A Strong Cast of Lightning Returners Teams Up with a Fresh Set of Faces
As opening day looms closer for the Leesburg Lightning, the roster is set with another strong batch of returners along with plenty of fresh faces. The Lightning will see 10 returners from previous seasons including 8 from last year's championship team.
Pitchers Dustin Dunlap, Riley Fitzgerald, and Tanner Walker are all returning for their third year with the Lightning. All three have posted a career ERA under 4.00 in their two previous seasons with Leesburg.
This summer's roster includes players from 8 different Division-1 colleges, including two power-five conferences in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC).
Just like in years past, well over half the roster is Florida born with 18 players set to attend schools in the state this upcoming collegiate season. However, close to 25 players have recently attended a Florida college or university before transferring out of state.
Pitchers:
The Lightning roster consists of 19 pitchers, 7 of which are returners from previous seasons.
Bryan Burtoft from Lake-Sumter State joins the team having been one of Coach Billings go to arms this past season finishing with a 3-0 record and a 3.82 ERA in 40 innings pitched.
Steven Rojas from Pasco Hernando State College is also a newcomer, who sported a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings pitched this spring. He notched 4 saves and finished with 36 strikeouts in just 20 appearances.
TJ Socarras from the University of Pittsburgh is listed as both a pitcher and infielder for this summer. On the pitching side, Coach Billings plans to use Socarras as a bullpen piece where he could be one of the team's go to closers, with his fastball creeping up to the mid 90s.
Jose Paniagua from the College of Central Florida is another flamethrower that can get his fastball into the mid 90s. The Orlando native went 3-0 this spring with a 1.71 ERA and 21 strikeouts in his 14 appearances. Like Socarras, Coach Billings might rely on Paniagua as a late game weapon, given his 3 saves this past season.
Five of the seven returning pitchers were a part of the championship team last year, accounting for over 70 innings pitched all together.
Infielders/Catchers:
Two familiar faces will be joined by four newcomers to round out the Lightning infield this summer.
Grant Jordan will play his first season with the Lightning after a strong spring with Pasco Hernando State College where he finished with a .358 batting average in 54 games as an everyday infielder. The Florida native was recently awarded defensive player of the year for the Sun Lakes Conference, committing just 3 errors on the season.
Ryan Jenkins from Carson-Newman University will play his second season for the Lightning after an impressive spring where he finished with 39 RBIs and 4 home runs in 52 games. Jenkins made the 2024 All-Sun-Lakes Conference First Team Infield and was named the team MVP for Lake-Sumter State College two seasons ago before transferring to Carson-Newman.
James Strom from Southeastern is another returner with tons of college ball experience, ending the spring with a .361 batting average and 6 home runs to go along with 29 RBIs.
Juan Orozco from Seminole State College is someone Coach Billings is excited to see after tallying 47 RBIs, 8 home runs and finishing with a .335 batting average this spring. The Orlando native had 60 hits in 51 games including 16 doubles and 29 runs scored.
Cole Bullen from the University of Florida is one of three catchers for the Lightning. Before attending UF, Bullen played two years at the College of Central Florida where he helped lead them to a NJCAA National Championship as a redshirt freshman. As a sophomore, the Belleview native had a .315 batting average and 4 home runs in 44 games.
Outfielders:
Leesburg will have four outfielders on the roster this season, not including other position players that can also split time in the outfield.
Julian Irizarry from the University of Pittsburg is one of the three players from a power five conference who played in 21 games this spring ending with a .311 batting average in his first season. Irizarry tallied 14 hits and 6 RBIs in just 45 at bats for the Panthers.
Charlie Keller from Jacksonville State is someone that Coach Billings plans to put in the middle of the order and can play multiple positions including the corner outfield spots and third base. Keller made the All-MACCC Honorable Mention list after his freshman year at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where he hit .311 and drove in 47 runs in 32 games.
Eli Thurmond from Florida Southern College recently finished up his two years at Lake-Sumter State College with Coach Billings where he had 47 hits and 23 RBIs in 51 games.
Vic Maslia (Syracuse University)