Squaring off in a true day/night doubleheader, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, grabbed their second win in a row, 6-5, before falling to the Windy City Thunderbolts, 3-1, in the night-cap.
Thursday’s action also resulted in a series split of the four game set at Ozinga Field.
Windy City (28-35) took an early lead off Freedom (40-25) lefty, Scott Sebald (5-1) in game one, getting a two-out, two-run shot from Chase Cockrell after a Brynn Martinez single in the first, giving the Bolts a, 2-0, lead after one.
Andre Mercurio helped make it a one-run game in the fourth, unloading on his third round-tripper of the year, a solo-shot to right off Tyler Thornton (4-2) to make the score, 2-1.
The Thunderbolts took their largest lead of the game in the bottom of the frame, using a two-run homer from Tyler Alamo to jump ahead, 4-1, moving into the fifth.
Pulling within two in the fifth, Freedom RBI-leader Connor Crane, plated his 44th run of the season via a single, scoring Luis Pintor, who led-off the inning with a hit-by-pitch as the score became, 4-2.
A four-spot off Thornton in the sixth gave Florence its first lead at, 6-4.
Austin Wobrock started the surge with a hustle double that bounced off second base before landing in shallow right-center.
Caleb Lopes quickly made it count, connecting on an RBI-single that scored Wobrock and made it a one-run affair. After Mercurio reached on a fielder’s choice, Ricky Ramirez Jr. laced a triple to right-center, scratching Mercurio to tie the game at four.
Luis Pintor pushed the Freedom ahead, lacing a double to the gap plating Ramirez, before later scoring on a wild pitch to give the visitors a two-run edge.
Thornton exited in the middle of the frame, but was charged with all six runs on his way to loss number two of the season. Both losses for Thornton, a 2019 All-Star have come at the hands of the Freedom.
Sebald exited after six frames, allowing four-runs five scattered hits, three walks and eight whiffs in victory.
The Bolts got one back in their side of the seventh, touching relief pitcher, Zak Spivy for a run via a sacrifice-fly from Martinez, bringing the score to 6-5, the eventual final.
Game two went the way of Windy City, as the home team plated a pair en route to a, 2-0, lead in the bottom of the fourth.
Making his Freedom debut on the same day he signed, southpaw, George Faue (0-1) surrendered the two runs via an Alamo sacrifice-fly, and an ensuing RBI-single by Taisei Fukuhara.
Cockrell went yard in the sixth, the penultimate frame tossed by Faue in what became a quality-start defeat.
Luis Pintor sailed his third homer of the year over the wall in left-center in the Freedom side of the seventh, the long-ball chasing starter, Hayden Shenefield (1-0) from the game.
In his first start of the year, Shenefield tossed six one-run innings surrendering five hits and one walk while adding four strikeouts.
The Freedom will travel through the night to Marion, Ill for a three-game set with the Southern Illinois Miners at Rent One Park beginning on Friday. Starters for both sides are to-be-determined, with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m.
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.
Florence Freedom