Y'alls Crush Grapes

FLORENCE, KY - The Florence Y’alls (32-35), presented by Towne Properties, blasted the Lake Erie Crushers (38-29) 7-2 in a game full of fireworks.

Two home runs from second baseman Justin Lavey and third baseman Brian Fuentes catapulted the Y’alls to victory.

On the pitching side, left-hander Evan Webster matched his first start of the year with five innings out of the gate. The Louisville alum struck out three, allowing two runs on eight hits. Righty Alex Wagner relieved him with two shutout frames, letting up two hits while striking out three. The eighth inning saw left-hander Randy Abshier’s return from an upper body injury: he tossed two shutout frames.

The fourth inning turned a silent contest on its head. After allowing Lake Erie to take the game’s first lead in the top of the fourth, Florence rebounded with center fielder Thomas Jones’ first hit with the Y’alls in his debut, an RBI single to draw first blood for Flo.

Before that Jones’ knock, designated hitter Zade Richardson grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base. It would have been an inning-ending double-play had Lake Erie second baseman Alberti Chavez fielded the play cleanly. He bobbled the throw from third, eliminating any shot at turning two. Chavez had been traded from Florence to Lake Erie just over two weeks prior, and in his first game back at Thomas More Stadium, that lapse turned into three-straight batters reaching base, culminating in one big swing.

With the bases loaded, Justin Lavey launched a grand slam to left-center field, and the home crew never looked back.

Lavey finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Left fielder Hank Zeisler reached base twice off of HBPs and once on a BB.

There were five total double-plays turned on Tuesday night with Lake Erie hitting into three and Florence hitting into two. The Y’alls can claim their fourth-straight series on Bark in the Park Night on Wednesday with 6:41 p.m. first pitch.