Official Website of the 2009 FCSL Champions

Lightning Sweep the Suns 9-2

Sunday, July 3, 2011 2:35am

                The Lightning won their fourth straight game Friday night, beating the DeLand Suns 8-2. Leesburg swept the home and home series to earn their 14^thwin of the season.

                The excitement was started early in the first inning of the game when Mike Miller, the designated hitter for the game, crushed a ball down the left field line with runners in scoring position. The whole bench got to their feet and leaned with the ball as it bent towards the foul pole. The ball ricocheted off the pole and Miller, Jacob Tillotson and Hunter Mayfield. The homerun was Leesburg’s third of the year.

                Miller admitted he was leaning like Carlton Fisk right along with his teammates but that he knew it was gone when he hit it.

                Starter Micah Kellogg would enter the game with a four run lead before throwing a single pitch. The cushy lead would be more than enough for the Flagler product. Kellogg would work into the sixth inning and striking out six. He left the game with runners on the corners and reliever Kory Brooker would bail him out. Of the two runs that Kellogg allowed, only one was earned.

                Kellogg has been fantastic in his starts this season. He tried to pitch last week at The Villages against the same Suns team and was under the weather. With that excluded, Kellogg has used an array of pitches to fool hitters.

                Leesburg would add to their lead in the fourth inning when Mike Albaladejo grounded a ball hard to the first baseman with runners on second and third and the ball hopped over the fielders glove. The error would have ended the inning, but went for two more runs.

                Tom Sicking continued his success from Thursday night with a big double down the right field line that scored two more runs in the fifth inning extending the Lightning lead to 8-1. Sicking finished the game 2-4 with a run.

                Leesburg would escape trouble in the sixth inning and the Lightning used a combination of Brooker, Mike Clutterbuck, Carlton Patton and Nikc Palmer to close out the game. All four pitchers faced no more than three batters, setting down the Suns in order in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

                “We wanted to get guys work,” said Pitching Coach Jon Bolt. “We had some guys who haven’t pitched in a while and I thought everybody, especially Kellogg, threw the ball extremely well.” When asked if he thought playing DeLand back to back helped the pitchers he acknowledged that while it might help, it is baseball and nothing is predictable.

                    The Lightning return home to face the last place Orlando Freedom and are home again against the U.S. 9 Military Team on the 4^thof July where everyone is encouraged to come out for clinics before the game and to stay for the fireworks show after the game.

By: Nick Beardi (Medaille College)