh, pushing their lead to, 6-3. After a Ewing walk, Berges' second base-knock of the contest put runners on the corners. Bryant then delivered a sacrifice-fly, notching his third RBI of the day to make it a three-run game.
Freedom manager Dennis Pelfrey called on closer Johnathon Tripp with two outs and a runner on second in the eighth, relieving Tyler Gibson on the bump. The All-Star closer got a quick out in the eighth, and slammed the door in the ninth to lock down his 12th save of the season.
The Freedom now turn their attention to a crucial three-game set with the Normal Cornbelters in Normal, Illinois this week. After an off day on Monday, Florence and Normal will go head-to-head for three games starting on Tuesday at the Corn Crib. First pitch on Tuesday night is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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.
Frontier League Stories from August 19, 2018
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