The Florence Freedom split a doubleheader with the Southern Illinois Miners, dropping game one Wednesday 13-3 before winning the afternoon matchup 5-3.
After a convincing defeat, the Freedom (17-30) got stellar pitching performances from Tony Vocca and Davis Adkins in game two. That coupled with a pair of two-run innings propelled Florence to a victory.
Game One: Southern Illinois 13, Florence 3
The Miners took control of game one early and cruised to a 13-3 win.
After the Miners scored three in the first inning, the Freedom brought the score to 3-1 in the bottom half of the inning. Daniel Fraga singled to start the inning and Taylor Oldham walked to put two men on with nobody out. After Fraga was thrown out at the plate on an Austin Newell double, but, later in the inning, Godbold plated Oldham on a groundout.
In the next two innings, the Miners scored eight runs to pull away. The other two Freedom runs came on a home run from Cuthrell and a sacrifice fly from Travis Weaver.
Jordan Brower had two hits for Florence, continuing his hot hitting in the series. Freedom starter Patrick McGrath took the loss, while Jeremy Hutchison tossed a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts.
The Miners hit four home runs in the game with two coming from Alex De Leon (four RBIs). Jarrett Miller allowed three runs (two earned) and eight hits in a complete game.
Game Two: Florence 5, Southern Illinois 3
The Freedom split the doubleheader with a 5-3 win on the back of strong pitching and a pair of long balls.
The Miners once again got the scoring started in the second game of the doubleheader. In the second inning, Julius Gaines grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Steve Marino.
Florence starter Tony Vocca tossed three innings, allowing just four hits and one run, while walking three and striking out two. In a key spot, he kept the game at 1-0 by escaping a third-inning, bases-loaded jam.
The Freedom took the lead with back-to-back home runs in the fourth. Godbold hit a shot to right field and the Cuthrell launched one over the wall in left-center.
Davis Adkins came on in relief of Vocca and sat down all nine batters that he faced.
In the fifth, the Freedom added another run, extending their lead to 3-1. Singles from Fraga and Oldham put two men on and then Godbold ripped a single back up the box to score Fraga from second.
A pair of walks led to a couple of key insurance runs for the Freedom in the sixth with Andre Mercurio and Fraga notching the RBIs.
Southern Illinois made things interesting in the seventh and final inning by scoring two runs, but Ethan Gibbons was able to shut the door to help the Freedom split the series.
Godbold had two hits and two RBIs, while Cuthrell hit two home runs on the day. Vocca was solid as the starter, but Adkins took the win.
Shane Kennedy had the only two RBIs for the Miners on his two-RBI double in the seventh.
The Freedom look to split the four-game set with Southern Illinois with a win in the finale Thursday. Cody Gray (1-1, 7.90 ERA) will be on the hill against Rick Teasley (4-2, 3.22 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
From Freedom Communications