The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, has announced starting left fielder and lead-off hitter, Isaac Benard, will take a ten day leave to play for Nicaragua in the upcoming Pan-Am Games in Lima, Peru.
Benard, 23, was born in West Richland, Washington, but derives from a Nicaraguan heritage.
The everyday Freedom left-fielder has hit in the lead-off spot in all 61 games this season, and is the club leader in multi-hit games with nineteen.
In addition to the fourth year pro’s ability to reach base as a table setter for the middle of the order, Benard also ranks second on the squad in homers (5), and his 31 runs batted in are good for the fourth most in Florence.
“Isaac is getting a phenomenal opportunity to compete in an international tournament, along with the honor he gets to represent the Frontier League and the Florence Freedom.” Freedom manager, Dennis Pelfrey said. “We will miss his presence this week, but wish him luck and a safe trip back.”
Prior to joining the Freedom, Benard registered an All-Star season as a member of the Traverse City Beach Bums in 2018, the outfielder finishing the campaign with a pro-best .284 batting average to go along with 7 home runs and 38 runs batted in.
After starring for two seasons at Mount Hood Junior College in Gresham, OR in 2015 and 2016, Benard had his name called by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 23rd round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft. Benard played two seasons in the Rays organization, ascending as high as A- Hudson Valley Renegades in 2017.
The baseball competition of the 2019 Pan American Games will be held at the baseball stadium in the Villa María del Triunfo cluster in Lima, Peru beginning July 29th through August 4th.
A total of 192 athletes will take part in the games, representing eight different nations.
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