Game Recap

Y’alls Dominate in Series Opener, Third Straight Win

FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y’alls (29-41), presented by Towne Properties, used strong pitching and late offense to cruise past the Windy City Thunderbolts (30-39) by a score of 9-1 at Thomas More Stadium on Friday.

Maintaining a recent trend, the Y’alls saw pitching dominate the early portion of the series opener. After a scoreless first two innings, Florence broke through offensively in the third. After a two-out infield single off the bat of left fielder Lane Hoover and a walk to designated hitter Brennan Price, third baseman Brian Fuentes lined a two-run double into right center to plate both runs and give the Y’alls a 2-0 lead.

Armed with a multi-run lead, Y’alls rookie righthander Ryan Watson (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) settled into a groove. Windy City scored its only run off of Watson in the top of the fifth inning. Shortstop Troy Viola doubled to lead off the inning before moving to third on a groundout. Third baseman Junior Martina knocked in Viola with an RBI single, but the Thunderbolts would not tally another hit against Watson in the game.

Florence led 2-1 heading into the seventh inning against Windy City starter Taylor Sugg (6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 2 K), who pitched effectively through six innings. The ‘Bolts lifted Sugg in the seventh after back-to-back one out walks, and the Y’alls immediately teed off on Windy City righthander Justin Miller. The first five hitters to face Miller reached in the seventh as the Y’alls rallied for a six-run frame. First baseman Zade Richardson, right fielder Hank Zeisler, and shortstop Ed Johnson all tallied RBIs in the inning. Johnson’s bases-clearing double capped the rally, and the Y’alls exited the inning leading 8-1.

The Y’alls tacked on another run in the eighth and closed out the game without issue in the ninth. The Y’alls’ win over the Thunderbolts marks its first over Windy City in five games. The Y’alls have now won three games in a row for the first time since a four-game streak from 5/31-6/3/23.

Game 2 between the Y’alls and Thunderbolts is scheduled for 6:36 p.m. ET from Thomas More Stadium on Saturday, August 5th.

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.