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Lightning Blocks Out the Sun(s), 5-0

Monday, June 6, 2011 5:16pm

The Lightning added another early season victory Saturday night in DeLand under the lights at Melching Field Conrad Park with a 5-0 win.

A night after an offensive explosion, Leesburg relied on their pitching staff to get the job done on Saturday. Backed by outstanding defense, the four Leesburg pitchers didn’t allow a run and kept DeLand batters at bay for the majority of the night.

Similar to Friday night, starter Dylan Ortega found himself in trouble early in the first inning with runners on the corners and only one out when third baseman Tyler Kellmann made an acrobatic catch along the DeLand dugout actually colliding with cather Nick Octavi to prevent any runs.

Troy Drummond lived up to the hype in terms of speed when he smashed a triple in the right-center gap that scored shortstop Jacob Tillotson to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.

“I got ahead 3-1 in the count and drove the ball into the gap,” said Drummond. “With a runner on I was just looking for something to hit up the middle and found a hole.” He would go on to finish the night 2-5 with a pair of RBI’s and a pair of stolen bases.

Catcher Nick Octavi also added another hit, extending his team lead to five early in the season. “I go up there and I try to be aggressive, I look fastball and I look to swing,” said Octavi, who also did a phenomenal job of handling the pitching staff for the second night in a row.  “The guys made it easy when they throw strikes all night but you find and feel for a sense of the way each guy pitches.” Octavi has had to catch seven different Lightning pitchers in the first two games, all of whom he hasn’t caught before.

One of those pitchers was starter Dylan Ortega who was pulled after three innings after giving up no more than four base runners. He wasn’t thrilled with his performance, but left the game satisfied at having given up only two hits.

Team chemistry has had a lot to do with the Lightning’s early season success and the Leesburg bench has been very energetic throughout the first two games. Being able to come from all over the country and blend together as one team will be pivotal to the teams’ success moving forward, however the excited mood on the bench points to all things positive for Leesburg. Ortega added “We’re already forming a little family on the team.”

Leesburg will be home again Sunday against Winter Haven at 5:00.