sfoggi posted on July 20, 2011 22:39
ORLANDO (July 20, 2011) - Nine innings were not enough as the Orlando Freedom fell 4-3 to the Sanford River Rats in a 12-inning contest that was tight throughout.
The Freedom led early but could not hold on as a two-run 12th-inning was just enough for the Rats to grab the win. The gut wrenching loss propelled the Rats to even with the Freedom in the Florida league standings.
Orlando grabbed an early one-run lead in the second when Matt Mattone (Palm Beach St.) blasted a no doubt home run over the scoreboard in left field at Orel Hershiser Field to retake the Florida League lead in home runs.
The score remained at 1-0 through the fifth inning as Freedom starting pitcher Taylor Hammond (Samford) pitched nearly flawless baseball. Hammond, typically a reliever, was shut down after five innings, his longest outing of the season.
Sanford knotted the score up at one in the bottom of the sixth when TJ Gavlik (North Florida) singled home Austin Liput (USC Upstate) for the Rats. That brought Josh Larson (Santa Fe) on in relief to face the bases loaded with one out. Larson subsequently struck out the next two Rats hitters to end the threat and leave the score tied.
The bullpens for both squads took over for the remainder of the scheduled nine innings, as neither side was able to notch a run on the scoreboard. That meant extra time at the ballpark for the two teams.
The Rats took control of the game in the bottom of the 10th, pushing across a run to take the lead. A pair of singles and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Woodrey (Nova Southeastern) gave Sanford their first lead of the game.
Anthony Caronia (Tampa) led off the bottom half of the 10th with a walk and immediately stole second to put the tying run in scoring position with no outs. A pair of strikeouts followed and left the Freedom hanging on for dear life. After Aaron Spragg (Lipscomb) drew a two-out walk, Chris Suto (Lake Sumter CC) stepped to the plate with the game on the line. Suto drew a full count before blasting a single up the middle to plate Caronia and keep Orlando’s hopes alive.
The 11th inning saw no scoring and the game continued. The Rats again took control in the 12th, picking up two runs to grab the biggest lead of the game. The Freedom were not content to go quietly, however.
Kevin Lehane (Jacksonville) reached on an error to lead off the inning allowing him to end up on second base with no outs. Lawrence Pardo (Santa Fe) followed with a single, and the lead was down to one. A sacrifice bunt moved Pardo into scoring position with one out and a chance for the Freedom to tie the game once again.
Following the sacrifice, the Rats brought on Robert Stegbauer (LMU) in an effort to close out the contest. Stegbauer did just that. The righty drew a groundball and a strikeout to close out the wild game and give the victory to the River Rats.
The official game time of the extra inning contest was a grueling three hours and 53 minutes. Twelve total pitchers toed the rubber for the two teams. But in the end, it was the Rats who came out on top.
Reliever Brett Allen (Embry-Riddle) picked up the win for the Rats; while Stegbauer recorded his second save. Tim Koons (Fort Scott CC) took the loss for the Freedom.
Orlando and the Rats now sit in a virtual tie for the fourth place position in the Florida League, both sitting a half game above the Winter Haven Loggerheads. The Freedom take on the third place DeLand Suns Thursday (July 21) while the Rats take on Winter Haven. The Freedom remain at home when the Suns come to town. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.
Jake Snyder (Marshall University)