The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, managed just five hits against a difficult Schaumburg Boomers pitching staff Thursday night at UC Health Stadium and were swept for the first time this season with a 6-1 defeat in the series finale.
Starter Cody Gray (4-1) surrendered four runs on eight hits over five and one-third innings in receiving his first loss of the season. A two-run homer by Seth Spivey put Schaumburg (17-7) on the board first, prior to adding a sacrifice fly by James Keller in the second.
Five Freedom (16-8) relievers saw action in the game, as the Boomers rallied for a total of six runs on 16 hits, the highest hit total by a Florence opponent this season.
Kagen Hopkins (3-1) received the win, limiting the Freedom to one run on a Jose Brizuela sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning. The right-hander struck out seven batters and gave up just four hits. Garrett Kelley and Rob McDonnell pitched a combined three and one-third innings of scoreless relief to complete the series sweep.
A defensive highlight for Florence came in the top of the sixth inning, when Brizuela successfully completed the “hidden-ball trick”, tagging David Harris out near third base after the latter had advanced to third on a RBI-single by Jack Parenty.
The Freedom will close the nine-game homestand with a three-game series against the Washington Wild Things, beginning Friday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at UC Health Stadium.
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.