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Offense Explodes in Lightning Win

Saturday, July 30, 2011 10:30pm

One night after clinching first place in the Florida League, the Lightning headed back to Orlando where they defeated the Freedom 13-2 two nights before. Saturday’s game would be a marathon that lasted well past the other two games in the League.

                While the Lightning’s playoff future is determined, the Freedom are in the midst of a three way battlefor the final playoff spots for next week. The Freedom along with the DeLand Suns and the Winter Haven Loggerheads are all following each other closely to see what the other does.

                The Lightning, staying true to Coach Therneau’s statement that the team would not lay down in the final two games, sent ace Nic Kovacs to the mound. Kovacs has been nothing short of spectacular all season long but was off on Saturday. He simply didn’t have his best stuff and labored hard early in the game. But his high powered offense would come through in a big way and bail him out.

                The Freedom jumped out to a 4-1 lead after a 60 pitch, 50 minute first inning where both pitchers were lucky the scoring wasn’t higher.

                The Freedom commanded the game early but the resilient Leesburg squad scored five runs in the blink of an eye in the third inning. Hits came off the bats of Zane Evans, Troy Drummond, Tom Sicking, Jacob Tillotson and Mike Albaladejo in a rapid procession that made it look like batting practice for the Lightning.

                As has been aforementioned, injuries have destroyed the depth of the Orlando pitching staff and that was certainly a factor in both Thursday and Saturday night’s games.

                The Freedom chipped back at the lead scoring runs in the third and sixth innings but could not overcome the offense that Leesburg threw at them. On paper, Orlando themselves had a fantastic day offensively, scoring six runs off of 13 hits, but Leesburg was just a bit better.

                Leesburg added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to give themselves some insurance and maintain their lead. In the eighth, Tillotson hit a blast that knocked halfway up a cypress tree well beyond the right field wall for a no doubt two run homerun. The record breaking Tillotson is setting that single season hit record higher and higher with each game and finished the night 2-4 with two walks, four runs and three RBIs.

                The Lightning blew past their previous mark of 13 hits on Thursday with 18 on Saturday night at Orel Hershiser Field. The hit parade was led by Tom Sicking, who had four on the night. Albaladejo and Evans each had three, and Drummond and Tyler Kellmann each had a pair.

                Carlton Patton, David Lucroy and Max Rusch took care of business in the final four innings of the game.

Sticking with the feel of the entire game, the Freedom would not quit and made the game interesting in the ninth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs and a deep fly ball needed another foot to be a grand slam and would have tied the game. Instead it went for a single and just one run and Rusch was able to battle back and struck out the final three batters after surrendering the single.

While the rest of the leagues playoff picture is cloudy, the Lightning are a force to be reckoned with and are making sure they don’t limp into the playoffs. They play Winter Haven tomorrow in a game that the Loggerheads desperately need to win.

By: Nick Beardi (Medaille College)