Lightning ready for championship
Last Updated on Monday, November 29, 1999 19:00
ST. PETERSBURG-Today the Leesburg Lightning are going out with a bang.
The Lightning will take on the Clermont Mavericks at 5 p.m. at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg in a winner-take-all battle for the Florida Collegiate Summer League championship.
The Mavericks will be looking to be the first team in FCSL history to repeat the championship, but the Lightning want to relive the glory of 2007 when they grasped their first championship.
"I am really excited to play against them," said Lightning right-handed pitcher Jonathan Bolt said. "I have a lot of respect for Clermont they have a lot of great players. I think its cool we both come from Lake County. Lake County will be getting a championship no matter what the outcome."
The series between the Lake County rivals has been consistent all year. The Lightning has sat comfortably in the third seed with 20 wins and 18 losses, in front of the Mavericks in fourth with 19 wins and 23 losses. But the Mavericks came out on top in the season series against the Lightning, 5-4.
If a championship isn't enough enticement, the opportunity to play at Tropicana Field is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for some of the players.
"I think it's the whole key to the Florida league," said Lightning manager Frank Viola. "In other leagues, there is nothing at the end to keep them focused, but here they have a goal the whole summer to get there."
The atmosphere at a major league field adds a level of excitement that many of the players aren't used too.
"You step onto a major league baseball field and everything is on a completely different level than what you are used to playing on," said Bolt.
The Lightning has led the FCSL in batting for most of the season and their offense will be a key component to winning the championship.
As far as defense, the Lightning has struggled throughout the season, but has come alive on the field and at the mound in the playoffs.
"Frank [Viola] positioned our team to be in a very good spot when the playoffs started," said Bruce Ericson, general manager of the Leesburg Lightning. "He moved players in and out of the lineup throughout the year and despite arm trouble from pitchers, we were able to work through that. We went into the playoffs with all our pitchers healthy."
Throughout the summer, it was a priority for Frank Viola, manager of the Lightning, to give all the players a chance to gain experience and become better ball players. But for the playoffs and championship, Viola is putting his best weapons on the field.
"The whole significance of summer baseball is to give everyone an opportunity to play and gain experience," Viola said. "I am not big on playing the best players all the time. Not to take anything away from the guys that aren't playing, but we have decided in the last couple of games to go with the guys that have been playing the best at the time."
Rick Kalgstein will be the starting pitcher for the Lightning. Kalgstein has had a solid season with a 3.13 ERA in eight starting appearances. He has pitched 37.1 innings this summer, struck out 34 and walked six.
And as always, the Lightning can depend on their fans to give them support on a level unprecedented in the FCSL.
Vic's Embers Supper Club is sponsoring a coach bus to take fans to the game. To reserve a spot, fans should call 352-728-9888 between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. The cost is $10 for a round-trip ticket and the bus will be leaving from Pat Thomas Stadium-Buddy Lowe Field at 2 p.m.
"They [the fans] play just as big of part in getting here as we do," Bolt said.
After their dominating performance in the playoffs, Viola is confident in the Lightning's ability to bring home a championship.
"We are peaking at the right time," Viola said." "If we have play like we have played in the last two games, I like our chances."
But Bolt has faith in his team's ability to come together and rally for a win.
"I haven't been on a team with this much talent, Bolt said. "We have a lot of weapons offensively and a lot of good pitching. We are a good baseball team when we play as a team."
For Bolt, 22, today's game will be end of his baseball career. Bolt has been playing baseball since he was five-years old. He has spent the last three summers with the Lightning and was with the team in 2007 when they brought home their first championship. He plans to start a career in teaching after his baseball career is over.
"After the playoffs, Coach Viola told me to be ready for the championship," Bolt said. "It would be nice way to end my career."
But Bolt isn't the only player eager to put it all on the line at Tropicana Field.
"No one wants to go home," Bolt said. "Everyone wants to win."