Braulio Torres-Perez turned in a quality start as the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, evened the series with the Windy City ThunderBolts with a 3-2 win Wednesday at UC Health Stadium.
In the home half of the first inning, Jose Brizuela put Florence (38-23) on the board first with a two-run double off ThunderBolts (34-27) starter Jake Fisher (6-5) that scored Daniel Fraga and Taylor Oldham, who had both singled.
Coco Johnson pulled Windy City within one in the top of the third, however, with a solo blast off Torres-Perez (2-0) to left field, his fifth of the year. Johnson finished the day 4-for-4 and a triple short of the cycle.
With Florence in front 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Keivan Berges drove in Andre Mercurio with a line drive single to left, pushing the Freedom back in front by a pair.
Windy City would scratch across another run in the top of the fifth on Tim Zier’s second of three hits, a double that scored Riley Krane.
Torres-Perez escaped multiple early jams en route to a stingy final line of six and one-third innings, allowing two runs on nine hits with six strikeouts. Mike Anthony and Jamal Wilson each contributed spotless relief appearances over the next inning and two thirds before Pete Perez shut the door with his fourth save of the season.
Berges and Mercurio each recorded outfield assists in the game, throwing out Johnson and Ransom LaLonde at the plate in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, preserving the Freedom’s one-run lead.
The Freedom will play for the series win in the rubber game Thursday. Right-hander Cody Gray (7-2) will pitch for Florence against Windy City right-hander Clay Chapman (3-4). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at UC Health Stadium.
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
