Freedom begin season with two wins in a row, look to sweep Grizzlies on Mother’s day – User-generated content (press release) (registration)

Another first-inning lead proved advantageous Saturday night as the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, rode a strong pitching performance to a 3-1 win over the Gateway Grizzlies at GCS Ballpark.

Tony Vocca (1-0) turned in the second straight quality start for the Freedom (2-0), striking out six batters while allowing only two hits through his six innings on the mound.

I attacked them with fastballs, working both sides of the plate, Vocca said. (Catcher Garrett) Vail and I were on the same page throughout, and it makes it even easier when the defense is solid like ours has been.

Logan Longwith provided two innings of scoreless relief in his Frontier League debut, and Matt Pobereyko struck out the side in order in the ninth to record the save, positioning the Freedom for a chance at a series sweep in Sundays finale.

Andre Mercurios first-inning RBI-single put Florence on top early for the second straight night, and after the Grizzlies (0-2) tied the score on a sacrifice fly in the third, Mercurio delivered a second RBI-single in the fifth to give the Freedom a permanent lead.

Jordan Brower homered to right-center in the top of the sixth, ending the night for Gateway starter Will Anderson (0-1). The righty struck out five, but allowed ten Florence hits prior to yielding to the bullpen, which held the Freedom scoreless over the final three innings.

In the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, the Grizzlies put one runner aboard to bring the tying run to the plate, but failed to score in each instance.

The Freedom will play for the series sweep Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at GCS Ballpark. Right-hander Cody Gray will start for Florence against Grizzlies left-hander Dylan Craig.

The Freedom home opener of the regular season is on Wednesday, May 17. Group tickets and season ticket plans are currently on sale for the 2017 campaign. Fans can guarantee seating for premium promotional dates by calling the Freedom at 859-594-4487.

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Freedom begin season with two wins in a row, look to sweep Grizzlies on Mother's day - User-generated content (press release) (registration)