A Wednesday night doubleheader with the River City Rascals ended in a split, as the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, dropped the opener 10-5 before righting the ship with an 8-4 victory in the nightcap at UC Health Stadium.
In the first game, Cody Gray (9-4) surrendered five runs on five hits in the first inning, including a three-run homer by Mike Jurgella, giving the Rascals (46-41) a permanent lead. River City would score three more runs in the second and one in the third against Gray, who was pulled after just three innings.
The Freedom (55-32) began to rally back in the bottom of the second, as Keivan Berges and Garrett Vail each plated a run on a single and a fielder’s choice grounder, respectively. Daniel Fraga doubled in the third and later scored on a wild pitch, and Vail hit a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the fourth, bringing Florence within three runs, 8-5. But River City managed two more runs against Berges in the seventh, and the Freedom failed to score beyond the fourth inning.
Matt Chavarria (4-4) received the win, pitching two innings of scoreless relief.
In the nightcap, Florence jumped in front in their first at-bat, thanks to four consecutive singles in the bottom of the first. Andrew Godbold plated the game’s first run when he singled home Daniel Fraga, but with the bases loaded, Collins Cuthrell walked and Jordan Brower delivered a two-run single that pushed the Freedom in front by four. Austin Wobrock then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Cuthrell, as Florence took a 5-0 lead into the second.
Adding to their lead in the second, Godbold drove in his second run of the game with a line-drive double off the wall in right, plating Taylor Oldham, who had singled. The Freedom took an 8-0 lead when Wobrock recorded his second RBI of the game with a single that scored Brower in the home half of the third.
Taking a perfect game through four innings, Tony Vocca (9-5) allowed a two-out single to Josh Silver in the top of the fifth on a well-struck single to left field. The Rascals then ended the shutout in the top of the sixth, as Braxton Martinez hit a solo home run just over the left-field wall, pulling the Rascals within seven, 8-1.
River City would add three more runs in their final at-bat in the seventh. With Vocca one out away from locking down a complete game, back-to-back singles by Jason Merjano and Silver paved the way for a towering three-run blast off the bat of Paul Kronenfeld, trimming the Freedom lead to four. Martinez followed with a double, but Vocca induced a Clint Freeman into a game-ending popout, stifling the Rascals’ seventh-inning surge.
Reese Gregory (9-5) took the loss, lasting only two innings while surrendering six runs on seven hits.
The Freedom look to take the series in Thursday’s rubber match at UC Health Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with Jordan Kraus (9-4) taking the ball opposite River City starter Dan Ludwig (5-3).
The game two win, along with a Windy City loss to Joliet, shrunk the Freedom’s magic number to clinch a playoff berth to one. The magic number for clinching the West Division stands at three.
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.