WINTER PARK, Fla. (June 4, 2011) - It was City Appreciation Night and the home opener in Winter Park, as the Diamond Dawgs (2-0) gave the crowd on hand a reason to go home happy; they defeated the Orlando Freedom 8-4 to open the season.

 

The story of the game was the patience of the Diamond Dawgs hitters as the Freedom (0-2) pitchers surrendered 10 walks and hit two batters. Right fielder Ted Blackman (St. Petersburg CC) displayed was a prime example drawing three walks, while adding two stolen bases and scoring three runs.

 

“I’m a guy that’s really patient at the plate, and walks are a big part of my game,” said Blackman.

The Dawgs found themselves in many advantageous hitting counts, adding on 10 hits in addition to the walks and hit batsmen.

 

“I just wanted to be patient because I saw the starter was wild early on,” said catcher Austin Chubb (Florida Southern).

 

The Dawgs also got a quality start out of Chad Modomo (West Virginia Wesleyan College), who received a no decision, despite pitching six innings while allowing two runs on four hits.

 

“We would have loved to get him the win,” said Coach Scott Hilinski. (Hilinski stepped in and managed for Head Coach Kevin Davidson for the night.) Modomo recorded three different 1-2-3 innings. “He did a good job throwing the ball on both sides of the plate,” said Chubb.

 

Winter Park was quick to jump on the board scoring a run in the first. However, a leadoff walk in the second inning by Aaron Spragg (Lipscomb University) kick started a two run inning for the Freedom. Lawrence Pardo (Appalachian State) and Anthony Coronia (State College of Florida) drove in Spragg and Jason Anderson (Daytona State College) to take an early lead.

 

In the third inning, however, the Diamond Dawgs had an answer. Blackman led off the inning with a walk and then moved into scoring position by stealing second base. On the following at-bat, left fielder Michael Danner (Polk State College) singled to center, allowing Blackman to advance to third, and eventually scoring on a wild pitch; Danner made it to second off the throw to home plate. Chubb followed that up with an RBI single of his own, which drove in Danner.

 

One of the lone bright spots for the Freedom was pitcher Ryan Caporice (UNC-Asheville), who kept his team within striking distance in his 2 2/3 innings of relief. However, in the fifth inning, the Diamond Dawgs managed to pull off a delayed double steal with runners on first and third to build a two run lead. After drawing a walk with two outs, Omar Cotto (University of Southern California) jump-started the play by stealing second base; and when Freedom catcher Robbie Haben (George Washington) threw down to second base, B.J. Zimmerman (State College of Florida) took off for home and scored.

 

Zimmerman’s run proved to be critical as Pardo hit a two run homer off Reed Reznicek (Indiana University) in the top of the seventh inning to tie things up at four runs apiece. The Dawgs took back the lead in the seventh as they drew three consecutive walks. With the bases loaded, Dustin DeMuth (Indiana University) was hit by a pitch, which made the game 5-4 in favor of Winter Park.

 

In the eighth inning, the Diamond Dawgs extended their lead tacking on three runs, 8-4. Blackman once again led off the inning with a walk, and Danner followed that with a hit by pitch. That set the table for Chubb, who drove in his third run of the night, and second baseman Mike Reed (Auburn University) who added an RBI single of his own.

 

The Diamond Dawgs will have the script flipped on Sunday, June 5 as they face the Freedom at Orel Hershiser Field. Brad Renner (Hillsborough Community College) will get the start for the Dawgs, with the first pitch slated for 5 p.m.