The Florence Freedom ran their winning streak to three consecutive games Sunday night and improved their overall mark to 6-6 with a rain-plagued 9-2 win over the visiting Chillicothe Paints at Champion Window Field.

Florence struck early against Chillicothe right-hander Kurt Hartfelder (0-3) when third baseman Tim Grogan's first-inning double scored shortstop Greg Stone, who had led the inning off with an infield single.

First baseman Beau Blacken then keyed a three-run second inning against Hartfelder with a long two-run home run off the scoreboard in left-center field. The homer was Blacken's team-leading third of the season and pushed his RBI total to 10, which ties him for the club lead with Josh Lex. The Freedom tacked on another second-inning run when second baseman Joe Holland's basehit off the glove of diving Paints shortstop Travis Garcia brought Lex in from second with two outs.

Staked to an early lead, Freedom right-hander Dane Mason (1-2) cruised through the first three innings, allowing just one baserunner. Paints center fielder Gavin Ng led off the ballgame with a triple into the right field corner, but Mason allowed him to go no further. With Ng at third, Chillicothe left fielder Paul Rutgers and Garcia proceeded to pop out to Blacken at first base in foul territory in nearly the identically same spot. Cleanup hitter, first baseman Jon Poterson, was the Paints' last hope to score Ng but the threat was denied when Poterson poppup up weakly to Stone at shortstop to end the inning.

The game's scheduled 6:05 p.m. EDT start-time was pushed back to 6:27 p.m. after a brief heavy rain shower soaked parts of the field. The game began with sunshine and clear skies, but between the end of the third inning and the start of the fourth, the skies opened up again with another short-lived downpour that caused a 49-minute rain delay.

Mason returned to the mound following the lengthy stop in play, but the Burlington, Iowa native wasn't nearly as sharp. He gave up back-to-back one-out doubles to Garcia and Poterson to get the Paints on the scoreboard for the first time, cutting the Freedom lead to 4-1. Mason was then reached for back-to-back hits to begin the fifth inning but some sloppy baserunning proved to be the Paints' undoing. Designated hitter Jaziel Mendoza singled to begin the inning but with a full count on catcher Jeff Parrish, Mason caught Mendoza leaning off first and picked him off for the first out. On the next pitch, Parrish connected for a double into the gap in left-center field. Mason and Stone then teamed up to catch Parrish napping, with the shortstop sneaking in behind the unsuspecting runner to receive Mason's pickoff attempt. Parrish broke for third but was caught in a rundown and subsequently nailed trying to reach third. Mason completed the inning by fanning second baseman Evan Sobel to keep the Freedom's advantage at 4-1.

The Freedom offense broke the game open against Hartfelder and reliever Eli Diaz. Single runs in the fifth and sixth spelled the end of the night for Hartfelder after 5 2/3 innings. Diaz fared no better, allowing three runs in the seventh, mainly due to his own fielding mishaps. After beginning the inning by walking Lex and left fielder Ryan Basham back-to-back, Diaz seemed to have escaped major damage when he got Holland to pop up a bunt attempt and retired catcher Eddie Gonzalez on a fly ball to left. Rookie right fielder Chad Leon, hitting in the ninth spot in the order, had other ideas when he stroked a basehit to right that scored Lex from second, giving Leon his first career RBI. With two runners aboard, Stone hit a chopper back to the mound. Diaz couldn't handle the ball cleanly, bobbled it for an error and then fired a wild throw past first and down the right field line. Diaz was charged with two errors on the play that allowed two more runs to score and gave the Freedom a comfortable 9-2 lead.

Mason departed after six solid innings in which he gave up one run on five hits with four strikeouts and no walks on 95 pitches. It was then up to the new-look Freedom bullpen to complete the final three innings.

Newcomer Jason Bennion endured a shaky seventh inning in his professional debut. The left-hand submariner from Wright State University was one of four new additions to the Florence roster signed earlier in the day. He walked the first two hitters he faced and hit the third batter with a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. The Taylorsville, Utah native then settled down to retire the next three batters in order. A Gonzalez passed ball allowed the only run of the inning to score.

Right-hander Brian McCullough worked a scoreless eighth inning. Another new member of the bullpen, former Xavier University and Cincinnati Elder High School right-hander Mark Janszen made his first appearance memorable. Though not in a save situation, Janszen retired the Paints in order in the ninth. He struck Parrish out swinging to end the ballgame and complete a perfect 2-0 home stand.

The Freedom outhit the visitors, 8-7, and the Paints (4-7) committed four costly errors compared to only one fielding miscue by the Freedom. Holland and Watson keyed the Freedom offensive attack with two hits each. Six different hitters came through with RBIs.

Going back to last season, the Freedom have now reeled off seven straight home victories over Chillicothe. The two teams take Monday off before facing off again in a two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. EDT both nights at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Paints are 4-2 this season in their home ballpark.