Florence Freedom manager Jamie Keefe picked up the 300th victory of his career Monday night when his team posted a 9-3 victory over the Slippery Rock Sliders at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock, Pa.

Keefe, who spent his first four seasons as a manager with the Frontier League’s Chillicothe Paints (2001-04), now has 109 wins as he nears the midway point in his third season with Florence.

The Freedom jumped out to an early lead Monday with three first-inning runs against Slippery Rock starter Nick Tracy (0-4). After leadoff hitter Greg Stone walked to start the inning, Reggie Watson followed with a base hit to left. Freedom left fielder Ryan Basham then drilled a double to the wall in right to score both runners and give his team a 2-0 advantage. Basham scored the third run of the inning on an RBI groundout off the bat of first baseman Beau Blacken. The RBI was Blacken’s club-high 36th of the season.

Rookie left-hander Josh Bruns (2-0) shut out the host Sliders’ offense through the first four innings without giving up a hit. That changed in a hurry in the fifth when designated hitter Jason Curry led off with a double to left. Third baseman D.J. Dixon then followed with another double along the line in left field to score Curry with the Sliders’ first run of the game. Dixon scored on Cy Donald’s groundout to cut the Florence lead to 5-2 after five innings.

Tracy went the first seven innings for the Sliders before right-hander Brian Baxter came on to work the eighth. Baxter gave up four runs in the inning, although they were all unearned due to a pair of errors on the Sliders’ defense. Stone’s two-run single with two outs in the inning increased the Freedom lead to 9-2. Slippery Rock scored its final run of the night in the eighth inning off reliever Mark Janszen. Catcher Ryley Westman led off the inning with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of left fielder Casey Bowling.

Watson paced the Freedom attack by going 4-for-5 with four singles and two runs scored. Freedom catcher Josh Lex added a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored.

Florence improved its overall mark to 18-21 with its second win in three games so far on its current road trip. The trip ends tomorrow night with the finale of a brief two-game series in Slippery Rock. The Freedom will send right-hander Domingo Acosta (0-3) to the mound, and he’ll be opposed by Sliders rookie right-hander Judson Smith.