Lightning Takes Season Opener Over Squeeze

LEESBURG, Fla. - The Leesburg Lightning (1-0) opened the 2019 season with a 9-2 win over the Winter Garden Squeeze (0-1) on Saturday evening at Pat Thomas Stadium. Davis Cunningham (RHP, Lander) took the mound for the Lightning in the season’s inaugural contest.

Lightning head coach Rich Billings was impressed with his team’s performance in the win. “We swung the bats well tonight. All of our pitchers were awesome tonight, they threw strikes and competed. They were ready to go. The depth we have in our pitching staff is huge. I feel like I can go to anybody and they are going to get the job done. Most teams don’t have that. It was about as good of a first night as we could have asked to have,” Billings said.

In the bottom of the second, Tate Mathis (North Alabama) roped a single to right, the first Lightning base knock of the season. After Mathis’s single, the Squeeze pitcher began struggling to find the zone, issuing a couple walks and throwing a few wild pitches. The Lightning were able to capitalize and strike first, as Max Law (North Florida) scampered home from third on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead.

On the mound, Cunningham breezed through the the Winter Garden lineup. He allowed just two baserunners in four innings of no run, one hit baseball.

The Lightning offense was able to add to the lead, after consecutive one-out doubles from Sean Mootrey (Georgia-Gwinnett) and Cage Cox (Undecided) made it a 2-0 game in favor of Leesburg. The Lightning did not stop there in the fourth, however. With one out, Tanner Clark (North Florida) drew a walk. Robbie Scott (Undecided) then grounded into a fielder’s choice, plating a run, but the Squeeze’s second-baseman’s throw missed wide attempting to turn a double-play. After Stephen Wilmer (East Carolina) was hit by a pitch, Edward Surinach (Embry-Riddle) smoked a double into the left-field corner to score Scott and make it a 4-0 Lightning lead.

Matthew Coles (Carson Newman) replaced Davis Cunningham on the mound to start the fifth and tossed a scoreless frame. The Lightning were unable to add to its 4-0 lead in the home half of the fifth.

After another scoreless inning for Coles in the top of the sixth, the Lightning made more noise in the bottom of the sixth frame. After Cox and Clark kicked off the inning with back-to-back singles, Scott lined a ball right back at the mound that ricocheted off the pitcher and through the infield for an RBI single to bring the Lightning lead to 5-0. After Scott advanced to third by escaping a rundown, he would come home on a passed ball to extend the Lightning lead to 6-0 entering the seventh inning.

Cody Morrow (Alabama-Huntsville) replaced Coles on the mound in the top of the seventh and worked a perfect inning. The Lightning went quietly in the bottom of the inning. Peyton Winebarger (North Carolina A&T) would take over for Morrow in the eighth and throw a clean inning.

The Lightning would load the bases in the bottom of the eighth and score on a walk and a two-RBI single from Mathis to stretch its lead to 9-0 heading into the night’s final frame.

The Squeeze would push across two runs in the top half of the ninth, but it would not be enough as the Lightning would secure a 9-2 opening night victory.

Cox and Mathis were offensive stars in the Lightning victory, with Cox going 2-2 with a double and two walks. Cox, a member of the Lightning in 2017, knew what to expect on opening night. “I was here two years ago, so I knew how the crowd was going to be,” Cox said. “They really get into the game. As for the game, I was really confident in myself. After my first hit, it felt like I hadn’t been away from the game at all.”

Mathis, who went 2-4 with a walk, echoed Cox’s sentiment about the atmosphere at Pat Thomas Stadium. “I love the atmosphere,” Mathis said. “The fans are in it the whole game which really fires me up and keeps me competitive. When I’m at the plate I really just try to get barrels and hit balls hard. I try not to look at my numbers and just focus on hitting balls hard and the hits will come eventually. I had two RBIs but I couldn’t have done that without those guys getting on and getting in scoring position.”

The Lightning will return to action on Sunday, as they travel to face Winter Garden at 5:00 PM.

Jaxon Peebles (Alabama)

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