By David Kubota
NKyTribune reporter
The Florence Freedom defeated the Gateway Grizzlies 5-2 to become the frontrunner in the West Division on Saturday.
Gateway drew first blood in the top of the first inning, plating one on Freedom starter, Steve Hagen. After Cody Livesay doubled, Trae Santos hit an in-between hopper, allowing Livesay to score and give the Grizzlies an early 1-0 lead.
The Freedom rallied, thanks to a single from Jose Brizuela that set up a Connor Crane towering two-run homer off Grizzlies’ Max MacNabb. With Florence now in front, 2-1, Hagen began a string of perfect-pitch innings and would finish the night having tossed his second gem in as many starts. Hagen’s finale included seven one-run innings of two-hit baseball with a pair of walks and eight strikeouts.
Florence would increase its lead to two in the bottom of the second. Once Jordan Brower singled and stole second base, Ryan Rinsky delivered an RBI-single to right-center that pushed the Freedom in front, 3-1.
After three quiet innings at the plate, Florence would force MacNaab from the game in the home half of the sixth. Andre Mercurio started the inning by taking a curveball for a lead-off hit by pitch. When a fielder’s choice moved Mercurio to second, he promptly stole third, paving the way to a Cutter McDowell RBI-single that lined off MacNabb’s leg and rolled into right field. McDowell would be the last hitter MacNabb would face, exiting the ballgame after five innings with the Grizzlies down, 4-1. MacNabb surrendered six hits in addition to the four earned runs and struck out three while walking one.
With Colton Freeman on the mound in the bottom of the eighth, Florence would pad their lead for the last time. Keivan Berges followed a Mercurio walk with a sharp single to center before both men successfully executed a double steal. With first base open, the Grizzlies elected to walk McDowell and set up a force out at every base. Ryan Rinsky forced a bases-loaded walk, plating Mercurio for his second RBI of the night and giving the Freedom a, 5-1 advantage.
With reliever Johnathon Tripp on to close it out in the ninth, the Grizzlies used a Terry McClure double to claw their way to one more run. After the double, McClure took third on a wild pitch and eventually scored. Tripp would restore order, picking up a couple of strikeouts on the way to sealing the 5-2 victory.
With Friday night’s game canceled due to rain, the Florence Freedom and the Gateway Grizzlies will finish their series with a doubleheader on Sunday at UC Health Stadium.
