Unlike last year when only the division winners made it to the playoffs, the top three teams in the East and West Divisions make the Frontier League playoffs in September.
The Florence Y’alls entered the season expecting to contend for one of those spots in the West Division. They are not where they want to be at 15-19 overall and tied with the Schaumburg (Illinois) Boomers for sixth in the West Division.
But the Y’alls did take some steps forward winning two of three against the West Division second-place Evansville Otters (22-13) at Thomas More Stadium. Florence entered the series in last place in the division. Florence stood 7-17 overall before winning eight of its last 10 games.
“It’s really good for the team to come together, play well and really make a statement because we didn’t start off well,” said Eric Minshall, Florence pitching coach. “But we’re on the map. People know we’re here. They see the standings. They see that we’re playing really well and we’re here to take care of business in our division.”
The Y’alls put themselves in position to try to record their first three-game sweep of the season with a 15-6 win Wednesday.
First baseman Brennan Price had the big blow in the bottom of the fifth for Florence with a grand slam home run for his team-high ninth of the year. He finished 2 for 3 with four runs batted in and scored twice.
Six different Y’alls had multi-hit games. Right fielder/pitcher Harrison DiNicola went 3 for 3 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored. Shortstop Alberti Chavez went 4 for 5 with two RBI and three runs scored. Second baseman Ethan Stern went 3 for 5 with three RBI.
Florence belted three home runs. Catcher Andres Sthormes went 3 for 5 with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth. Outfielder Axel Johnson went 2 for 5 with two RBI and three runs scored. Johnson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third to tie the game at 2-2.
Five Y’alls scored at least two runs. Third baseman/center fielder Ray Zuberer scored twice.
Starting pitcher Yasel Santana (2-2) took the win for Florence and Evansville starting pitcher Justin Watland (1-3) took the loss pitching four innings. Santana pitched seven innings striking out seven and walking two.
Karl Craigie pitched the eighth inning for Florence and DiNicola pitched the ninth. Neither team committed any errors.
Florence gave a good effort Thursday but Evansville left with an 11-5 win denying the Y’alls their first three-game sweep of the season. Florence has won four straight series.
“It’s about making adjustments,” Minshall said. “We handled them well the first two games. But (Thursday) you have to tip your cap to them. They hit some pitches out of the zone and some pitchers’ pitches out of the park. That’s going to happen from time to time. Our guys had a game plan they executed for the most part. But some days you have games where it just doesn’t go your way.”
Price went 3 for 5 to lead Florence. Designated hitter Joe Lytle went 2 for 4 in the lead-off spot with two doubles and two runs scored. Chavez went 2 for 3 with a triple and three RBI. Zuberer hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the second for his fifth of the year to tie the game 2-2.
“We actually have the ball rolling now,” Lytle said. “We’re playing more as a team. (It’s about) putting good at-bats together and seeing the ball well. I just try to hit balls hard to get on base, set the tone (at lead-off). If we can get 10 hits every day, we just have to keep (opponents) below 10 hits. If we do that, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Evansville scored twice in the top of the first. Florence loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but could not score. But after Zuberer’s blast, Evansville took a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth and never looked back. The Otters led 8-3 after the seventh inning.
Left-handed starter Brett Adcock (1-0) pitched the first five innings to record the win for Evansville. Adcock struck out five and walked three. Jacob Bowles pitched three innings in relief and Augie Gallardo pitched the ninth.
Jonaiker Villalobos (3-3) pitched four innings in the losing effort for the Y’alls. He struck out six and walked three. Kent Klyman and Cameron Pferrer pitched over the next three innings before Darwin Ramos pitched the eighth and ninth for Florence.
Frontier League teams can play up to 96 games during the regular season. The Y’alls had consecutive days off Sunday and Monday for the first time since May 15 and 16.
“It’s an absolute grind and you want to stay locked in,” Minshall said. “That’s the thing that we always talk about. You can’t always control what happens around you, what ballpark you’re playing in or what’s going on in the stands or in the dugout. We have to focus on our task at hand. We have to trust what our catcher is putting down and execute.”
Florence played its last two games without Manager Brian White. White is unable to manage while league officials review the film from Tuesday’s 6-5 win over Evansville. Umpires ejected White and infield coach Taylor Bryant after the seventh inning.
White and a coach tried to say some things to the home plate umpire. The home plate umpire walked away from them while another umpire tried to hold White and the coach back. The home plate umpire appeared to trip on the other umpire as the other umpire backed into him.
“The Florene Y’alls organization acknowledges the incident that occurred on Tuesday, June 21,” said Max Johnson, Florence General Manager. “Until further actions have been decided, we will not be making additional comments.”
The Y’alls begin a three-game series against the Gateway (Illinois) Grizzlies at Thomas More Stadium on Friday. Game time is 7:03 p.m.
