Game Recap

Y’alls Hang On For Series-Opening Win

FLORENCE, KY – The Florence Y’alls (34-45), presented by Towne Properties, jumped out to an early lead and clung on to it late to stave off the Evansville Otters (42-36) by a score of 6-4 at Thomas More Stadium on Tuesday.

Facing Evansville starter and ERA leader Tim Holdgrafer (5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), Florence jumped ahead with an immediate first inning run. After a leadoff walk and a fielder’s choice put right fielder Hank Zeisler aboard, catcher Zade Richardson’s two-out single kept the inning alive. Center fielder Ray Zuberer followed that up with a base hit of his own to score Zeisler and put the Y’alls ahead 1-0 in the first inning.

Florence mounted another rally in the third. Holdgrafer allowed three straight baserunners to begin the inning, with third baseman Brian Fuentes’ RBI single capping the trio of baserunners. With two aboard and two outs, first baseman Harrison DiNicola’s two-RBI single gave the Y’alls a 4-0 lead after three innings. Florence held onto its advantage thanks to another stellar start from rookie righthander Carter Spivey (6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K). The quality start marks the second of Spivey’s pro career and lengthens his scoreless innings streak against Evansville to 13.0 IP (two starts).

Evansville began chipping away at the Florence lead in the seventh. Facing righthander Carter Poiry, Evansville catcher Dakota Phillips doubled to begin the inning before moving to third on a wild pitch. Third baseman Jomar Reyes’ sacrifice fly brought home Phillips to score the first Otters’ run of the day. One batter later, first baseman Kona Quiggle launched his 10th home run of the year to cut the Y’alls lead to 4-2.

Florence extended its lead again in the seventh when Ray Zuberer’s two-run home run made it 6-2 Y’alls. Evansville quickly answered with another pair of runs in the eighth when right fielder Jeffrey Baez hit a two-out, two-run home run to dead center that brought Evansville to within two runs again.

Up 6-4 in the ninth, Florence turned to righthander Aaron Rund for his second inning of relief. A leadoff hit-by-pitch and a ground rule double off the bat of Kona Quiggle put the tying run in scoring position, but two pop-ups brought designated hitter Bryan Rosario to the plate. Rosario’s sinking line drive into left was caught by Florence outfielder Lane Hoover to end the game and turn away the Otters.

Florence now leads the series 1-0 and the season series 4-3. Game 2 between the Y’alls and Otters is scheduled for Wednesday, August 16th at 6:31 p.m. 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.