Starter Zach Wendorf battled command issues in his 2017 debut as the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, came up short of a series sweep in a 9-4 loss to the Washington Wild Thingson Sundayat UC Health Stadium.

The Wild Things (14-13) got the scoring started in the second inning against Wendorf (0-1) when a ground-rule double by John Fidanza plated Mike Hill, who had walked. Hill later put Washington ahead 2-0in the third inning when his single off Wendorf scratched across an unearned run, as Alexander Fernandez benefited from an error by Freedom (18-9) third baseman Conner Tekyl.

The game proved became a back-and-forth affair early, as Florence tied the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the third on a two-run bloop single to left field by Collins Cuthrell off Wild Things starter Chase Cunningham (3-0). The Freedom would take their only lead of the game two batters later, when Tekyl legged out an infield single, scoring Jose Brizuela from third with two out.

Alexander Fernandez delivered the decisive blow in the fourth inning, however, taking Wendorf deep for a three-run homer that gave Washington a 5-3 lead. Following Wendorfs departure after three and two-thirds innings, a total of seven relievers would pitch the rest of the way for Florence, with Eli Garcia yielding an additional three runs in the seventh inning and Kyle Doerr allowing one final Wild Things run in the eighth.

Cunningham earned the win, tossing six innings and holding the Freedom to three runs on five hits. Relievers Davis Adkins and Zach Strecker pitched two and one inning, respectively, with the latter allowing a Cuthrell RBI-single in the ninth.

The Freedom will travel to Crestwood, Ill. on Tuesday to open a three-game series against the Windy City ThunderBolts. Tony Vocca (3-2) will pitch for Florence against Windy Citys Kyle Von Ruden (1-2), with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central Time at Standard Bank 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.Freedom

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Freedom fall 9-4 in series finale Sunday; take two of three from Wild Things before heading on the road - User-generated content (press release)...