Florence took an early lead against the Gateway Grizzlies Sunday night and never looked back in an 8-1 win at UC Health Stadium.
Florence got on the board in the bottom half of the first. Daniel Fraga walked and came around to score on a Zac Mitchell RBI triple. Mitchell came into score on an Austin Newell RBI ground-out. Florence led 2-0 after one frame.
The Freedom added to their lead in the fourth. Collins Cuthrell started a two-out rally with a triple into deep centerfield. Ozzy Gonzalez plated Cuthrell on a RBI single. Florence led 3-0 after four.
Florence pulled away in the fifth. Travis Weaver led off with a single. After Steve Carrillo reached on a fielders’ choice, he moved to second on a Daniel Fraga single. Zac Mitchell singled to load the bases. Austin Newell cleared the bases with a three-RBI triple. Newell came into score on a wild pitch to cap the scoring. Florence led 7-0 after five innings.
Florence starter Chuck Weaver (6-4) tossed seven innings and allowed one run on just three hits as he fanned nine to earn his sixth win of the season.
Florence tagged on their final run in the eighth. Sam Eberle singled and moved to second on a Frazier Hall walk. Eberle and Hall advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch. Gonzalez lifted a fly ball deep enough to score Eberle for a sacrifice fly.
Tony Vocca was called upon out of the bullpen. Vocca pitched two scoreless innings to shut the door for Florence.
Florence hits the road for a six-game trip starting on Tuesday as they visit the Joliet Slammers. First pitch is set for 8:05 p.m. eastern time as Jeremy Gooding (5-3, 2.27 ERA) takes the hill. Fans can tune in at http://mixlr.com/florencefreedom/.
In Saturday’s game, a night after the Freedom used a five-run fourth inning to defeat Gateway, the Grizzlies used a five-run fourth inning to defeat the Freedom 7-2.
The Grizzlies scored all five runs in the fourth on home runs. Blake Brown blasted a grand slam to dead center for the first four runs, and Richard Seigel lifted a fly ball to deep center and came all the way around to score for an inside the park home run.
Florence starter Cody Gray (3-2) tossed five and a third innings allowing seven runs on ten hits to pick up his second loss of the season.
Florence got on the board in the bottom half of the third. Travis Weaver singled to lead off the frame. Steve Carrillo singled on a hit and run through the right side to put runners on the corners with one out. Daniel Fraga lifted a fly ball to deep center that drove in Weaver. Florence led 1-0 after three frames.
After falling behind 7-1, the Freedom got one back in the eighth inning. Frazier Hall started the two out rally with a single. Collins Cuthrell followed with a single of his own to put runners on first and second. Andrew Godbold drove in Hall with an RBI single. Florence trailed 7-2 after eight innings.
Pete Levitt, Seth Harvey, Ethan Gibbons and Ed Kohout were called upon out of the bullpen. Levitt got the final out of the sixth inning. Harvey struck out the side in the seventh. Gibbons struck out the side in the eighth and Kohout fanned two in the ninth.
From Freedom Communications