The Florence Freedom (27-28) scored twice in the ninth inning Saturday night to win a wild one 9-8 on the road over East Division leader Washington (34-20) at Consol Energy Park in Washington, Pa.

The Freedom trailed 8-7 going into the ninth and were facing Wild Things closer Gus Hlebovy (3-3), who was looking for his ninth save of the season. Florence first baseman Beau Blacken led the inning off with a walk and third baseman Tim Grogan bunted him to second. Then when Joe Holland hit a ground ball to short, Blacken moved to third and scored the tying run when Washington shortstop Kyle Padgett’s throw sailed over the head of first baseman Nathan Messner for an error. Freedom rookie catcher Nick Salotti followed with a double into the right field corner that scored Holland from first and put the visitors back on top 9-8 in a seesaw battle that saw three lead changes in the last three innings. The double was Salotti’s third two-base hit of the night and his career high fourth hit overall which included a monstrous solo homer to center field over the batter’s eye 410 feet away from home plate leading off the eighth.

Right-hander Jason Bowlin improved to 5-1 with the win, despite suffering a blown save when Washington took the lead against him with a four-run eighth inning outburst. Right-hander Cody Castle worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts to gain his first save of the season.

The Freedom were playing for the first time this season without the Frontier League’s leading hitter, center fielder Reggie Watson, who signed with the San Diego Padres organization Friday night. J.D. Foust, a veteran of five independent league seasons was signed to play center field and hit in Watson’s spot in the lineup. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed hitter from Norwood, Ohio made an immediate contribution Saturday night with a two-run home run in the eighth and three runs scored to help out the Freedom’s nine-hit attack. Foust is in his second stint with Florence. He also spent the 2004 season with the Freedom.

With the win Florence has now beaten Washington four consecutive times heading into the finale of a brief two-game series at 6:35 p.m. EDT Sunday. The Freedom are in second place in the East, trailing the front-running Wild Things by 7 ½ games. Florence will send rookie left-hander Luke Brown (0-0, 1.29) to the mound in just his second start as a professional, while Washington counters with its ace, veteran left-hander Tom Cochran (6-2, 2.82).