sfoggi posted on July 27, 2011 22:36
ORLANDO (July 27, 2011) - When the ball flew off the bat of Matt Mattone in a tied game in the bottom of the ninth inning, the question wasn’t if the ball was going over the left field wall; but rather, simply how far it would fly.
Mattone (Palm Beach St.) gave the Orlando Freedom the 9-8 victory via the walk-off home run over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs Wednesday night, in a game that saw no shortage of offense.
The two teams combined for 17 runs on 27 hits. Ten players recorded a multi-hit game. And yet, this was just the third highest scoring contest between the two teams at Orel Hershiser Field this season. The two teams have become accustomed to high scoring affairs, racking up 69 runs on 75 hits in the last three games at the field the Freedom call home.
But much more importantly, Wednesday night’s victory kept the Freedom in control of their own destiny with four games to play in the Florida League season. Orlando now sits a game above the Winter Haven Loggerheads, while in a virtual tie for fourth with the Sanford River Rats, who defeated the Leesburg Lightning Wednesday.
The Freedom and the Diamond Dawgs scored early and often in Orlando Wednesday night. The Dawgs picked up a run in the first, but Orlando responded quickly in the second, taking a 4-1 lead.
Jason Anderson (Brevard CC) led off the inning with a double. AJ Mackey (Gulf Coast CC) reached, as well, when he was hit by a pitch. Two outs later, the Freedom strung together three straight hits, including doubles by Anthony Caronia (Tampa) and Kevin Lehane (Jacksonville), to bring home four runs in the inning.
The Dawgs responded with three of their own in the bottom of the third; but again, the Freedom responded. Orlando picked up three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-6 advantage. The teams traded a single run apiece in the fifth.
Finally, as the bullpens took over, the high scoring affair settled. Ed Brandsema (Montevallo) pitched 3 2-3 innings of solid relief work, allowing just one run on five hits. Brandsema caught a break in the eighth inning when he delivered strike three to one Winter Park hitter, while catcher Mattone threw out a runner stealing third for a text book “strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out” to end a Diamond Dawg threat. Mattone was not done.
After Joe Burns (Samford) worked out of a dangerous ninth inning in relief, the stage was set for Mattone to add the fireworks.
Mattone came up to the plate with one out in the ninth and blasted a first pitch fastball that has yet to land. The Mattone blast gave him his league leading fifth on the year. It was Mattone’s only hit of the night; it was the only at-bat that mattered.
The team effort offensively was led by a three hit night from Anderson, coupled along with two hits and two RBI by Caronia. Lawrence Pardo (Santa Fe) and Cory Angelo (West Florida) added two hits apiece, as well.
Most importantly, the Freedom remain out of the basement in the FCSL standings. The club now holds a one game lead over the Loggerheads, while remaining tied with Sanford. Sanford and the Freedom will meet twice more with just four games to play.
Thursday (July 28), Orlando meets the first place Leesburg Lightning. For the second straight night, the three teams at the bottom of the league match up with the three at the top. The competition continues to heat up as the bottom three teams fight for just two remaining playoff spots. The matchup between Orlando and Leesburg at Orel Hershiser Field is slated for 7 p.m.
Jake Snyder (Marshall University)