Week 6 Recap: Leesburg Displays Clutch Hitting During 5-2 Week
Leesburg, FL - 14 runs in the last or second-to-last inning this week, including two walk-off wins saw the Leesburg Lightning go 5-2, boosting their league-best record to 23-7. The Clutch City Lightning have all but locked up the top spot in this year's Florida League playoffs, so let's take a look back at this past week.
Weekly Team Leaders
(These numbers only reflect players' performances throughout the past week, not the entire season)
- Batting Avg: Jay Prather - 0.429 (5th in the FCSL)
- Hits: Jay Prather - 9 (3rd in the FCSL)
- Runs: Luke Brown - 6 (2nd in the FCSL)
- RBIs: Jay Prather - 5 (4th in the FCSL)
- HRs: Sean Mootrey and Tanner May - 1 (2nd in the FCSL)
- SOs: Hunter Caudelle - 9 (2nd in the FCSL)
- Innings Pitched: Hunter Caudelle - 9.0 (1st in the FCSL)
Best Performances of the Week
7/9 vs Winter Garden Squeeze - Tanner May
Before May suffered a calf injury earlier this week, he was arguably the league's hottest hitter, taking the league lead in RBIs and entering the top five for league batting average. In his only at-bat of the week, he sent a no-doubt bomb over the right-center field wall at Winter Garden, cutting the Squeeze lead in half. May was subbed out following the at-bat and has yet to play for the Lightning since. Hopefully, he will be able to return following three days off this week before Leesburg returns to action on 7/18.
7/11 vs Winter Park Diamond Dawgs - Codie Lunday and Jose Crisostomo
In the first walk-off win of the week for the Lightning, both Lunday and Crisostomo were instrumental in what turned into a monstrous comeback at Pat Thomas Stadium. Lunday started the game and went six full innings while only allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits, striking out four Diamond Dawgs batters. Jose had a perfect night at the plate, reaching base all five times he stepped into the batter's box, tallying three walks and going 2-2 with two singles and a stolen base. He also drew a walk and scored during the four-run ninth inning rally that the Lightning used to eventually steal the game on a walk-off error by Winter Park first baseman Jacob Teter.
7/12 vs Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (Game 2 of DH) - Joshua Shapiro
It's time to acknowledge what Josh Shapiro is doing this season. Sure he gave up three runs and took the loss in this game, but the Lightning offense only provided one run of support, so it's hard to blame Shapiro for that. Josh added seven strikeouts to his season total in this game, putting him atop the league with 32 on the season. Impressive, right? But wait, there's more. Shapiro has only started four games this season, and if you don't count the game that he left with an injury after two innings, he's had 27 strikeouts through three starts. It's almost surprising when he doesn't get at least two strikeouts in an inning now. Josh Shapiro, strikeout machine. Consider the rest of the league officially on notice.
7/13 vs Winter Park Diamond Dawgs - The entire roster
Friday the 13th was anything but unlucky for the Lightning, Winter Park not so much. Down 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Leesburg put together a six-run rally fueled by dugout energy, cheering and adrenaline. They drew walks, beat out infield singles, hit extra-base hits and so much more. This Lightning team proved once again that they believe in each other and gave the fans a reason to believe.
7/14 vs Winter Garden Squeeze (Game 1 of DH) - Jake Matulia
In a weather-shortened game that the Lightning won 6-2 in five innings, Matulia went 2-2 with two singles and a walk to spearhead the efficient offense. Jake also swiped two bases, including a play where he stole home after a couple of bad defensive choices by the Squeeze. Matulia has been the model of efficient baserunning all summer, proving to be dangerous on the basepaths no matter how he gets on.
7/14 vs Winter Garden Squeeze (Game 2 of DH) - Pedro Reyes-Ruiz, Jay Prather, and Sean Mootrey
"Team effort" has never described a season more than it does this season for Leesburg. Reyes, the steady and consistent Lightning closer, provided 2 2/3 innings of no-hit relief, including extra innings. The game went eight innings but was originally scheduled for seven as part of a doubleheader, so the eighth was considered an extra inning. Jay was 2-3 with a run, an RBI and two singles, including a key hit in a two-run fifth inning for the Lightning. Mootrey, who at 0.231 on the season would not be many people's first choice on paper to hit in clutch situations, proved once again why he has the trust of Lightning head coach Rich Billings. With two on and no outs in the bottom of the eighth, Sean blasted a long ball over the fence in left-center field, ending a long night with a walk-off, three-run home run to sweep the doubleheader against the Squeeze.
Upcoming Schedule
Leesburg is off on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday as the league's top prospects head to North Carolina for the "NC Prospect Showcase". They will return to action on Wednesday (7/18) with a home game against the DeLand Suns at 7 p.m. After away games against the Suns on Thursday (7/19) and Friday (7/20), the Lightning will round out the week at Winter Garden on Saturday (7/21). Next week will be the final week of the regular season for the Florida League.
Standings
|
Team
|
W
|
L
|
PCT
|
GB
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | 23 | 7 | 0.767 | --- |
| Suns | 16 | 14 | 0.533 | 7 |
| River Rats | 14 | 17 | 0.452 | 9.5 |
| Diamond Dawgs | 13 | 16 | 0.448 | 9.5 |
| Squeeze | 12 | 17 | 0.414 | 10.5 |
| Scorpions | 12 | 19 | 0.387 | 11.5 |
Matt Holzapfel (Elon University)