Y'alls News

Early Scoring Guides Ottawa Past Florence

FLORENCE, KY – The Ottawa Titans hit two home runs over the first two innings to take an early lead, and despite a late Florence rally the Y’alls dropped the second game of the series to the Titans by a final score of 6-5.

The Y’alls again allowed first inning scoring – the sixth time in seven games – this time a home run apiece for AJ Wright and Jacob Sanford to take an early 3-0 lead. The Titans (5-3) played long ball again in the second inning, courtesy of a Will Zimmerman two-run shot. After that, the Titans would not score again until a single run touched home in the seventh inning on a passed ball which would prove to be the winning play.

The Y’alls (2-5) immediately cut into the first inning deficit with two runs in the bottom of the first. With two men on base, Harrison DiNicola singled up the middle. The ball got past Zimmerman in center field, both runners scored (the trail runner on the error), but DiNicola was gunned down at the plate trying to score on his hit.

The score stayed at 5-2 until Florence got back on the board in the sixth inning. With runners on the corners, Ray Zuberer stole second and Brain Leef broke for home and beat the throw from shortstop with a slide to pull within two runs.

The Ottawa run in the seventh stretched the lead back to three but was again answered by the Y’alls. Anthony Brocato ripped a RBI-single to left field to plate a run, and one inning later AJ Bumpass drove home a run off the right field wall to make it a 6-5 score. Leef was stranded at third to end the inning, representing what would have been the tying run.

Kevin Escorcia slammed the door shut facing the top of the Florence order in the ninth inning by striking out the side for his first save of the season. Martinez takes the loss for Florence, though he only allowed one more run after the early implosion and ended up with nine strikeouts. At one point, Martinez retired 11 consecutive batters. Chris Burica allowed one earned run in five innings in his start for Ottawa.

Each team has a chance to win the series tomorrow, May 21, with first pitch set for 1:07 PM. It is the first Republic Bank Family Sunday of the season at Thomas More Stadium and the final game of a nine-game homestand to start the season. Children ages 12 and under get into the park for free and have free access to the Kid’s Zone

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 Y’alls Ballpark, located at 7950 Freedom Way in Florence, Kentucky. The Y’alls finish their nine-game homestand tomorrow afternoon against Ottawa. Tickets are on sale now for the 2022 season. More details can be found online at florenceyalls.com (http://florenceyalls.com/) or by phone at (859) 594-4487.