Game Recap

Silent Offense, Sloppy Defense Doom Y’alls in 5-3 Loss

CRESTWOOD, IL – The Florence Y’alls (8-7) wrapped up their nine-game road trip in disappointing fashion with a 5-3 defeat to the Windy City Thunderbolts (7-8) at Ozinga Field on Sunday, May 28th. Florence finishes the road trip with a 5-4 overall record and 1-2 series record.

Just as it did in the first two games of the series, Florence’s offense began quietly. Facing Thunderbolts righthander and Frontier League strikeout leader Henry Omaña, Florence could not score through six innings. Florence righthander Edgar Martinez pitched with similar effectiveness, but ran into early trouble. The Thunderbolts scored a run in the first inning when third baseman Junior Martina tripled to drive in shortstop Jake Boone, then scored another in the second off back-to-back doubles from second baseman Carson Matthews and catcher Matt Morgan.

Omaña made the 2-0 lead hold through six shutout innings, but Florence cut the deficit in half in the seventh. Catcher Jackson Pritchard singled to lead off the inning, moved to second on a bunt and then to third on a groundout before a wild pitch brought him in to score. Heading to the bottom of the seventh, the Y’alls trailed 2-1.

The Thunderbolts answered with runs in both the seventh and the eighth innings. A one-out triple from Matthews brought the Florence infield in, which then yielded a run when shortstop Jeremiah Burks could not handle a sharp ground ball and was charged with an error. The unearned run made it 3-1, but the Y’alls defense would have more trouble in the eighth. After two doubles brought in a fourth Windy City run, a two-base error on Burks allowed Martina to score from second to make it 5-1.

In the ninth, the Y’alls brought six hitters to the plate and scored two against Windy City righthander Daiveyon Whittle, but Florence could not complete the comeback and fell 5-3. The Thunderbolts conclude the series with a 2-1 series victory in their first meeting with the Y’alls in 2023.

Florence returns home on Sunday and begins a three-game home series with the Washington Wild Things following Monday’s off day. Game 1 versus Washington is Tuesday, May 30th at 6:32 PM ET.

The Florence Y’alls are Northern Kentucky’s professional baseball team, and are proud members of the independent Frontier League, an MLB Partner League. With a purposeful focus on entertaining our fans, the Y’alls provide affordable, family-friendly entertainment. Y’alls home games are played at Thomas More Stadium, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky. More details can be found online at florenceyalls.com (http://florenceyalls.com/) or by phone at (859) 594-4487.