The Florence Y’alls came into the current series hoping to dig their way out of the bottom of the Frontier League West Division standings.
The Y’alls (20-32 overall) split the first two of the four-game series against the team just ahead of them in the standings, the Windy City Thunderbolts (21-30) from the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois. Florence is 5-2 against the ThunderBolts this season.
Florence knocked off Windy City, 11-9 on Tuesday in an offensive shoot-out. The Y’alls batted an impressive 16 for 40 to and hit eight extra-base hits.
“We got back to playing loose,” said Brian White, Florence manager. “We’re dangerous whenever we do those things. Moving forward, we need to have that mindset of one day at a time. It’s not going to be easy. If it doesn’t work out, then we have (the next game).”
The top of the Florence line-up led the way. Center fielder Ray Zuberer went 3 for 5 with two doubles, two runs batted in and two runs scored. Shortstop Alberti Chavez went 3 for 5 with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored.
Seven different Y’alls had at least two hits. Designated hitter Anthony Brocato had a double, home run, three RBI and scored once. Second baseman Ethan Stern had a home run, RBI and scored twice. Right fielder Rodney Tennie also had a double.
Billy Damon (1-2) started and picked up the win for Florence pitching five innings. He struck out two, walked one and allowed three earned runs. Joe Dougherty recorded the last out of the game to record his sixth save of the season.
“Our defense has made big plays all year,” Damon said. “I would take this defense over any defense in this league. We have the guys. We have the depth. The guys coming in are making big plays. We had a key double play.”
Tied 1-1 in the top of the second, Zuberer singled in Stern to give Florence the lead for good at 2-1. The Y’alls led 11-3 going into the bottom of the fifth. Windy City scored three in the bottom of the eighth and two in the bottom of the ninth to make things interesting.
Windy City came back to win 8-4 Wednesday with three home runs. The ThunderBolts scored four times in the bottom of the fourth and never looked back. First baseman Daryl Myers hit two blasts for the ThunderBolts.
Florence’s Stern led the team going 3 for 5 with a triple and Zuberer went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored.
“We definitely left some guys in scoring position,” White said. “That’s part of baseball. It’s going to happen. We had guys come in and fill in their roles. We just never got the big hit.”
Jeremy Ovalle (0-2) started and took the loss for the Y’alls. He struck out three, walked three and allowed six earned runs.
Florence cut the lead to 6-4 in the top of the sixth. First baseman Brennan Price hit a sacrifice fly to score catcher Justin Gomez to make that score but Windy City scored once in the bottom of the seventh and another in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score.
The series concludes Thursday with a doubleheader. The games start at 11:05 a.m. and 8:05 p.m. eastern.
All-Star Selections:
Three Y’alls will play in the All-Star Game on July 20 at Washington, Pennsylvania. They are Price, Anthony Brocato and Chavez. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
