The Florence Freedom (45-43) got a masterful performance from Jeremy Gooding (7-4) Friday night as they knocked off the Frontier Greys (39-49) by a final score of 6-0 at UC Health Stadium.
With the win combined with Rockford’s loss to Normal, the Freedom are tied with the Aviators for the final spot in the Frontier League playoffs with eight games to go in the regular season. The Freedom hold the tiebreaker thanks to their season-series win over the Aviators.
Gooding tossed the first nine-inning complete game this year by any Freedom pitcher. He scattered five hits, did not walk anyone and struck out eight along the way.
The Freedom drew seven walks in the game and made the most of them. Zac Mitchell and Austin Newell drew back-to-back walks against Greys starter Bobby Shore (5-8) in the first inning. Sam Eberle followed with a two-RBI double to put Florence up 2-0.
Andrew Godbold crushed a solo home run in the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0. It was Godbold’s fourth homer of the year but his first at UC Health Stadium.
Steve Carrillo, who had a brilliant game defensively, also came up big on offense for Florence. He smacked a RBI single in the seventh and a two-RBI double in the eighth to make it 6-0 in favor of the Freedom.
That’s all Gooding needed as he pitched the Freedom into playoff positioning.
The Freedom look to win their fifth straight series Saturday night as they send Zach Wendorf (2-1, 2.12 ERA) to the hill. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. as the playoff push continues. Get your tickets here to watch the only playoff contender in Greater Cincinnati.
From the Florence Freedom
