FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y’alls have completely changed the trajectory of their season in the weeks following the All-Star break, putting together their longest winning-streak in five seasons.
A couple of days before Florence returned home to host All-Star Week, the team suffered a pair of tough losses, getting swept in a doubleheader by a struggling Joliet squad. The losses dropped the Y’alls below .500 for the first time since they were 5-6 on May 21.
Fast-forward three and a half weeks, and Florence has completely flipped the script. A dominant performance at Sussex County, headlined by seven scoreless innings from Nathan Lawson, secured the Y’alls’ 11th consecutive victory.
The win also completed the sweep of the Miners in New Jersey, giving the Y’alls their third consecutive series sweep. Throughout the streak, Florence has found ways to win in nearly every fashion imaginable, blowouts and close games, low-scoring battles and offensive slugfests. Perhaps none, though, were more gutsy than Wednesday’s victory over Sussex County.
After a couple of lead changes early in the game, the Miners found themselves in a tie game in the bottom of the ninth. Sussex County loaded the bases after a leadoff single and two botched bunts by the Florence defense, putting the Y’alls’ nine-game winning streak in serious jeopardy.
Will Carsten stood on the mound with the game, and the streak, hanging in the balance. With the infield drawn in, Carsten got the first out on a force play at the plate. He then struck out the next batter before inducing a lineout to send the game to extra innings.
Florence would finish the job in extras, with Brendan Bobo delivering the game-winning two-run double to complete the comeback and extend the Y’alls’ winning streak to 11 games.
Florence will look to extend the streak to 12 games Friday when the Y’alls open a three-game series at Brockton. The run has been remarkable. Florence entered the All-Star break at 28-28, just a couple of games up in a playoff spot. Now, the Y’alls are a season-best 15 games over .500 at 45-30 and firmly in the playoff picture.
Florence currently sits tied with Evansville for the first Wild Card spot, with the Y’alls holding an eight-game advantage over the teams just outside the playoff picture. What started as just a hot start to the back-half of the season has quickly turned into one of the hottest stretches in franchise history.
