The Florence Freedom knocked around six extra-base hits in taking game three Sunday against the Joliet Slammers 11-6.
With the score tied at five in the seventh, Pete Levitt inherited a bases-loaded, nobody out situation, but only surrendered one run to keep the Slammers’ momentum at bay.
Trailing for the first time in the ballgame 6-5, the Freedom (22-32) bounced right back to take the lead with a five-run eighth. Josh Henderson began the rally with a single to center and Garrett Vail followed with an RBI double to right-center, tying the score at six.
With the bases loaded and two away later in the inning, Oldham delivered a double to deep right field, clearing the bases and putting Florence ahead 9-6. Newell followed with another two-bagger and the Freedom led 10-6 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
The Freedom added one more in the ninth and cruised to the victory behind scoreless innings from Tony Vocca and Ethan Gibbons.
In the first inning, Newell delivered a solo line shot to right field for his second home run of the year, putting the Freedom out on front.
A two-out rally in the third pushed the Freedom ahead 2-0. Daniel Fraga reached on a bloop single and then Oldham ripped an RBI triple to left. Oldham finished the series 6-for-13 with two doubles, a triple, three runs scored, and five RBIs.
After just one hit in their first three innings, the Slammers (30-24) used three singles in the first five pitches of the fourth to tie the score at two.
The Freedom took the lead in the sixth. Newell led off the inning with a walk and stole second before coming home on the RBI double by Andrew Godbold. Henderson followed with a one-out double to plate Godbold. After a sacrifice bunt from Vail, Henderson scored on a two-out base hit from Travis Weaver.
The Slammers battled back to another tie in the bottom of the inning with four hits, including a solo shot from Carter Bell.
In the seventh, the Slammers loaded the bases with nobody out against Jeremy Hutchison, so the Freedom called upon Levitt to escape the jam. Levitt needed only two pitches to record three outs, forcing a double play and a lineout, but one run did come in to score on the double play.
Trailing 6-5, Florence outscored the Slammers 6-0 in the final two innings to take the victory.
Adkins finished his outing with six innings of five-run ball in a no decision. Pete Levitt earned the win and held Joliet’s momentum in check by only allowing one run after inheriting a bases-loaded, no-out jam.
Oldham drove in a team-high four runs, including the bases-clearing double that gave Florence the lead for good in the eighth. Andre Mercurio had three hits, while Newell, Henderson, and Weaver also posted multi-hit games.
Brent Choban took the loss for Joliet, while Bell and Jake Gronsky both totaled a pair of hits.
The Freedom stay in the Chicagoland area to face the Windy City Thunderbolts in a three-game set. In a 10:35 a.m. start Monday, Cody Gray (2-1, 5.66 ERA) will be on the hill against RHP Tyler Murphy (2-2, 3.40 ERA).
In Saturday’s game, the Florence Freedom fell to Joliet 5-4 in a 10-inning contest.
After the Slammers (30-23) tied the score in the ninth inning with a pair of runs, Joliet scored a run in the tenth without a hit to steal the victory.
In the tenth, a leadoff walk put Carter Bell on first with nobody out against Zach Wendorf. The next batter laid down a bunt right in front of the plate and Isaac Wenrich tried to take out the lead runner, but his throw skipped into centerfield. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Wendorf intentionally walked Sikes Orvis to load the bases.
After allowing a home run in the first inning, Jeremy Gooding settled down. He finished his outing with 6 2/3 innings of two-run baseball (Freedom Photo)
Melvin Rodriguez then delivered the walk-off sacrifice fly, sending Joliet to the victory.
After allowing a home run in the first inning, Jeremy Gooding settled down. He finished his outing with 6 2/3 innings of two-run baseball. He had assists from many teammates during the outing, including a couple of outstanding defensive plays. In the fifth, Henderson ended the inning with a full-extension dive toward the left-field line. Then, with two men on and two away in the sixth, Oldham robbed Sikes Orvis of a base hit by laying out to his right.
Offensively, the Freedom posted a three-spot in the third to take the lead. Travis Weaver was hit by a pitch and scored on a Garrett Vail double. Mason Salazar followed with a single in his first at bat of the season and Daniel Fraga loaded the bases with a walk. The Freedom took the lead on back-to-back sacrifice flies from Taylor Oldham and Austin Newell.
The Slammers rallied in the seventh and threatened to take the lead, but Gooding and Pete Levitt were able to keep the Freedom out in front. With the score now 3-2 and the tying run on third, Weaver fielded a ground ball and fired to third, catching an over-aggressive Phil Bates too far off the bag. Later in the inning, a Marc Flores single put runners on first and third. Levitt came into the game and forced a groundout from Carter Bell, the Frontier League leader in doubles and RBIs, to end the threat.
TJ Bozeman struck out the side in the eighth and Henderson extended the lead with his first long ball of the year in the top of the ninth.
With a 4-2 lead, the Freedom called up on Ethan Gibbons, but a pair of triples and a sacrifice fly plated two runs and sent the game into extras. Joliet took the game on Rodriguez’s sacrifice fly in the tenth.
From Freedom Communications