Marred by a benches-clearing brawl in the fifth inning, Saturday’s game saw the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, rally from a two-run deficit to win its third straight game, 6-4, at Wild Things Park.
Trailing 4-2, the Freedom (11-3) got a leadoff single from Jordan Brower in the top of the sixth inning off Joe Ravert (1-1). Ryan Rinsky then singled for the first hit of his professional career, and after a groundout and a strikeout, a walk to Daniel Fraga loaded the bases.
Davis Adkins took over on the mound and walked Andrew Godbold to force home a run, and Jose Brizuela followed by lining a two-run single to center, scoring the tying and go-ahead runs.
The rally followed an eventful bottom of the fifth, in which Marty Anderson (2-0) allowed a Kyle Reese single before hitting Mike Hill in the hand with a pitch. Hill and Freedom catcher Garrett Vail exchanged words until the conflict turned physical, clearing both teams’ benches.
Hill and Vail were both ejected, and after a groundout advanced Reese and pinch-runner Trevin Sonnier to second and third, Kane Sweeney lined a two-run single to right field for a 4-2 Wild Things (8-6) advantage.
The game opened with the two teams trading zeroes for the first three innings prior to exchanging two-run blows in each half of the fourth. Florence scored first off starter Hunter Williams, as Brizuela came home from third on a passed ball with the bases loaded, and Ozzy Braff hit a RBI-single. Washington promptly tied the score in the home half, however, on RBI-singles by Hector Roa and Alexander Fernandez.
Braff, Brizuela and Brower led Florence with two hits each. Collins Cuthrell tripled in the ninth and scored on a Brower single in the top of the ninth for an additional insurance run.
Pete Levitt and Evan Bickett combined for two and one-third scoreless innings in relief, bridging the gap to Matt Pobereyko, who struck out the final batter of the eighth and all three batters in the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
The Freedom will play for the series sweep Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m. at Wild Things Park. Washington will send Aaron Burns to the mound against a yet-to-be-determined Florence starter.
Group tickets and season ticket plans are currently on sale for the 2017 campaign. Fans can guarantee seating for premium promotional dates by calling the Freedom at 859-594-4487.
