Gabe Santiago Has Record Breaking Night En Route To 11-3 Leesburg Win Over Winter Park

(Leesburg, Fla.)-The Leesburg Lightning had another historic night in just the 6th game of the 2024 season, grabbing a walk-off mercy rule win over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs on Friday night, 11-3.

The Lightning would get the bats going early offensively with a leadoff single from SS Ryan Jenkins, followed by a deep home run blast to left centerfield by EH Collin Priest to jump the Lightning out in front 2-0. The Lightning would go on and score two more across in the bottom of the 1st to give the Bolts and early 4-0 lead heading into the 2nd.

Leesburg would strike again in the 2nd as well off a throwing error from SS Maverick Stallings over to first, allowing Travis Stapelton to come across to extend the lead in the 2nd to 5-0. However, Winter Park would respond with a back-to-back home runs in the Top of the 4th off Ryan Crivello and Ethan Young to get the Diamond Dawgs back within 2.

However, the bottom of the 4th would change the complexion of the ball game as Leesburg went on to score 5 runs including off of a pair of singles by Gabe Santiago, who beat out two infield plays to first to record a hit, and 3B Keeton Burroughs. Santiago would later score in what would be his 65th all-time run scored as a member of the Leesburg Lightning, breaking the individual career franchise record for runs scored previously held by Brett Jones for the past 10 years.

The Lightning and Diamond Dawgs would stay scoreless across the 5th and 6th innings, but Ryan Jenkins would capitalize on a misfire over to 1B to score Riley Fitzgerald, walking off the game and sealing the win for the Bolts in 7.

Gabe Santiago would finish with a 3-4 night, while Keeton Burroughs went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs to his credit.

"Honestly, I had no idea," said Santiago when reacting to the record-breaking news. "I'm going out to the field in-between innings, just getting my work in, and hear something going on. I heard my name coming from the broadcast booth and then everybody was cheering at me. Then I asked Jenkins at short, "did they say my name," and he said " yeah, you broke the record for run scored," and I'm like, oh, that is awesome. That is crazy. So I had no idea."

"Gabe is just a really, really special kid," Head Coach Rich Billings said when talking about Santiago. "A special player obviously, but he's been through a lot. He's transferred schools, he's been injured, he had to sit out a year after he transferred, so he has been through it. He deserves all the success that he has had."

After a historical night at Pat Thomas Stadium, the Lightning are back in action today for the final two games of the three-game set with a doubleheader beginning at 4:30 p.m. EST.

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