On a rainy night in Northern Kentucky, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, waited out an hour and a half rain delay to beat the River City Rascals, 3-1, in the rubber-match of their mid-week series at UC Health Stadium.
The Freedom (4-2) started the scoring in the bottom of the fourth, after Caleb Lopes led off with a single to right field and advanced to second on a Taylor Bryant ground-out to first. Austin Wobrock made it count, smashing a ground-rule double to right that drove in Lopes and put Florence ahead, 1-0.
The lead would be short-lived, as River City (4-3) responded to tie the game in the top of the fifth. Cody Livesay started the rally by recording a single and stealing second base before scoring on a Trevor Achenbach double.
After Tyler Gibson (2-0) worked a clean top of the sixth, consistent and heavy rains at UC Health Stadium forced the game to be delayed for 90 minutes. Gibson would not return to the rubber, ending his night having secured his second quality start to begin 2019. The right-hander tossed six one-run innings, scattering six hits with one walk and striking out five on his way to the win.
When play resumed in the bottom of the sixth with the score at, 1-1, Anthony Baleto (0-1) recorded two quick outs before walking Wobrock to set-up the play of the game. On the very next pitch, Jackson Pritchard launched a two-run shot to the power alley in left-center field, his first home run of the year putting the Freedom ahead by the eventual, 3-1, final score.
The Rascals hitters fell silent after the delay, as Brian McKenna, Ryan Mordecai and Johnathon Tripp all spun clean innings and racked up 4 strikeouts. Tripp took the rubber in the ninth, converting his second save of the season in the Freedom series clinching victory.
The Freedom will return to the diamond on Friday at historic Bosse Field in Evansville where they will collide with Otters in a best-of-three over the weekend. River City will return home to CarShield, welcoming the Gateway Grizzlies for a weekend series in O’Fallon, Missouri.
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
