Freedom overcome early deficit to beat Otters in road opener in key Frontier League series – User-generated content (press release) (registration)

Overcoming an early two-run deficit, the Florence Freedom, presented by Titan Mechanical Solutions, hung on to win the opening game of a key series over the Evansville Otters, 7-5, on Tuesday night at Bosse Field.

Taking a 2-0 first-inning lead on four consecutive hits, including RBI-singles by Andre Mercurio and Collins Cuthrell, the Freedom (46-28) let the lead slip away the next two innings. John Schultz hit a solo home run in the second off Steve Hagen (6-4), and in the third, the Otters (40-32) tied the score on a Josh Allen RBI-single and jumped on top, 4-2, as Dane Phillips immediately followed with a two-run double to right-center.

But in the top of the fourth, Florence pestered Evansville starter Hunter Ackerman (7-5) for four runs. After Daniel Fraga and Taylor Oldham drew one-out walks, Andrew Godbold singled to left field, scoring Fraga. Mercurio then beat out an infield single, and a late and errant throw on the play by shortstop Chris Riopedre allowed Oldham to score the tying run. Cuthrell followed with go-ahead RBI-single to right field, plating Godbold and moving Mercurio to third.

The next batter, Jordan Brower hit a groundball to first base, where Luke Lowery stepped on first to erase Brower before throwing wildly past second in an attempt to retire Cuthrell, enabling Mercurio to score for a 6-4 Freedom lead.

Keivan Berges added to Florences advantage by opening the seventh with a towering home run to left field, the first of his professional career, before the Otters cut the Freedom lead back to two runs on a Jeff Gardner RBI-double off Mike Anthony in the bottom half.

Jamal Wilson and Patrick McGrath bridged the gap to closer Pete Perez, who ran into trouble in the ninth, allowing a one-out single and a two-out hit-by-pitch. A wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third, but Perez induced a flyout to deep left field from Schultz to end the game, stranding the tying run.

Cuthrell led the Freedom with three hits and two RBI in the game, while Brower extended his hitting streak to a season-high 11 games by beating out an infield single in the ninth inning. The win extended the Freedoms lead over second-place Evansville to five games.

The series continues Wednesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Bosse Field. Cody Gray (7-3) will start for the Freedom against a yet-to-be-determined starter for the Otters.

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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Freedom overcome early deficit to beat Otters in road opener in key Frontier League series - User-generated content (press release) (registration)