A dramatic conclusion to Fridays series opener at Rent One Park brought a 4-3 victory for the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, over the Southern Illinois Miners. <\/p>\n
With the Freedom (54-29) leading, 4-1, Pete Perez entered to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning and began by walking Anthony Critelli. A swinging strikeout preceded another walk to Ryan Sluder, and the Miners (32-50) next loaded the bases on a Romeo Cortina single to left field. Craig Massey then popped out to short, bringing Southern Illinois down to its final out. Ryan Lashley singled into center field to score two runs and put the tying and winning runs on base, but Nolan Earley lined out to left field to end the game. <\/p>\n
The win preserved a masterful start by Tony Vocca (8-5), who pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out seven batters while limiting the Miners (32-50) to seven hits. The right-hander stranded a total of seven runners over his first five innings before retiring the side in order in his final two frames of work. <\/p>\n
Keivan Berges had put Florence on top, 1-0, by leading off the second inning with a solo home run to left-center off Chris Washington (3-4), Berges third home run in four games. But Washington would proceed to retire a total of 18 of the first 20 Freedom batters he faced through six innings, with a Garrett Vail single accounting for the only other baserunner. <\/p>\n
After both teams failed to score from the third through sixth innings, however, Florence added to its lead in the top of the seventh. Berges doubled and scored on a two-out single to left field by Jordan Brower, knocking Washington from the game. Paul Young entered in relief and walked pinch-hitter Mike Morris, and after Brower and Morris pulled off a double steal, Austin Wobrock singled both men home for a 4-0 lead. <\/p>\n
Mike Anthony relieved Vocca in the bottom of the eighth and gave up a solo homer to Earley that hit the left-field foul pole, accounting for the first run of the night for Southern Illinois. <\/p>\n
The win, along with a River City Rascals loss to Evansville, dropped the Freedoms magic number to clinch the West Division to five. The victory also brings Florence within three of matching the franchise record of 57 wins, set in 2012. <\/p>\n
The series continues Saturday with Steve Hagen (3-0) starting on the mound for the Freedom against Miners right-hander Matt Parish (2-3). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. at Rent One Park. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Florence Freedom <\/p>\n
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Freedom take series opener on the road against Miners, magic number to clinch division is five - User-generated content (press release) (registration)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A dramatic conclusion to Fridays series opener at Rent One Park brought a 4-3 victory for the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, over the Southern Illinois Miners. With the Freedom (54-29) leading, 4-1, Pete Perez entered to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning and began by walking Anthony Critelli. A swinging strikeout preceded another walk to Ryan Sluder, and the Miners (32-50) next loaded the bases on a Romeo Cortina single to left field. Continue reading