Chuck Weaver (2-0) was dominant, Florence’s offense was explosive, and the Frontier Greys (1-4) never stood a chance Thursday night as the Florence Freedom (5-1) ran away with a 9-0 victory.
Weaver carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Weaver ultimately fired eight scoreless innings while allowing only one hit and fanning a career-high 11 Greys batters to earn his second victory of the 2015 campaign.
Florence plated five runs in the first inning off Greys starter Richard Bielski (0-1). Jake Luce walked and stole second to put himself in scoring position. Cody Bishop walked as well, to put runners on first and second. Steve Carrillo ripped a ground rule double to plate Luce and set up runners on second and third. Sean Mahley followed with a double to bring home Bishop and Carrillo. Mahley came around to score on a Gaby Juarbe RBI single. Juarbe then stole second and scored on an Elvin Rodriguez single and a throwing error by the Greys’ Zach Tanner. When the dust settled, it was 5-0 in favor of the Freedom.
Florence padded their lead in the third. Cody Bishop walked to lead off the frame and moved to second on a Sean Mahley walk. Gaby Juarbe singled Bishop home for Florence’s sixth run of the night. The Freedom held a 6-0 lead after three.
The Freedom tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning. Daniel Fraga started the two out rally with a single and moved to third on an Austin Newell single. Jake Luce then unloaded for a three-run home run, his first of the season, to give the Freedom a 9-0 lead.
The story of the game, however, was Weaver, who threw 98 pitches, 70 of them for strikes in his outing. Tony Vocca tossed a scoreless ninth to finish the shut out.
The Freedom head to Evansville for a three-game series with the Otters starting Friday night. Jake Stephens takes the hill in game one. First pitch is set for 7:35 p.m. Fans can tune in at http://mixlr.com/
Staff report/Photo by Toni Hanson
