Lightning Lose Fourth Straight Game In Heartbreaking Fashion
LEESBURG, Fla.-The Leesburg Lightning dropped their fourth consecutive game Friday night with a heartbreaking 8-7 home loss at the hands of the undefeated Sanford River Rats.
Although the Lightning had 17 hits on the night, in comparison to Sanford’s nine, Leesburg was not able to capitalize on their opportunities like the River Rats were.
“I don’t know that hitting in runners position was really our issue tonight, but we did have some pretty bad base running mistakes,” Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings said. “We just have to clean some of that stuff up or it’s not going to matter how many times we hit the ball.”
After falling down 1-0 in the first inning, the Lightning were able to jump out to a 5-2 lead after five innings. Logan Chapman (Georgia Tech) and Gabriel Santiago (Coker) were able to tally multiple extra base hits on the night, with their first doubles coming early to give Leesburg an early advantage.
The River Rats were able to flex their muscles offensively in the comeback, including a four run sixth inning that gave Sanford the lead and the momentum.
While the Lightning would come back to tie the game at 6-6, Sanford would come back and score two runs in the top of the ninth inning, which was an advantage that they would never relinquish.
Gabriel Santiago was the offensive spark plug for the Lightning out of the leadoff spot, going 4-4 with two doubles and a walk on the night.
“He’s really important to our success and what really gets us going,” Billings said. “He can really do a little bit of everything, he’s a special player and we’re lucky to have him.”
While Sanford has clinched the series victory with Friday night’s win, the two teams will meet again in the series finale on Saturday. First pitch is set for 7 PM at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg, Florida.
(Carter Mansfield, Austin Peay State University)
Carter Mansfield - 06/10/23 1:24am
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Batting
| Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
| Hujsak, cf |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Smith, rf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Warde, ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Collins, 1b |
4 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Hodges, dh |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Russo, dh |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Woodburn, 2b |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Puckett, 3b |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Bowen, lf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Mercer, ph/lf |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Rodin, c |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Brazil, ph |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| McKenzie, c |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Batting
2B - Puckett, Rodin
RBI - Warde, Collins, Puckett 3, Mercer, Rodin
HBP - Warde, Collins, Puckett
Baserunning
SB - Brazil
Pitching
| Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Macip |
3.0 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| Moreno |
4.0 |
10 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
| Orloff, W |
2.0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
Wild Pitches - Macip, Orloff
Pitches/Strikes - Macip 53/34, Moreno 54/35, Orloff 52/26
Groundouts/Flyouts - Macip 2/4, Moreno 5/4, Orloff 2/2
Batters Faced - Macip 14, Moreno 21, Orloff 10
Batting
| Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
|
Santiago, 2b |
4 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Gerteisen, dh |
4 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Niu, lf |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Sadler, 1b |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fitzgerald, pr |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chapman, 3b |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Furry, cf |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Leinenbach, rf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Perry, c |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Stubbs, dh |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Mangual, ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Batting
2B - Santiago 2, Chapman 2, Perry
RBI - Gerteisen, Niu, Sadler 2, Furry, Perry
GDP - Sadler, Perry
Baserunning
SB - Santiago 3, Niu
Fielding
E - Leinenbach, Santiago, Santiago
Pitching
Wild Pitches - Perry, Dadlani
Pitches/Strikes - Perry 67/46, Dadlani 28/17, Murphy 19/11, Donay 11/6, Edwards 17/13, Chaffee 32/14
Groundouts/Flyouts - Perry 5/2, Dadlani 0/2, Murphy 1/2, Donay 2/0, Edwards 3/0
Batters Faced - Perry 16, Dadlani 6, Murphy 8, Donay 3, Edwards 5, Chaffee 7
River Rats
Batting
| Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
| Hujsak, cf |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Smith, rf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Warde, ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Collins, 1b |
4 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Hodges, dh |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
| Russo, dh |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| Woodburn, 2b |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Puckett, 3b |
3 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Bowen, lf |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Mercer, ph/lf |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Rodin, c |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| Brazil, ph |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| McKenzie, c |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Batting
2B - Puckett, Rodin
RBI - Warde, Collins, Puckett 3, Mercer, Rodin
HBP - Warde, Collins, Puckett
Baserunning
SB - Brazil
Pitching
| Name |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| Macip |
3.0 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| Moreno |
4.0 |
10 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
| Orloff, W |
2.0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
Wild Pitches - Macip, Orloff
Pitches/Strikes - Macip 53/34, Moreno 54/35, Orloff 52/26
Groundouts/Flyouts - Macip 2/4, Moreno 5/4, Orloff 2/2
Batters Faced - Macip 14, Moreno 21, Orloff 10
Lightning
Batting
| Name |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
SO |
|
Santiago, 2b |
4 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Gerteisen, dh |
4 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Niu, lf |
2 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
|
Sadler, 1b |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
Fitzgerald, pr |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chapman, 3b |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Furry, cf |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Leinenbach, rf |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Perry, c |
4 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Stubbs, dh |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Mangual, ss |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Batting
2B - Santiago 2, Chapman 2, Perry
RBI - Gerteisen, Niu, Sadler 2, Furry, Perry
GDP - Sadler, Perry
Baserunning
SB - Santiago 3, Niu
Fielding
E - Leinenbach, Santiago, Santiago
Pitching
Wild Pitches - Perry, Dadlani
Pitches/Strikes - Perry 67/46, Dadlani 28/17, Murphy 19/11, Donay 11/6, Edwards 17/13, Chaffee 32/14
Groundouts/Flyouts - Perry 5/2, Dadlani 0/2, Murphy 1/2, Donay 2/0, Edwards 3/0
Batters Faced - Perry 16, Dadlani 6, Murphy 8, Donay 3, Edwards 5, Chaffee 7
Scoring Plays
Top 1st
Jaiden Warde advanced to second on a wild pitch. Connor Hujsak scored on a wild pitch.
Bottom 2nd
Hayden Perry doubled, RBI. Logan Chapman scored.
Bottom 3rd
Tyler Gerteisen singled, RBI. Gabriel Santiago scored.
Bottom 4th
Michael Furry singled, advanced to second on the throw, RBI. Logan Chapman scored.
Hayden Perry grounded into double play ss to 1b. Andrew Leinenbach out on the play. Michael Furry scored.
Top 5th
Keegan Rodin doubled to left field, RBI. Dylan Bowen advanced to third. Stewart Puckett scored.
Bottom 5th
Maika Niu singled, RBI. Tyler Gerteisen advanced to second. Gabriel Santiago scored.
Top 6th
Stewart Puckett doubled, 3 RBI. Brayden Woodburn scored. Cole Russo scored. Nicholas Collins scored.
Rayondre Mercer singled to right field, advanced to second on a throwing error by rf, RBI. Stewart Puckett scored.
Bottom 7th
Cade Sadler grounded out to ss, RBI. Gabriel Santiago scored.
Top 9th
Jaiden Warde hit by pitch, RBI. JQuann Smith advanced to second. Connor Hujsak advanced to third. Dylan Brazil scored, unearned.
Nicholas Collins hit by pitch, RBI. Jaiden Warde advanced to second. JQuann Smith advanced to third. Connor Hujsak scored, unearned.
Bottom 9th
Cade Sadler singled, RBI. Maika Niu advanced to second. Gabriel Santiago scored.
All Plays
Top 1st
Connor Hujsak singled to left field.
JQuann Smith singled to right field. Connor Hujsak advanced to second.
Jaiden Warde reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop. JQuann Smith out at second ss to 2b. Connor Hujsak advanced to third.
1 out
Jaiden Warde advanced to second on a wild pitch. Connor Hujsak scored on a wild pitch.
Nicholas Collins struck out swinging.
2 out
Clayton Hodges struck out swinging.
3 out
Bottom 1st
Gabriel Santiago doubled.
Gabriel Santiago stole third.
Tyler Gerteisen struck out swinging.
1 out
Maika Niu fouled out to 1b.
2 out
Cade Sadler flied out to rf.
3 out
Top 2nd
Brayden Woodburn struck out swinging.
1 out
Stewart Puckett flied out to lf.
2 out
Dylan Bowen struck out swinging.
3 out
Bottom 2nd
Michael Furry struck out looking.
1 out
Andrew Leinenbach flied out to cf.
2 out
Hayden Perry doubled, RBI. Logan Chapman scored.
Drew Stubbs lined out to 3b.
3 out
Top 3rd
Keegan Rodin fouled out to 1b.
1 out
Connor Hujsak grounded out to ss.
2 out
JQuann Smith out at first 1b to p.
3 out
Bottom 3rd
Hector Mangual grounded out to 2b.
1 out
Gabriel Santiago doubled.
Gabriel Santiago advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Tyler Gerteisen singled, RBI. Gabriel Santiago scored.
Maika Niu walked. Tyler Gerteisen advanced to second.
Cade Sadler grounded into double play ss to 2b to 1b. Maika Niu out on the play.
3 out
Top 4th
Jaiden Warde grounded out to ss.
1 out
Nicholas Collins singled to catcher.
Clayton Hodges struck out looking.
2 out
Cole Russo reached on a fielder's choice to second base. Nicholas Collins out at second 2b to ss.
3 out
Bottom 4th
Jose Moreno replaces Connor Macip at pitcher.
Michael Furry singled, advanced to second on the throw, RBI. Logan Chapman scored.
Andrew Leinenbach singled. Michael Furry advanced to third.
Hayden Perry grounded into double play ss to 1b. Andrew Leinenbach out on the play. Michael Furry scored.
2 out
Hector Mangual grounded out to 3b.
3 out
Top 5th
Matthew Dadlani replaces Layton Perry at pitcher.
Brayden Woodburn flied out to rf.
1 out
Stewart Puckett hit by pitch.
Stewart Puckett advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Keegan Rodin doubled to left field, RBI. Dylan Bowen advanced to third. Stewart Puckett scored.
Connor Hujsak popped up to 3b.
2 out
JQuann Smith struck out swinging.
3 out
Bottom 5th
Gabriel Santiago singled.
Gabriel Santiago stole second.
Tyler Gerteisen singled. Gabriel Santiago advanced to third.
Maika Niu singled, RBI. Tyler Gerteisen advanced to second. Gabriel Santiago scored.
Cade Sadler flied out to lf.
1 out
Logan Chapman singled. Maika Niu advanced to second. Tyler Gerteisen advanced to third.
Michael Furry flied into double play ss to 2b. Maika Niu out on the play.
3 out
Top 6th
Jack Murphy replaces Matthew Dadlani at pitcher.
Jaiden Warde grounded out to ss.
1 out
Nicholas Collins singled.
Clayton Hodges flied out to cf.
2 out
Cole Russo singled. Nicholas Collins advanced to second.
Brayden Woodburn walked. Cole Russo advanced to second. Nicholas Collins advanced to third.
Stewart Puckett doubled, 3 RBI. Brayden Woodburn scored. Cole Russo scored. Nicholas Collins scored.
Rayondre Mercer replaces Dylan Bowen at pinch hitter.
Rayondre Mercer singled to right field, advanced to second on a throwing error by rf, RBI. Stewart Puckett scored.
Keegan Rodin flied out to cf.
3 out
Bottom 6th
Rayondre Mercer replaces at left field.
Andrew Leinenbach flied out to cf.
1 out
Drew Stubbs singled. Hayden Perry advanced to second.
Hector Mangual flied into double play 2b to ss. Hayden Perry out on the play.
3 out
Top 7th
Tyler Donay replaces Jack Murphy at pitcher.
Connor Hujsak grounded out to 2b.
1 out
JQuann Smith struck out looking.
2 out
Jaiden Warde grounded out to 2b.
3 out
Bottom 7th
Gabriel Santiago singled.
Tyler Gerteisen grounded out to p unassisted, SAC, bunt. Gabriel Santiago advanced to second.
1 out
Maika Niu stole second. Gabriel Santiago stole third.
Cade Sadler grounded out to ss, RBI. Gabriel Santiago scored.
2 out
Logan Chapman grounded out to p.
3 out
Top 8th
Grant Edwards replaces Tyler Donay at pitcher.
Nicholas Collins singled.
Clayton Hodges reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Nicholas Collins out at second ss to 2b.
1 out
Clayton Hodges advanced to second on a throwing error by p.
Cole Russo grounded out to 2b. Clayton Hodges advanced to third.
2 out
Brayden Woodburn struck out looking.
3 out
Bottom 8th
Zack Orloff replaces Jose Moreno at pitcher.
Michael Furry flied out to rf.
1 out
Andrew Leinenbach struck out looking.
2 out
Drew Stubbs struck out swinging.
3 out
Top 9th
Stewart Puckett grounded out to 2b.
1 out
Jayson Chaffee replaces Grant Edwards at pitcher.
Rayondre Mercer struck out swinging.
2 out
Dylan Brazil replaces Keegan Rodin at pinch hitter.
Dylan Brazil advanced to second on a throwing error by p.
Dylan Brazil stole third.
JQuann Smith walked. Connor Hujsak advanced to second.
Jaiden Warde hit by pitch, RBI. JQuann Smith advanced to second. Connor Hujsak advanced to third. Dylan Brazil scored, unearned.
Nicholas Collins hit by pitch, RBI. Jaiden Warde advanced to second. JQuann Smith advanced to third. Connor Hujsak scored, unearned.
Clayton Hodges struck out swinging.
3 out
Bottom 9th
Jacob McKenzie replaces Dylan Brazil at catcher.
Hector Mangual grounded out to 2b.
1 out
Gabriel Santiago advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Tyler Gerteisen grounded out to 3b.
2 out
Cade Sadler singled, RBI. Maika Niu advanced to second. Gabriel Santiago scored.
Riley Fitzgerald replaces Cade Sadler at .
Logan Chapman flied out to rf.
3 out
