Walked to Sleep in First Series Loss of Second Half
August 3, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
JOLIET, IL - The Florence Y'alls (33-37), presented by Towne Properties, dropped 10-8 to the Joliet Slammers (30-41) on Saturday night, handing Florence its first series loss of the second half of the season.
A quiet start featured a stellar four innings from starter Ty Good. The right-hander allowed a hit to the leadoff man before retiring the next 12 batters in order. Since Good pitched the lone inning in Thursday's rainout vs. Lake Erie, he was put on a pitch limit and removed after the fourth.
By that point, the Y'alls held a comfortable lead thanks to third baseman Brian Fuentes' grand slam (the team's sixth of the season) and right fielder Hank Zeisler scoring after knocking his team-leading sixth triple of the campaign.
Right-hander Carter Poiry entered the fifth inning and immediately struggled, walking four batters, surrendering three hits, and allowing seven runs in just one third of an inning. Ross Thompson relieved him and escaped, but not before allowing an eighth run. Joliet led 8-5 after that 13-batter fifth inning during which time the Slammers were walked six times with four hits. Thompson's line finished at a respectable 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, & 2 K.
A trio of RBIs in the seventh evened up the contest at 8-8. First baseman Craig Massey scored center fielder Blaze O'Saben on a single. Zeisler knocked Massey in to make it a one-run game, moving Fuentes over to third base. Left fielder Stephen Hrustich belted a double to score Fuentes to tie the game, but Zeisler got bag-hungry and tried to score from first which resulted in an easy out on Joliet's quick relay.
Right-hander Matt Fernandez pitched the bottom of the eighth, retiring his first two batters in his second professional start. The Jailbirds rallied with three-consecutive hits to take a 10-8 lead. Fernandez finished with 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, & 0 K.
Massey, Fuentes, and Zeisler ended the game as the only Y'alls with multiple hits. The series finale starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday before the Y'alls head back home for an off-day on Monday, ending the road trip with a three-game set at Washington. Florence trails Lake Erie by seven games for the last playoff spot.
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