The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, pulled out a wild 3-2 victory over the Washington Wild Things.
Trailing 2-1 in the eighth with nobody on and two away, Taylor Oldham reached on a hit by pitch and Austin Newell followed with a single that put runners on the corners. Andrew Godbold came up next and delivered the game-tying hit, a looping single to center field that scored Oldham and tied the game at two.
Tanner Kiest struggled in the bottom half of the inning, walking two and allowing a single to load the bases with nobody out and the Freedom called upon Ethan Gibbons to get out of the jam. Gibbons forced a ground ball to Oldham for the first out and then struck out the next two batters to keep the game tied.
In the top of the ninth, the Freedom did not need to put the ball in play to take the lead. Isaac Wenrich, Andre Mercurio, and Daniel Fraga all walked to load the bases with two outs. Oldham came to the plate next and took a 1-1 pitch on his arm, bringing home Wenrich and giving the Freedom the lead 3-2.
Gibbons held the Wild Things (22-21) at bay in the ninth, allowing a two-out walk before forcing a pop out to end the game.
Washington found the scoreboard first on a second inning home run from Jimmy Yezzo. This marked the first time since June 19 that the Freedom did not score the game’s first run.
The Freedom (16-27) tied the score in the fourth inning courtesy of a pair of doubles. Austin Newell led off the inning with one to left field and then moved to third on a groundout later in the inning. With two-outs, Collins Cuthrell ripped another double to left, scoring Newell, and knotting the score at one.
Yezzo knocked in another run in the fifth to put Washington up 2-1, but Godbold threw a bullet to the plate, cutting down another potential run. Vocca allowed the hit to Yezzo, but Cody Gray was charged with the unearned run. Gray finished 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks, while striking out a pair.
The Freedom tied the score in the eighth and went on to plate the go-ahead run on Oldham’s hit by pitch in the ninth.
Oldham took the two key hit by pitches and had two knocks, while Fraga and Godbold both finished with a pair of hits as well. Wenrich scored the winning run in front of friends and family in his home state of Pennsylvania.
Vocca finished 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball before Kiest struggled and Gibbons came in to save the day. Gibbons did not allow a hit, while walking one and striking out three. As a whole, the Freedom pitching staff stranded 13 on base.
Yezzo had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Wild Things. Sam Agnew-Weiland tossed six innings of one run ball but did not factor into the decision. Zac Grotz took the loss, allowing all four base runners in the ninth.
The Freedom will go for their fourth consecutive series win tomorrow with Davis Adkins (2-1, 2.70 ERA) on the hill. First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
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The Florence Freedom are members of the 12-team professional Independent Frontier League. They play a 96 game schedule, with 48 home games at UC Health Stadium, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence.
Florence Freedom