The Florence Y’alls are hoping to parlay the success they’ve had against the Washington Wild Things into the rest of the season.
Florence opened the second half of the season winning two-of-three at Thomas More Stadium over the weekend to finish 7-2 against the Wild Things this year.
The All-Star break for the Y’alls was much needed, coming out of the break with an 11-game losing streak. The win on Sunday was just their second series victory in the last nine and won a Sunday home game for the first time this year, moving to 2-8 in Sunday games.
Both teams are 23-31 and tied with Lake Erie and Joliet for fifth in the Frontier League West Division standings. Windy City (23-30) stands in fourth place by half a game.
“The reset button was pressed during that break and I thought guys came back with some fresh energy, obviously got some fresh blood,” said Chad Rhoades, Florence Manager. “That’s the way we’re going to play. We’re going to turn the ship around. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. If that means that there are new players coming in to catch on with the flow, then that’s what it’s going to be. We’re looking to get above .500 and put ourselves in position to get into the playoffs. That’s my intentions and I thought the guys came out and played like it.”
Florence opened the series Friday with a 6-4 win. Both teams had 10 hits and no errors.
Florence took a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to shortstop Jeremiah Burks smacking a grand slam for his first home run of the season.
“It’s just everyone putting in long at-bats together and our pitchers doing the work,” Burks said. “Our main focus is making pitchers work and coming away with wins.”
Washington came back to tie the game at four, but the Y’alls scored twice in the bottom of the seventh when catcher Zade Richardson doubled to right center scoring third baseman Brian Fuentes and second baseman Tristin Garcia to make the final score.
Bobby Brabrand started and pitched six innings, striking out four and walking one. Carter Poiry (3-2) pitched two innings to earn the win and Brian McKenna pitched the ninth to earn his second save of the year.
Fuentes, Richardson and right fielder Harrison DiNicola had two hits each for the Y’alls. DiNicola also had a double.
Washington came back and dominated the second game, 18-6 exploding for nine runs in the top of the fifth. Washington outhit Florence, 12-7. Edgar Martinez (5-5) pitched into the fifth, taking the loss for the Y’alls.
Designated Hitter Brennan Price went 2-for-4 with a home run, double, two runs batted in and two runs scored to lead the Y’alls. DiNicola also had two hits with left fielder Ray Zuberer adding a double. First baseman Craig Massey scored twice and center fielder Lane Hoover batted in two.
The Y’alls came back and gutted out a 5-4 win Sunday, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and never giving up the lead. The first five Y’alls reached with Fuentes and DiNicola recording back-to-back RBI singles and Zuberer grounding out to second scoring Massey.
Hoover made a diving grab on a Lagrange line drive in the top of the third to end a Washington threat. He fired to second to double up Washington shortstop Abraham Sequera, who had been going on the pitch along with teammate Scotty Dubrule at first.
Florence added a key unearned run in the bottom of the fourth. Zuberer singled, stole second and made it to third when the throw rolled into center field. Catcher Cooper Edwards then hit a ground ball to third and Zuberer beat the throw home to put Florence up 4-0.
“We did a really good job working (Washington starter Justin Showalter) in the zone, especially early,” Rhoades said. “We talked about this week hitting as a pack. There are certain guys that run the pitch count up that way we actually know what pitches we’re hunting. We got into those situations to pass the stick to the next guy and let it happen. We wanted to hit it where we want because they have some dramatic shifts. We did a good job finding those holes when they weren’t pitching to it.”
Washington fought back to trim the lead to 4-3 in the top of the seventh, but Massey belted his third home run of the season to right to give the Y’alls the needed cushion in the bottom of the eighth.
Jake McMahill (2-3) pitched six innings, striking out three and walking three to earn the win and Kent Klyman pitched two innings, working out of a bases-loaded jam with two out in the top of the eighth in relief. McKenna then earned his third save pitching the top of the ninth, but needed help.
Former Y’all Anthony Brocato led off the top of the ninth with a double, took third on a balk then scored on a wild pitch to make the final score. Washington second baseman Scotty Dubrule then singled before left fielder Wagner Lagrange grounded to Burks for a double play to give McKenna some breathing room. McKenna then coaxed Washington first baseman Andrew Czech into flying out to Hoover in left to end the game.
“It’s tough coming into the game late when it’s close and if you let a run in already, you don’t want to keep letting guys get on base, keep the pressure on and get the momentum,” McKenna said. “I came in and one run was not a big deal. I had a bit of wiggle room. But that double play was huge – exactly what we needed.”
Florence travels to Frontier League East Divison-leading New Jersey (34-17) for a three-game series starting Tuesday at 10:35 a.m.