Kelly's 3-Hit Day Leads Balanced Attack To 7-2 Win

LEESBURG, FL- The Leesburg Lightning (13-8) were 2-4 against the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (11-12) on the season entering Wednesday's affair, with both wins coming at Pat Thomas Stadium. They continued that trend with a 7-2 win on Buddy Lowe Field to once again go atop the FCSL standings and win their third straight game.

The Lightning, who improved to 8-1 on the season when scoring first, got the first two aboard in Naphis Llanos (Francis Marion) and Cam Hill (Georgia College & State). A 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Clay Stearns (Troy) plated Llanos, who had reached on an error, to open up the scoring. The Dawgs would break through against Lightning starter Jackson Spiller (FAU) in the third on a single from Carlos Castillo (St. Petersburg), who reached second on a balk and scored from there on a wild pitch. Spiller, who hadn’t pitched since June 26th, exited after three innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five. Coach Rich Billings was impressed with his entire pitching staff’s performance, but particularly Spiller’s.

“They were around the plate and really didn’t walk too many guys” said Billings.  “We made them swing the bats and we got some quick outs. Especially for not being on the mound for three weeks, it was really good to see them have some success.”

The tie was short lived, with the Lightning getting back to work in the third. After Drew Stubbs (Eastern Florida St) and Robbie Scott (UNF) reached on a single and a walk respectively, a pair of errors scored them both. With Hall in scoring position, Llanos drilled a double into right center to make it 4-1. Llanos finished the day 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI, and had a little extra motivation in the game.

“I just didn't want to strike out... and I bet Coach Billings I could get three hits today.” said Llanos.

With the Lightning into their bullpen, the Dawgs grabbed a run off of Matthew Coles (Carson Newman). Despite back-to-back hits and a walk, Coles, who hadn’t pitched in a game since June 25th, allowed just one run. 

The offenses would be dormant until the home half of the sixth, when the Lightning seized control of the game. A two out rally that included three walks, an RBI single from Llanos, and a Dawgs error gave the Lightning two more runs. The Dawgs entered the game as the second best fielding team in the league, but committed four errors and allowed three unearned runs.The Lightning would grab their last run in the seventh on a Jordan Griffin (Carson Newman) RBI double that scored Brett Kelly. Llanos and Kelly, who went 3-for-4 with a double, received rave reviews from coach Billings.

“Those guys are spark plugs.” said Billings. “Rarely is it anything fancy, but they put the ball in play and give us good at bats… the energy and enthusiasm they bring is 100% all of the time.”

Following Coles, the Lightning bullpen was superb, allowing two hits and walking two over five innings of scoreless work. Blayne Huter (South Florida State) and Connor Gleeson (Gardner Webb) each pitched a scoreless inning and struck out a pair, with Will Sprague (Undecided) and Zach Henderson (Valdosta State) allowing just a base runner a piece. Evan Waterbor (FAU) pitched a clean 1-2-3 fifth inning.

Once again tied atop the league standings with the Sanford River Rats, the Lightning will open up a three-game set against the last-placed Seminole County Snappers (7-15) tomorrow night. Games one and three will be played in Sanford, with the middle game happening at Pat Thomas on Friday at 7.

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