Left-hander Zac Cline pitched seven shutout innings and first baseman Jason von Behren drove in all three runs as the expansion Slippery Rock Sliders won their first-ever home game, beating the Florence Freedom 3-2 Tuesday night at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock, Pa.

Cline (2-0) allowed only two Freedom hits, both singles off the bat of shortstop Greg Stone, while striking out four and walking none. Right-hander Greg Lasinski worked the ninth to record his third save of the season.

Florence was kept off the scoreboard until the eighth inning when the Freedom broke through against reliever Derek Duclos with a pair of hits and a run. Second baseman Joe Holland stroked a one-out double and scored one out later when rookie Dan Guttridge grounded a single up the middle for his first professional hit and RBI. Guttridge, a 6-foot-2, 193-pound rookie from Ryle High School in Union, Ky., was signed to a contract earlier in the day. This past season’s Mid-South Conference Player of the Year at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky., started in right field and hit in the ninth spot in the order.

Florence inched another run closer in the ninth when third baseman Timmy Grogan doubled off Lasinski with one out and came home on first baseman Beau Blacken’s run-scoring single to left. Lasinski then recovered to shut the door on the Freedom threat by recording back-to-back strikeouts against catcher Josh Lex and designated hitter Ryan Basham.

Rookie right-hander Dane Mason saw his record fall to 0-2 despite allowing only three hits in 5 2/3 innings. The former Cincinnati Reds minor leaguer struck out three and walked three in his second start of the season.

Florence, which has now dropped five straight games since opening the season with a two-game sweep of the Chillicothe Paints, will send right-hander Chris Webb to the mound at 7:05 p.m. EDT Wednesday night in game two of the four-game series with the Sliders. Slippery Rock manager Greg Jelks will counter with right-hander Alex McEnaney.