After flying high against Jones last Wednesday, Freedom came back down to earth. The Freedom Patriots' rough 11-3 defeat to the Ocoee Knights on Friday might stick with them for a while. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Freedom of the 2-0 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture two weeks ago.
Freedom got a good showing from Robert Dexter, who struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off two hits (and not a single walk). Dexter has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in three consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Freedom saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Francisco Pilier, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
On Ocoee's side, Brandon Smith looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run but no hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Angel Martinez, who went 2-for-4 with five RBI, two runs, and a triple. Another player making a difference was Max Lucien, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Freedom's defeat dropped their record down to 11-8. As for Ocoee, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last seven matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 10-9 record this season.
Freedom will be playing in front of their home fans against Lake Buena Vista at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Lake Buena Vista is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season. As for Ocoee, they will head out on the road to take on University at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. University is coming into the match with three straight victories at home, so Ocoee will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
