A game that began as a tight duel evolved into a lopsided battle as the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, defeated the Southern Illinois Miners for the second straight night, 8-1.
After the Freedom (13-4) pulled in front early on a bases-loaded walk to Collins Cuthrell in the top of the first, the Miners (5-12) answered with a run of their own in the bottom half, tying the score on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Billy Germaine.
Florence starter Tony Vocca (3-1) and Southern Illinois pitcher Jared Messer (0-2) both labored through the first inning, but Vocca would go on to toss six quality innings, while Messer would not finish the third frame.
The Freedom took the lead permanently in the second inning. Austin Wobrock laid down a bunt single and reached third on a double by Connor Teykl in the latter’s first at-bat with the team. Daniel Fraga plated the go-ahead run on a groundout to first, and Teykl scored on a fielding error by Miners shortstop Joel McKeithan.
Florence would score five more runs on the evening as six total pitchers appeared in the game for Southern Illinois. Jose Brizuela went 3-for-6 with two runs batted in, while Andre Mercurio also collected three hits. Andrew Godbold led the team with three RBI, including a run-scoring triple in the seventh inning that extended his hitting streak to seven games.
Rookie left-hander Matt Terrones pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his professional debut, escaping a bases-loaded jam, and Kyle Doerr and Patrick McGrath also contributed one scoreless inning each to complete the win and set up the chance for a Freedom series sweep Thursday.
Right-hander Logan Longwith will start for the Freedom in Thursday’s series finale at Rent One Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central Time.
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
Again, thanks for the updates. You seem to be the only media that gives us any Freedom news.