The Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, swept a doubleheader from the Evansville Otters by scores of 6-2 and 12-1 on Wednesday at UC Health Stadium.
The first game began with Freedom (53-28) right-hander Cody Gray (9-3) and Otters (42-37) starter Trent Lunsford (0-1) matching zeroes for the first two innings until Florence loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Andrew Godbold plated two runs with a groundball single to right field.
Keivan Berges enjoyed a four-RBI game, hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning and delivering a bases-clearing, three-run double off reliever Andrew Utterback in the fifth.
Gray allowed just two runs (one earned) on a Josh Allen RBI-single and a Brandon Soat solo homer over six innings, and Jamal Wilson pitched a perfect seventh inning.
In the second game, the Freedom quickly erased a 1-0 deficit, the result of a Dane Phillips RBI-double, by scoring three times in their first at-bat. After Taylor Oldham and Berges both singled off Otters starter Brandon Cook (0-1), Collins Cuthrell plated Oldham with a double to left, tying the score. Jordan Brower then followed with a two-run single to score Berges and Cuthrell, pushing Florence in front, 3-1 and knocking Cook out of the game after just one inning.
Evansville reliever Jason Broussard took over for the second and would allow a total of five runs over two and two-thirds innings, including a solo home run to Berges and a run-scoring double and a RBI-single to Ryan Rinsky.
Florence pushed their lead to nine in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a RBI-single by Berges and a wild pitch by Otters relief pitcher Connor Little that allowed Godbold to scamper home. In the sixth, with Evansville’s Kyano Cummings pitching, Rinsky roped a single to right, giving the rookie catcher his first three-hit game of his professional career. Ozzy Braff next pinch-hit for Austin Wobrock and drove a two-run homer to left field.
Braulio Torres-Perez (5-1) tossed six innings of one-run ball, scattering just four hits and striking out five. Freedom reliever Jack Fowler struck out two in a scoreless seventh frame.
The two wins stretched the Freedom’s winning streak to a season-best nine games, and shrunk the team’s magic number to six.
Florence will look for their tenth consecutive win and third straight series sweep on Thursday when they send Sam Brunner (0-0) to the mound opposite Evansville’s Ryan Etsell (1-0) with first pitch 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
