Y'alls Drop Back-and-Forth Home Finale
August 31, 2023 - Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls (38-55), presented by Towne Properties, saw late runs prove costly in a 7-4 defeat to the Schaumburg Boomers (53-39) in a series-closing loss. The game marks the final home game for the Y'alls' 2023 season.
Pitching dominated much of the evening. Florence righthander Ross Thompson (4.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) allowed a first-inning run when Schaumburg center fielder Chase Dawson doubled, moved to third on a flyout, then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of designated hitter Kokko Figueiredo. The Y'alls answered back with a run in the third when Hank Zeisler scored from third on a wild pitch, but the Y'alls struggled to mount offensive pressure against Schaumburg lefthander Antonio Frias (5.1 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 10 K), who logged double-digit strikeouts through five complete innings. Heading to the sixth, Florence trailed 2-1.
The Y'alls broke through in the sixth against Frias. First baseman Craig Massey singled to lead off the inning before catcher Zade Richardson walked to put two runners aboard. With two on, center fielder Ray Zuberer doubled to left to score Massey as the tying run. With runners at second and third, second baseman Jeremiah Burks singled to left through a drawn-in infield to put the Y'alls ahead 3-2. One batter later, left fielder Lane Hoover bunted for an infield single that scored Zuberer from third and increased the Y'alls lead to 4-2.
Florence held its lead through seven innings but ran into difficulty in the eighth. The Boomers rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth against Florence righthander Brian McKenna. An infield single and a walk set up second baseman Will Prater with two runners on, and he hit a ground ball to third that Florence third baseman Brian Fuentes attempted to throw to shortstop Ed Johnson, who was covering the bag. The throw was errant, and the run-scoring error allowed Schaumburg to cut the lead to one and place runners at the corners with no outs. Pinch-hitter Blake Grant-Parks' RBI groundout tied the game 4-4 in the eighth before center fielder Chase Dawson doubled home Prater to give Schaumburg the lead. With runners at the corners once again, Kokko Figueiredo bunted to set up a delayed squeeze that brought home Dawson from third base. After eight innings, Schaumburg led 6-4.
The Boomers tacked on another run in the ninth to lead by three, but Florence could not mount a last-minute comeback. The loss ends Florence's home schedule, and the Y'alls finish with a 24-27 record at Thomas More Stadium in 2023. The Y'alls travel to Joliet for their final series of the year beginning on Friday, September 1st. First pitch from Duly Health and Care Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT.
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