Jordan Kraus dominated for seven innings, and the bats slugged the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, to a 7-2 win over the Southern Illinois Miners at Rent One Park on Tuesday.
In his fourth straight outing of seven innings, Kraus (3-1) held the Miners (5-11) scoreless during his time on the mound, striking out five and scattering five hits.
Jose Brizuela capped a five-run Freedom (12-4) rally in the sixth inning with his first home run of the season, a towering two-run shot off reliever Brandon White that cleared the bullpens in right field. Austin Wobrock collected a pair of RBI-singles, and Jordan Brower went 2-for-2 with a second-inning sacrifice fly that plated the game’s first run. Andrew Godbold added an eighth-inning single that extended his hitting streak to six games.
Over five innings of work, Miners starter Corey Sessions (0-3) struggled with command, walking six batters and allowing four hits en route to allowing four runs.
Southern Illinois managed one run against Jalen Miller in the eighth inning on a RBI-single by Justin Chigbogu, and one off Evan Bickett in the ninth via a Brandon Cuddy RBI-double.
The series continues Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Rent One Park. Tony Vocca (2-1) is scheduled to pitch against the Miners’ Jared Messer (0-1).
The Florence Freedom are members of the independent Frontier League and play all home games at UC Health Stadium located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, KY. The Freedom can be found online at FlorenceFreedom.com, or by phone at 859-594-4487.