LEESBURG, Fla- After winning two championships in their first three years, the Leesburg Lightning fell into some hard times in the postseason, losing five consecutive championships games/series. After forcing a game three on Saturday night, they claimed the third Whiting Cup in franchise history on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 9-1 in just seven innings.

The game before the game took place after the national anthem, with Blayne Huter (South Florida State) winning a standoff against two Diamond Dawgs players outside of their respective dugouts. Despite a nearly two-hour weather delay beforehand, the Lightning faithful had Pat Thomas Stadium rocking.

The team gave them reason to cheer in the first, with a Cam Hill (Georgia College & State) double and Robbie Scott (UNF) triple quickly opening the scoring. A throwing error allowed Scott to come home and make it 2-0 Leesburg.

The Lighting defense showed up in the second, with Naphis Llanos (Francis...

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ORLANDO, Fla- In game one of the 2021 FCSL Championship Series, the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs did what they had been unable to do in their three attempts during the regular season: beat the Leesburg Lightning on the road. The Lightning, with their backs against the wall, flipped the script on Saturday night, winning 6-4 to keep their season alive and force a decisive game three.

Both starting pitchers rolled through the first inning, facing the minimum. The Lightning were able to get their first lead of the series in the second inning off a Travis Stapleton (UNF) solo home run into left. Head coach Rich Billings saw the importance of Stapleton’s early bomb following a game where the Lightning lacked energy.

“Travis’ homerun set the tone and got our guys going… The energy was so good throughout the whole nine innings and you need that in a tight ball game. Things went our way and I fully believe that's what happens when you bring the energy.”

The Dawgs responded in the bottom...

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LEESBURG, Fla- Despite their struggles against the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs in the regular season, the Leesburg Lightning were a perfect 3-0 in games played at Pat Thomas Stadium against the Dawgs. Despite game one being played at “the Pat”, the Lightning faltered to open up championship weekend, dropping the opener to the Dawgs 8-4. With the loss, the Lightning are just a game away from elimination.

The first two innings were pretty uneventful for both sides, with Dominick Madonna (UNF) allowing three base runners through the first two frames while stranding them both. On the other side of the coin, Chase Malloy (Jacksonville) applied some pressure early with a single up the middle and a pair of stolen bases, but the Lightning couldn’t produce anything of it. As they would learn later, that became a trend for the night.

Dariel Fregio (St. Leo), who the Lightning had seen twice in the regular season and had struggled with (to an extent), was as locked in as any pitcher all...

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And then there were two.

Following a two-game sweep of the DeLand Suns, the Leesburg Lightning find themselves contending for a Whiting Cup for the second year in a row. The team that finds itself in the way has been a thorn in the Lightning’s side for not just this season, but a decade’s worth of playoff battles: the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs.

The Dawgs won their play-in game contest with the Winter Garden Squeeze before stunning the defending champion Sanford River Rats in three games to advance to the championship.

In this preview, we’ll analyze the season series and some keys for a Lightning championship.

Where and When?

Game 1 and Game 3 (if necessary) will be played at Pat Thomas Stadium, while Game 2 will be played at Bishop Moore High School. All games will start at 7 P.M barring weather delays.

Games at Pat Thomas are free as always. Pricing for Game 2 can be found online at http://www.floridaleague.com/view/fcsl. 

As always, all games can be...

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DELAND, Fla- After three plus hours of stressful baseball, the Leesburg Lightning (20-11) emerged from Tuesday night’s contest a 7-5 victor over the DeLand Suns (14-16). With the win, the Lightning completed the two-game sweep of the Suns and secured a spot in their second straight championship and the eighth in team history.

The Lightning generated three base runners in the first inning, but weren’t able to break through until the third inning. Still facing Suns starter Isaiah Brewington (NC A&T), Jesse Hall (Troy) and Naphis Llanos (Francis Marion) reached base on a hit by pitch and single, respectively. A subsequent Chase Malloy (Jacksonville) single up the middle opened up the scoring. After Clay Stearns (Troy) was also hit by an errant pitch, a Robbie Scott (UNF) double into left scored two to open up a three run lead. A passed ball would then score Stearns to make it 4-0 Lightning. 

Jacob Bradshaw (UNA) had been dominant to start the game, facing the minimum through the...

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