A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Freedom take second straight from CornBelters to maintain 5.5-game lead in Frontier League West


Led by Garrett Vail’s second two-homer game of the season and a clutch hit by Daniel Fraga, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, defeated the Normal CornBelters by a final score of 8-4 on Wednesday night at the Corn Crib to claim the series victory.

Vail’s first home run of the evening for the Freedom (24-11) came in the second inning off CornBelters (17-18) starter Charlie Gillies (2-3), as the two-run shot reached the top of the grass berm in left field.

Normal took advantage of a throwing error by Austin Wobrock to cut Florence’s lead to one run in the third, then took the lead in the fourth. Aaron Dudley hit a ground-rule double off Cody Gray (6-1) and advanced to third on a Jesus Solarzano single. Justin Fletcher followed with a fly ball to right field, allowing Dudley to tag up from third and slide in under Vail’s tag at the plate to tie the game. Diego Cedeno singled Solarzano to second, and Craig Lepre gave the CornBelters a 3-2 lead with a ground ball single up the middle.

Bu the Freedom immediately fought back in the fifth, as Jose Brizuela and Andre Mercurio hit back-to-back singles and pulled off a double steal. Cuthrell followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, plating the tying run, and Jordan Brower then singled up the middle to put Florence back in the lead, 4-3. Matthew Hasenbeck entered in relief for Normal, and after an eight-pitch battle, surrendered Vail’s second two-run homer of the game, a line-drive shot over the left field wall that extended the Freedom’s lead to 8-3.

Gray earned his league-leading sixth win, logging seven innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits. Keivan Berges made his professional debut by striking out two batters in a scoreless eighth inning, and Enrique Zamora erased a one-out single in the ninth with a game-ending double play.

Fraga’s two-run single in the fifth extended his hitting streak to nine games, and Mercurio led Florence with three hits in the game while Wobrock also contributed two hits.

The Freedom will play for the series sweep in the final game of the series Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at the Corn Crib. Jordan Kraus (5-2) will start for the Freedom against Normal’s Scott Sebald (3-1).

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


Related Posts

Leave a Comment