Welcome back, Nick Salotti! Salotti homered in his first at bat since he strained his groin against Evansville on June 10th. The Freedom hit three home runs and got a great start from Everett Saul as they snapped their three game losing streak and beat Midwest 11-7.

The Freedom offense got off to a hot start in the bottom of the first inning. Angel Molina drove in a run and Nick Salotti hit a two run homer to give the Freedom a three run lead. Kelly Hunt followed him with a solo homer, which gave the Freedom a 4-0 lead.

Florence added a run in the bottom of the third inning, and the Freedom broke the game open up in the bottom of the 6th inning. Five straight Florence batters scored before the Midwest Sliders even got an out. The Freedom appeared to be cruising towards a blowout win, but the resilient Midwest Sliders did not go down easily.

Midwest scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning. Bryan Vickers hit a two run double and later scored on a single from Ryley Westman. The Sliders chipped into the lead and now trailed by seven runs.

The Sliders would not go away, and they scored four more times in the next inning. The first five Midwest batters all reached base and the first four scored. Stephan Shao came in and retired the first two batters he faced, before giving up two walks to load the bases. With the go-ahead run at the plate, Yosandy Ibanez came in and retired Sam Deluca to end the Midwest threat. Florence’s blowout turned into a close game, with the Freedom leading 10-7.

Florence added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning, on a solo homer from Kelly Hunt. The homer was Hunt’s second of the night and seventh of the season. Cody Castle came in and closed the door on the Midwest Sliders; pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning to end the game.

Florence snaps a three game losing streak and will look to build momentum as they face the Midwest Sliders again tomorrow.