Lightning Continue Winning Ways At Winter Park

WINTER PARK, Fla.- The Leesburg Lightning (18-9) defeated the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (10-16) with a 7-3 road victory Monday night, taking game one of a two-game set between the two teams.

It appeared that this matchup was going to be a pitcher’s duel through the first couple of innings, as both teams were scoreless going into the third inning. The Lightning were the first to break through in the scoring column in the third inning, on RBIs from Gabriel Santiago (Coker), Hector Mangual (Undecided), and Austin Brinling (South Carolina) to take a 3-0 lead. 

The Leesburg offense continued to produce in the fourth inning, as a second consecutive three-run frame, highlighted by RBI singles from Drew Stubbs (Webber International) and Tyler Gerteisen (North Florida), extended the Lightning lead to 6-0. 

This would be more than enough offensive support for Lightning starting pitcher Ryan Brown (Valdosta State), who put together a phenomenal performance, pitching four shutout and hitless innings. 

“It was really good to see Ryan (Brown) bounce back in such a great way after his rough start last time out,” Leesburg Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings said. “He really settled in early and got a lot of quick outs, which was key for us tonight.”

Both bullpens started to settle in through the middle innings, as both teams went scoreless from the fifth inning until the start of the eighth inning. Leesburg brought around one run to score in the fram on an RBI triple from Tyler LeJeune (Northwest Florida State) to tack on an insurance run and extend their lead to 7-0. Winter Park finally broke through and answered with a three-run bottom half of the frame however, making the Lightning lead a little less comfortable at 7-3. 

There was no need for the Lightning to worry, as Blake Tipmore (Undecided) came in and shut the door on any potential comeback and secured the Lightning’s first place spot with a 7-3 victory.

The bottom of the lineup was sensational for the Lightning in this matchup and provided almost all of the offensive production in the ballgame, as the final five batters in the Leesburg lineup combined for five of the team’s seven total hits. 

“In most cases, if the bottom of our lineup hits, we are going to win the game,” Billings said. “Most of the time our top of the lineup is finding a way to get on base, even if they are not hitting the ball, so if the bottom of our lineup hits, we are a dangerous team. 

The Lightning will be back in action on Tuesday night in their final game before the All-Star break. Leesburg will once again face the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs in the finale of their brief two-game set. Tuesday’s game will be at home for the Lightning, with first pitch scheduled for 7 PM at Pat Thomas Stadium.

(Carter Mansfield, Austin Peay State University)

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