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Florence Y’alls ready to take next steps to win elusive Frontier League Championship

Since moving to Florence in 2004, there is only one major team accomplishment the Y’alls minor league baseball team has not achieved.

That’s winning a Frontier League Playoff Championship. Florence finished 57-38 last year, edging the Evansville (Indiana) Otters by half a game to win the Frontier League West Division. But the Y’alls lost in four games to the eventual champion and Central Division champion Schaumburg (Illinois) Boomers.

Florence has made the championship series three times since moving to town. Those appearances came in 2012, 2017 and 2019. The franchise won Frontier League crowns in 2000 as the Johnstown (Pennsylvania) Johnnies, in 1995 as the Johnstown Steel and in 1994 as the Erie (Pennsylvania) Sailors.

“It’s unfinished business. We’re getting close,” said Sean Huges, Florence pitcher. “We know we can do it. But we still have a lot of hunger coming into this year. I think we have a lot of good but young guys coming forward. We have some Rookie-1s that have experience. Then we have some other experienced guys that are fairly young. They’re in their mid-20s. I think we’re a force to be reckoned with.”

BY G. MICHAEL GRAHAM, LINK nky CONTRIBUTOR

fessional Baseball. Pintor is staying in Puerto Rico to attend to his duties as an expectant father and Craport got engaged in November. Y’alls Field Manager Brian White said Craport took a full-time job to support his fiancee and ultimately build his family.

The Y’alls listed 29 players on the roster at press time. The limit is 34 players on the active roster in the off-season. But players signed from the California Winter League or taken in the Frontier League Draft do not count toward that limit.

“People don’t understand this is a year-round job,” said Brian White, Florence Florence Y’alls pitcher Sean Hughes fires to the plate during a game last year. In 14 games pitched, Hughes had a 1.55 Field Manager. “They just earned-run average to go with 25 strikeouts, 14 hits, three earned runs and 11 walks. Hughes recorded a 6-1 record helping see us for the three to four the Y’alls to the Frontier League playoffs. Photo Credit: Ryan Kuttler/Florence Y’alls hours on the field. We’re constantly trying to find players to help us. I’m in Florida right now. I just spent a month in Texas.” two divisions this year. Florence is in the West Division. There is one travel team in the Empire State Greys. last year, you had to win your division to make the playoffs.”

Florence batted .269 as a team last year recording 829 hits in 3,083 at bats. The Y’alls scored 521 runs to go with 171 doubles, 14 triples, 78 home runs and 470 RBIs. The two new teams are the Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) Titans and the Three Rivers Eagles located in the Canadian province of Quebec. Florence will play six games in Canada this year. After the Titans come to town for three games in late May, Florence travels to Three Rivers for three games and Quebec for three.

Florence placed three members on the Frontier League All-Star team last year. They were shortstop Luis Pintor, outfielder Chad Sedio and catcher Trevor Craport. Sedio batted .319 (114 for 357) with 68 runs scored, a team-high 29 doubles, three triples, 15 home runs and 69 RBIs last year. Pintor hit .316 (90 for 285) with 61 runs, 20 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 45 RBIs and Craport batted .308 (106 for 344) with 68 runs, 16 doubles, three triples, a team-high 19 home runs and a team-high 85 RBIs. Sedio and Craport tied for the team-high in runs scored.

But none are on the roster for now. Sedio moved on to play for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of ProThe leading returning hitter is Harrison DiNicola. He mostly played second base with some time at first base and right field. DiNicola batted .285 (101 for 355) last year with 50 runs, 17 doubles, six home runs and 63 RBIs.

“Just from guys that I know that are returning, obviously everyone is trying to be more consistent every year,” DiNicola said. “I think we had a pretty positive year offensively last year. I think we’re going to be better this year. We have some guys coming in with some more athletic abilities to be more consistent year-round.”

There were 14 teams last year and four divisions. But there will be 16 teams and just “There will not be an easy game in the Frontier League,” White said. “Teams are becoming more competitive every year. Our guys appreciate that and they’re looking forward to the challenge.”

The top three teams in each division make the playoffs this year. The second- and third-place teams face off in a Wild Card game at the home of the second-place team. The winners advance to a best-ofthree Divisional Series against the division winners. Those winners then play in a bestof-five championship series.

“I’m not too worried about it,” Hughes said. “I honestly feel that it gives more teams a better chance to make the playoffs because “It’s really exciting. Anytime you get a chance to travel somewhere new, especially for some of these guys that have never even been out of the country, it’s going to be a fun time for the team,” DiNicola said. “It’s a new challenge for the team. You get to learn how to play on the road in a new environment and I heard it gets rowdy up there so it’s going to be a good environment for some baseball.”

Florence has scrimmage games against Lake Erie (Ohio) there on May 5 then at home against the Crushers on May 6. The Y’alls open the season May 12 at 6:34 p.m. at home against the Tri-City ValleyCats out of Troy, New York, of the East Division.