Official Website of the 2009 FCSL Champions

Red, Lightning and Blue on the 4th of July

Tuesday, July 5, 2011 12:24am

                Nothing is more American than baseball on the 4^thof July. Staying true to that motto, the Leesburg Lightning took on the U.S. 9 Military Team, comprised of active members of the United States Armed Forces.

                Pat Thomas Stadium was packed well beyond capacity and everyone donned their red, white and blue in honor of our brave service men and women. The game was started off by an on-field ceremony that paid tribute to the family of Staff Sergeant Michael Bock, the Leesburg graduate who was killed in action a year ago. Many current and retired members of the military were among the thousands in attendance and were honored several times during the game for their bravery and courage.

                Taking the mound for the Lightning to start the game was Andrew White. White rebounded from a few subpar starts with a great outing on Monday. He held the U.S. 9 scoreless through the first five innings and the team was only able to amass three hits off of the lefty from Dodge City Community College through five innings of work.

                White’s counterpart on the mound was Matt Zettler, a cadet at the Air Force Academy. Zettler was equally good, but couldn’t recover from a hard luck first inning. With runners on, Zettler induced a groundball that squeaked its way through the right side of the infield and the ensuing walks would score four Lightning runs. Zettler would actually only allow two hits, but walks and errors put the Lightning up 5-0 and they never looked back.

                The atmosphere of the game is what set this one apart. Around the fourth inning, the setting sun took its place behind some clouds and a cool lake breeze made for ideal conditions. In the fifth inning, members of U.S. 9 came into the stands to shake hands and talk to other service members and the Leesburg fans. The end of the fifth inning brought the race around the bases where dozens of kids battled for running supremacy as Lightning catcher Nick Octavi tried his best to high five every little runner.

                The Lightning were great but the real show was the fireworks after the game which lit up the Florida sky. With only eight hits total in the game, the fireworks provided the extra pops that the bats could not. Baseball, fireworks and the red, white and blue … Doesn’t get much better.

                Even Lightning great Jon Bolt put on a uniform and came out for the final two outs of the game. “I remember pitching against these guys when I played and looking at the guy in the box and thinking ‘Who am I to get a strike in on you,’” said Bolt. “Because of what they do everyday, we get to play this great game.”

By: Nick Beardi (Medaille College)