sfoggi posted on July 03, 2011 20:30
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 3, 2011) – The Sanford River Rats ended the week with a 4-3 loss to the Orlando Freedom at Orel Hershiser Field Sunday night.
Freedom (7-15) starting pitcher Ronald Schreurs (Daytona State College) struck out 10 and issued just one walk. Josh Larson (Santa Fe College) and Edward Brandsema (Montevallo) combined to strike out a further three batters.
“Any time you go up against pitchers who are rolling, it makes it tough offensively to accomplish what we like to,” River Rats Head Coach Stephen Piercefield said. “Today their starter came out, threw strikes, and kept our hitters off balance.”
River Rats (8-12-1) starter Brandon Cowan (Lincoln Memorial) went 5 1/3 innings and struck out two. While Cowan did allow eight hits, only one of those - a Matt Mattone (Palm Beach State) solo home run in the sixth - scored. The Rats’ defense prevented the Freedom from converting base runners to runs scored, cutting them down in double plays or on steal attempts. Orlando wound up 1-for-3 on steal attempts for the night.
Offensively, it was Alex Mendez (South Florida) once again leading the charge for the Rats. A single in the first, a throwing error by the pitcher, and two wild pitches allowed Mendez to score the games first run.
Orlando responded in the fourth as Matt Frank (Jacksonville) reached base on a one-out walk. An AJ Mackey (Gulf Coast CC) double and a Robbie Haben (George Washington) groundout allowed Frank to come home to tie the game.
Mattone’s homer and a run scored by Christopher Suto (Lake Sumter CC) gave the Freedom a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth.
True to form, the Rats never quit and in the eighth fought back. Kyle Foti (Flagler) started the inning with a single. Mendez hit another single and James Ramsay (South Florida) singled to score Foti and Mendez to tie the game at 3-3.
In the Freedom half of the eighth, Suto and Frank hit back-to-back doubles, and Suto scored to make it 4-3.
“We control our destiny with the teams we play and if we keep putting out great effort, the outcomes will take care of themselves,” Piercefield said.
Sanford’s next game will be a home contest against the DeLand Suns (11-11) at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium Tuesday, July 5. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Neil Tredray (Valencia College)