It wasn’t a good series for the Florence Freedom and for pitchers named Stephens.
Two days after Jake Stephens gave up 10 runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings, Coleman Stephens (2-1) suffered a similar fate, giving up seven runs on 11 hits in six innings as the Freedom fell to the Evansville Otters by a score of 8-4 Sunday night at Historic Bosse Field.
The Otters swept the series from the Freedom and Florence moves to 1-8 over the past two years at Bosse Field.
For the second straight night the Freedom took the lead in the first inning and for the second straight night Evansville rallied to take the lead in the second. Austin Newell led off the game with a double. He moved to third on a Jake Luce grounder and scored on a Cody Bishop sacrifice fly.
But in the second inning, the Otters scored two runs as Cory Urquhart hit a sacrifice fly. A wild throw home from the outfield allowed a second run to score.
Florence tied it in the third as Bishop drew a bases loaded walk. But a double play limited them to the one run. Evansville starter Tyler Vail (1-0) got away with walking seven batters as he went six inning to pick up the win.
The Otters took the lead for good in the fourth as Jaime Del Valle and Jeff Birkofer hit back-to-back RBI doubles to put the Otters up 4-2.
They tacked on three more runs in the fifth on a Josh Allen RBI grounder and another Del Valle double; this one drove in two runs.
Florence did tally two runs in the sixth on RBI singles from Michael Pair and Travis Weaver. But that would be the end of their scoring on the night. The Otters tallied their final run in the seventh on an Urquhart RBI single.
The Freedom have an off day on Monday before taking on the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget, IL on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. eastern time. Fans can tune in at http://mixlr.com/florencefreedom/.
In Saturday’s game, the Freedom fell to the Otters 4-3 in an exciting contest that saw Florence rally late only to see Evansville pull out the victory.
The Freedom took the early lead in the first inning as Austin Newell got things started with a single. Jake Luce followed with a single of his own. Then the Freedom pulled off a double steal and catcher JD Dorgan’s throw went into left field. Newell scored and the Freedom grabbed a 1-0 lead.
The Freedom stole seven bases in the game but left 11 men on base.
The 1-0 lead was short lived as Evansville plated three in the third inning off Freedom starter David Duncan. A Dorgan sacrifice fly tied the game and Cory Urquhart singled home two more runs with two outs to make it 3-1 in favor of the Otters.
Duncan went four innings, giving up the three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.
The Freedom had a number of chances to score but they finally broke through in the eighth inning. Sam Eberle doubled to start the frame. Two outs later, pinch hitter Ryan Solberg singled home Eberle to make the score 3-2. Then pinch hitter Gaby Juarbe singled Solberg to second.
Travis Weaver singled Solberg home to tie the game. Florence pulled off another double steal but both Solberg and Weaver were left stranded.
Evansville responded in the bottom of the eighth against reliever Daniel DeSimone (0-1). With two outs and nobody on, Kurt Wertz Jr. singled to right-center. Jake Luce misplayed the ball, allowing Wertz to advance to third. Then Josh Allen doubled him home to put the Otters up 4-3.
Florence loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with one out. But Steve Carrillo hit into a game ending 6-4-3 double play as the Freedom fell one run short.
From Freedom Communications