Despite a promising start, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, fell in the middle game of the series to the Schaumburg Boomers by a score of 7-3 Wednesday afternoon at Boomers Stadium.
Following a Daniel Fraga single, Taylor Oldham drove a 3-1 pitch from Conrad Wozniak (1-1) over the left-field wall for a two-run home run and a 2-0 first-inning lead for the Freedom (35-21).
The rest of the way, however, Florence would manage just one run, coming in the fifth inning as Jose Brizuela tripled into the right-field corner and scored on a groundout by Andre Mercurio. Mercurio collected two hits in the game to lead the Freedom, extending his hitting streak to seven straight games.
Freedom starter Jonny Reid (0-1) held Schaumburg (37-18) scoreless in the first inning before giving up RBI-singles to James Keller and Tanner Rahier in the second, tying the score at 2-2 after a throwing error by Brizuela allowed the Boomers to start the push.
Reid was touched for a total of four runs (three earned) over three-plus innings of work in his team debut. The left-hander allowed a leadoff double to Zack Weigel in the third, and after taking third on a David Harris single, Weigel scored on a safety squeeze bunt to take a lead that the Boomers would not relinquish.
Mercurio’s fifth-inning RBI-groundout brought the Freedom within one run, 4-3, but Schaumburg added three runs in the late innings against a total of four Florence relievers.
Keller led the Boomers by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in the game, while Kyle Ruchim, Weigel and Harris came up with two hits each.
The Freedom will play for the series victory in Thursday’s rubber game. Left-hander Braulio Torres-Perez will start for Florence against a yet-to-be-determined Schaumburg starter, and first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Boomers 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
