Lightning Take Game One Over Winter Park

LEESBURG, Fla.- The Leesburg Lightning (14-8) took a 9-7 victory over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (7-13) Monday night, in what was a back-and-forth affair throughout. 

In what was a high-scoring game, the Diamond Dawgs jumped on Lightning starting pitcher Ryan Brown (Valdosta State) early on to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning. 

The Lightning would immediately respond with a huge bottom half of the first inning, scoring five runs, highlighted by RBI singles from Logan Chapman (Georgia Tech), Drew Leinenbach (North Florida), Tyler Gerteisen (North Florida), and Drew Stubbs (Webber International) to take a 5-1 lead. 

The Leesburg lead would not last long though, as Winter Park immediately responded with four runs in the top of the second inning to tie the game back up at 5-5. 

Gabriel Santiago (Coker) scored on a wild pitch in the bottom half of the second inning to give Leesburg the advantage right back, as they led 6-5 to close the second inning. 

Following an extended rain delay, the game resumed with a strong relief outing from Blake Tipmore (Undecided), who pitched 4.1 innings of solid relief for the Lightning. 

Another wild pitch in the fourth inning scored Stubbs and extended the Lightning lead to 7-5. The lead, once again, would not last long for Leesburg, as the Diamond Dawgs tied the game up at 7-7 in the sixth inning. 

In the bottom half of the sixth inning, Leesburg Lightning veteran Drew Stubbs stepped up to the plate in a tie ballgame. He knew that every at-bat was crucial in a game like this, and he delivered what would be the biggest at-bat of the ballgame, driving a ball into deep left field for a solo homerun and giving the Lightning an 8-7 lead. 

“I just wanted to slow the game down and barrel something up,” Stubbs said. “It really got the boys excited and we got the job done.”

“It was really good to see Drew (Stubbs) have some success because he works so hard everyday and never complains,” Leesburg Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings said. “He’s such a good team player, and that’s very valuable to us.”
 

Leesburg would tack on one more insurance run in the seventh inning, as Austin Brinling (South Carolina) came in to score on a balk. Closing bullpen performances from Jace Trautner (Indian River State) and Dustin Dunlap (Mars Hill) shut the door on any potential Winter Park come back and secured a 9-7 series-opening win. The Lightning have now won 12 of their last 14 games during this hot streak.

“They (Winter Park) kind looked like us in the back half of the game in terms of aggressive base running and producing offense without hitting the ball,” Billings said. “Our bullpen tonight was the difference to me, they really kept the game in control in some high-pressure situations.”

The Lightning and Diamond Dawgs will continue their four-game series on Tuesday, and will be the stand alone Fourth of July game in the Florida League. First pitch is set for 5 PM, with the City of Leesburg fireworks show set to begin after the game. 

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