The Florence Freedom failed to provide any run support for starter Casey and fell to the Normal CornBelters by a score of 4-1 on Sunday night.
The 4-1 win for Normal allowed the CornBelters to complete a three-game weekend sweep of the Freedom.
The Freedom pitching staff was very effective in the loss. Henn, who fell to 1-3, fired seven innings, allowing only two earned runs while fanning seven Normal batters.
Normal got a run in the first inning on two infield singles and two stolen bases. Cameron Monger reached on an infield single and stole second and third base. Then Sam Judah drove him home on an infield single of his own.
Pat McKenna homered for the CornBelters in the fourth inning to make it 2-0. An Aaron Dudley RBI single brought home an unearned run in the sixth and they tacked on a final run in the top of the ninth on a Santiago Chirino RBI double.
Florence scored their only run of the ball game in the ninth inning. Sam Eberle reached on an infield single. Cody Bishop doubled down the left field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. Rob Kelly brought home Eberle on a RBI grounder but Florence could do no more damage in the ninth.
Pete Levitt and Ed Kohout both pitched in relief for Florence. Levitt tossed a scoreless eighth inning and Kohout allowed one run in his inning of work while striking out two.
Sam Eberle led the way at the dish going two for four with a run scored. Austin Newell doubled and reached first on a walk. Rob Kelly picked up an RBI and had a pinch hit single.
Florence had men reach in the final six innings of the contest but failed to convert their opportunities. Carrillo reached third in the fifth, as he singled, stole second and moved 90 feet away from home on a Michael Pair ground out to second. But Carrillo was stranded there. Newell doubled and moved to third on a Sean Mahley fly ball in the 6th but was stranded by Eberle.
The Freedom return to action against the Traverse City Beach Bums for a twin bill on Wednesday evening. First pitch of game one is set for 5:35 p.m. It’s two games for the price of one! Get your tickets here to watch the Freedom in action.
Fans who can’t make the games can listen live to all 96 Freedom games on http://mixlr.com/florencefreedom/.
In Saturday’s game, Florence dropped another game as rookie starter Alan Carey (0-1) allowed 11 runs in his professional debut and the Freedom fell to the Normal CornBelters by a score of 18-4.
Normal sent nine men or more to the plate in three innings, scoring five runs in the first, six in the second and six in the fifth. Richard Lucas tallied five hits and Sam Judah drove in six runs in the game.
Florence tallied three runs in the fourth. Sam Eberle led off with a walk and moved to third on a Cody Bishop single. Steve Carrillo brought Eberle home on an RBI single. Bishop and Carrillo moved 90 feet closer to home on a Rob Kelly ground out to put runners on second and third with one out. Bishop trotted home on a Gaby Juarbe RBI grounder and Elvin Rodriguez capped the scoring with an RBI single scoring Carrillo. Despite the offense outburst, Florence trailed 12-3 after four frames.
Florence added another run in the sixth inning. Carrillo walked and moved to second on a Kelly grounder. Travis Weaver pinch hit for Rodriguez and delivered a sharp single that allowed Carrillo to score and trim the Freedom deficit to 18-4.
Tony Vocca, Ethan Gibbons and Matt Eshleman were effective out of the pen for Florence. Vocca fired two and two thirds innings allowing only one run. Gibbons tossed two and two thirds innings allowing only one run and fanning three CornBelter batters. Eshleman pitched two and a third innings allowing no runs and no hits.
From Freedom Communications