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Otters stop Freedom season-best win streak at nine on rain soaked night at UC Health Stadium


On a rainy Thursday night at UC Health Stadium, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, saw their season-best nine-game winning streak come to an end with an 8-2 loss to the Evansville Otters.

For the second night in a row, the Freedom (53-29) plated a first-inning run, as Taylor Oldham raced out an infield single and advanced to third on an Andrew Godbold double, then scored on a groundout by Keivan Berges.

The Otters took the lead in the top of the third, however. After Freedom spot starter Sam Brunner (0-1) retired the first two men he faced, Jeff Gardner started a two-out rally with a double to right-center. Back-to-back walks to John Schultz and Alejandro Segovia loaded the bases for Brandon Soat, who then put Evansville on top by lacing a two-run single to right field. Nick Walker followed with a RBI-single for a 3-1 Otters advantage.

Chris Riopedre led off for Evansville in the top of the fourth, but two pitches into his at-bat, home plate umpire Guss Curtis pulled both teams off the field as heavy rains fell. The rain delay lasted an hour and twenty-eight minutes, with Enrique Zamora spelling Brunner on the mound when play resumed.

In their first at-bat following the delay, the Otters plated three runs with two outs. Jeff Gardner struck an RBI-single to left center and John Schultz doubled in a pair, extending Evansville’s lead to 6-1.

The Freedom answered with one run in the bottom of the fourth on a Jordan Brower RBI-single, but would not score again, as Kyano Cummings (3-2) and Connor Little would combine for five and one-third innings of scoreless relief the rest of the way.

Evansville plated two more runs in the seventh off Mike Anthony to cap their scoring for the evening. Riopedre led the Otters with four hits, while Schultz and Soat drove in two runs each.

The Freedom travel to Marion, Illinois on Friday to begin a three-game series against the Southern Illinois Miners. Tony Vocca (7-5) will pitch for Florence against Miners left-hander Chris Washington (3-3), with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Rent One Park.

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


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