Y'alls Sweep Opening Weekend Honors
Published on May 13, 2024 under Frontier League (FL)
Florence Y'alls News Release
FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y'alls (2-1), presented by Towne Properties, were commemorated for their Opening Weekend heroics in the series win against the defending Frontier League Champions, the Quebec Capitales. The Y'all's utility man Zade Richardson and ace Ryan Watson were honored with Frontier League Player and Pitcher of the Week respectively.
Both played a pivotal role in the Y'alls Opening Weekend success. Right-handed pitcher, Ryan Watson, earned the Opening Day nod and was praised as the ace of the team by Field Manager Chad Rhoades. On May 9th, Watson lived up to the hype against the Quebec Capitales delivering five shutout innings en route to the Y'alls first win of the season. Allowing only five hits and one walk, while collecting five strikeouts, Watson was the only starting pitcher to work past the fifth inning throughout the series.
Watson was able to pitch pressure-free for the majority of the game thanks in part to the Y'alls offensive surge, led by Zade Richardson's seven RBIs on Opening night. Richardson started the season with a bang in the bottom of the first when he crushed a grand slam off the scoreboard to put the Yalls up early. Richardson and the Y'alls offense didn't look back and powered themselves to a 17-3 victory. Richardson continued his hot streak throughout the weekend with a 2-for-5 and three RBI effort Friday, followed by a 2-for-4 game with a triple and another RBI during Saturday's 8-4 win. After Opening Weekend, Richardson has a league-leading 11 RBIs to go with an amazing .538 average.
Watson and Richardson were both mid-season additions for the Y'alls in 2023 and are continuing to leave their marks on the Florence Faithful and Field Manager Chad Rhoades.
"It is a well deserved honor for both guys," said Rhoades, "they have been putting in the work to come in prepared for the season to be the best they could be for the team and for themselves."
The two weekly awards were the first given out for the 2024 season. It marks the first Pitcher of the Week award for the Y'alls since Carter Spivey on August 21st, 2023, and the first Player of the Week award since Brennan Price on July 31st, 2023.
The Y'alls head North to Chicago for a 3-game series against the Windy City Thunderbolts starting on Tuesday and will return home to Florence for a week of fun on May 21st to the 26th.
Frontier League Stories from May 13, 2024
- Boomers Score Walk-Off Win in Home Opener - Schaumburg Boomers
- Y'alls Sweep Opening Weekend Honors - Florence Y'alls
- Series Opener at New Jersey Rescheduled, Road Trip Continues Wednesday - Ottawa Titans
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