Winter Park Diamond Dawgs

7

FINAL/11

6

Leesburg Lightning
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
WIN2 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 2 7 10 1
LEE 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 7 1
WChacon
LReyes-Ruiz
SVWarren
Leesburg's Season Ends in Extra Innings Thriller After 7-6 Loss to Winter Park

Leesburg's Season Ends in Extra Innings Thriller After 7-6 Loss to Winter Park

Leesburg, FL – One play, maybe two. That’s how close the Leesburg Lightning were to securing a spot in the Florida League championship on Friday night. A bittersweet 7-6 loss, but a loss nonetheless, ended the season for the Lightning, who should no doubt be proud of their effort this season.

Leesburg Head Coach Rich Billings was proud of his team, who he said proved they could be special early on in the season. “It was pretty early on,” Coach Billings said of when he realized the enormous potential that his team possessed. “We were putting up a lot of runs, guys were pitching well and we were doing a lot of things really well. I knew we had a special team and a special group of guys.”

Winter Park took an early 1-0 lead after starting pitcher Hunter Caudelle (Georgia Gwinnett) hit the first batter he saw, Robert Scott (Lake Sumter CC), to start the game. After Scott stole second and advanced to third on a Chandler Roberson (UCF) infield single, Tyler Osik (UCF) drove him in with an RBI groundout.

The Lightning bats finally awoke from their playoff-long slumber in the bottom of the fourth inning when they plated five runs on the heels of hits by Frank Niemann (Tulane), Matthew Wiseman (San Jacinto), and Tucker Rayburn (Florida A&M). Winter Park starting pitcher Turner Scruggs (Winthrop) was shaken up halfway through the inning after slipping while backing up home plate and later left the game in favor of reliever AJ Chacon (Rollins). Matt Wiseman scored the fifth run on a Chacon wild pitch, but Luke Brown (Western Kentucky) and Tanner Clark (North Florida) both got out to end the inning with Rayburn stranded on third base.

A throwing error by Wes Weeks (North Florida) in right field allowed the Diamond Dawgs to close the gap to 5-2 in the top of the fifth, but Hunter Caudelle ended his night by retiring three straight batters to strand a runner on third base.

Winter Park had the bases loaded in the sixth but failed to score any runs. They would not waste a similar opportunity in the seventh. New pitcher Dominic Jeancola (Embry-Riddle) walked Brian Ellis (FGCU) and hit Cale Jones (Santa Fe) with a pitch before Cristian Rivera (Webber International) sent a no-doubt bomb over the right field wall, tying the game up at 5-5 and elevating the playoff drama to new heights. The long ball was the first given up by the Florida League All-Star Jeancola all season.

The Dawgs pushed two runs across in the top of the 11th after Jose Crisostomo (Miami Dade) misplayed a fly ball from Jeff Korte (Illinois Champaign) that turned into a two-RBI double.

Trailing 7-5 in the bottom of the 11th with their season on the line, the Leesburg Lightning did what they do best, fight. Sean Mootrey (Georgia Gwinnett) drew a walk and Luke Brown doubled down the right field line to put runners on second and third with just one out. Tanner Clark took a pitch in the back to load the bases with still just one out, sending the previously dormant Pat Thomas Stadium crowd into a frenzy. Jay Prather (North Florida) drove in pinch runner Walker McCleney (Alabama) with a sacrifice fly to center field to draw Leesburg within one. With two on and two outs, the Lightning put their faith in All-Star slugger Tanner May (North Florida), who was previously 0-5 in the contest. May put a charge into one and lifted the ball to deep center field, but it wasn’t far enough and center fielder Tyler Osik made the catch to end the game.

The Lightning once held a 1-0 series lead after Joshua Shapiro’s (Marshall) gem on the mound in game one, but the Diamond Dawgs, who were 1-7 against the Lightning during the regular season, showed heart and never gave up. “They were just better than us. The first half of the season we were a different team than we were the second half,” explained Coach Billings. “I think the guys could sense that but those guys (Winter Park) were tough so hats off to them. They were just a tough group of kids and sometimes that’s enough.”

Leesburg’s record-breaking season ended with a 28-13 regular season record, the longest winning streak in Florida Collegiate Summer League history, and the number one overall seed to boot. Despite their disappointing exit in the first round of the playoffs, this season was a long shot from something to hang their heads about for the cardiac kids in the black and gold.

Head Coach Rich Billings’ postgame message to his team was simple, “thank you.” “Thank you for showing up every day. They all had plenty of opportunities to go home if they had chosen to do that but they stuck it out and they showed up every day. They fought and they battled and they never quit. If they feel like they got better at something individually then summer was worth it, that’s what it’s all about.”

Matt Holzapfel (Elon University)

Author’s Note: It’s been an honor writing for the Lightning this season, and I hope that you readers enjoyed my recaps as much as I enjoyed working for the Lightning this season. It was a hell of a ride, thanks for taking it with me. This isn’t goodbye, just see you later. – MH

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Batting

Name AB R H RBI BB SO
Scott, 2b 3 2 1 0 1 1
Robertson, lf 6 0 2 0 0 1
Osik, cf 5 0 2 1 1 1
Ellis, 1b 4 1 0 0 2 1
Brophy, pr/1b 0 1 0 0 0 0
Jones, c 5 1 1 0 0 1
Rivera, ss 5 2 2 3 1 0
Korte, dh 6 0 2 2 0 1
Sequera, 3b 5 0 0 0 1 3
Dvorak, rf 3 0 0 0 2 1
Scruggs, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chacon, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Clark, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Warren, p 0 0 0 0 0 0

Batting

2B - Rivera, Korte

HR - Rivera

RBI - Osik, Rivera 3, Korte 2

HBP - Scott 2, Jones

Baserunning

SB - Scott, Osik, Brophy

Fielding

E - Sequera

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO
Scruggs 3.1 3 5 5 3 1
Chacon, W 6.2 3 0 0 2 5
Clark 0.1 1 1 1 1 0
Warren, SV 0.2 0 0 0 0 0

Wild Pitches - Scruggs, Chacon 2

Pitches/Strikes - Scruggs 55/25, Chacon 90/58, Clark 14/5, Warren 8/4

Groundouts/Flyouts - Scruggs 4/5, Chacon 8/6, Clark 1/0, Warren 0/2

Batters Faced - Scruggs 17, Chacon 26, Clark 4, Warren 2

Batting

Name AB R H RBI BB SO
Brown, cf 6 0 1 0 0 0
Clark, c 5 0 1 0 0 1
Prather, 2b 3 1 1 1 2 0
May, ss 6 0 0 0 0 1
Niemann, dh 5 1 1 0 0 0
Weeks, rf 4 1 1 0 0 2
Crisostomo, lf 4 1 0 1 1 1
Wiseman, 3b 3 1 1 2 2 1
Rayburn, 1b 2 0 1 1 0 0
Mootrey, 1b 1 0 0 0 1 0
McCleney, pr 0 1 0 0 0 0
Caudelle, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coles, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeancola, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Davenport, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Simple, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reyes-Ruiz, p 0 0 0 0 0 0

Batting

2B - Brown, Wiseman

RBI - Prather, Crisostomo, Wiseman 2, Rayburn

GDP - Crisostomo

HBP - Clark, Weeks, Rayburn

Fielding

E - Weeks

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO
Caudelle 5.0 6 2 1 1 2
Coles 1.0 1 0 0 1 0
Jeancola 1.0 2 3 3 1 1
Davenport 2.0 0 0 0 1 3
Simple 0.2 0 0 0 2 1
Reyes-Ruiz, L 1.1 1 2 2 2 3

Wild Pitches - Caudelle

Pitches/Strikes - Caudelle 85/55, Coles 16/8, Jeancola 22/10, Davenport 28/16, Simple 15/6, Reyes-Ruiz 23/15

Groundouts/Flyouts - Caudelle 6/7, Coles 1/2, Jeancola 0/1, Davenport 0/3, Simple 1/0, Reyes-Ruiz 0/1

Batters Faced - Caudelle 23, Coles 6, Jeancola 6, Davenport 7, Simple 4, Reyes-Ruiz 7

Diamond Dawgs

Batting

Name AB R H RBI BB SO
Scott, 2b 3 2 1 0 1 1
Robertson, lf 6 0 2 0 0 1
Osik, cf 5 0 2 1 1 1
Ellis, 1b 4 1 0 0 2 1
Brophy, pr/1b 0 1 0 0 0 0
Jones, c 5 1 1 0 0 1
Rivera, ss 5 2 2 3 1 0
Korte, dh 6 0 2 2 0 1
Sequera, 3b 5 0 0 0 1 3
Dvorak, rf 3 0 0 0 2 1
Scruggs, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chacon, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Clark, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Warren, p 0 0 0 0 0 0

Batting

2B - Rivera, Korte

HR - Rivera

RBI - Osik, Rivera 3, Korte 2

HBP - Scott 2, Jones

Baserunning

SB - Scott, Osik, Brophy

Fielding

E - Sequera

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO
Scruggs 3.1 3 5 5 3 1
Chacon, W 6.2 3 0 0 2 5
Clark 0.1 1 1 1 1 0
Warren, SV 0.2 0 0 0 0 0

Wild Pitches - Scruggs, Chacon 2

Pitches/Strikes - Scruggs 55/25, Chacon 90/58, Clark 14/5, Warren 8/4

Groundouts/Flyouts - Scruggs 4/5, Chacon 8/6, Clark 1/0, Warren 0/2

Batters Faced - Scruggs 17, Chacon 26, Clark 4, Warren 2

Lightning

Batting

Name AB R H RBI BB SO
Brown, cf 6 0 1 0 0 0
Clark, c 5 0 1 0 0 1
Prather, 2b 3 1 1 1 2 0
May, ss 6 0 0 0 0 1
Niemann, dh 5 1 1 0 0 0
Weeks, rf 4 1 1 0 0 2
Crisostomo, lf 4 1 0 1 1 1
Wiseman, 3b 3 1 1 2 2 1
Rayburn, 1b 2 0 1 1 0 0
Mootrey, 1b 1 0 0 0 1 0
McCleney, pr 0 1 0 0 0 0
Caudelle, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coles, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jeancola, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Davenport, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Simple, p 0 0 0 0 0 0
Reyes-Ruiz, p 0 0 0 0 0 0

Batting

2B - Brown, Wiseman

RBI - Prather, Crisostomo, Wiseman 2, Rayburn

GDP - Crisostomo

HBP - Clark, Weeks, Rayburn

Fielding

E - Weeks

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO
Caudelle 5.0 6 2 1 1 2
Coles 1.0 1 0 0 1 0
Jeancola 1.0 2 3 3 1 1
Davenport 2.0 0 0 0 1 3
Simple 0.2 0 0 0 2 1
Reyes-Ruiz, L 1.1 1 2 2 2 3

Wild Pitches - Caudelle

Pitches/Strikes - Caudelle 85/55, Coles 16/8, Jeancola 22/10, Davenport 28/16, Simple 15/6, Reyes-Ruiz 23/15

Groundouts/Flyouts - Caudelle 6/7, Coles 1/2, Jeancola 0/1, Davenport 0/3, Simple 1/0, Reyes-Ruiz 0/1

Batters Faced - Caudelle 23, Coles 6, Jeancola 6, Davenport 7, Simple 4, Reyes-Ruiz 7

Scoring Plays

Top 1st

Tyler Osik grounded out to ss, RBI. Chandler Robertson advanced to second. Robert Scott scored.

Bottom 4th

Jose Crisostomo walked, RBI. Wes Weeks advanced to second. Frank Niemann advanced to third. Jay Prather scored.
Matthew Wiseman doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI. Jose Crisostomo advanced to third. Wes Weeks scored. Frank Niemann scored.
Tucker Rayburn singled through the left side, RBI. Matthew Wiseman advanced to third. Jose Crisostomo scored.
Tucker Rayburn advanced to second on a wild pitch. Matthew Wiseman scored on a wild pitch.

Top 5th

Chandler Robertson singled through the right side, advanced to second on a throwing error by rf. Robert Scott advanced to third, scored on the error, unearned.

Top 7th

Cristian Rivera homered to right field, 3 RBI. Cale Jones scored. Brian Ellis scored.

Top 11th

Jeff Korte doubled to left center, 2 RBI. Cristian Rivera scored. Brooks Brophy scored.

Bottom 11th

Jay Prather flied out to cf, SF, RBI. Walker McCleney scored.

All Plays

Top 1st

Robert Scott hit by pitch.
Robert Scott stole second.
Chandler Robertson singled to first base. Robert Scott advanced to third.
Tyler Osik grounded out to ss, RBI. Chandler Robertson advanced to second. Robert Scott scored. 1 out
Brian Ellis struck out swinging. 2 out
Cale Jones grounded out to ss. 3 out

Bottom 1st

Luke Brown grounded out to ss. 1 out
Tanner Clark grounded out to 2b. 2 out
Jay Prather singled down the rf line.
Tanner May reached on a fielder's choice to shortstop. Jay Prather out at second ss to 2b. 3 out

Top 2nd

Cristian Rivera out at first 1b to p. 1 out
Jeff Korte singled down the lf line.
Abraham Sequera flied out to cf to left center. 2 out
Graham Dvorak reached on a fielder's choice to third base. Jeff Korte out at second 3b to 2b. 3 out

Bottom 2nd

Frank Niemann grounded out to ss. 1 out
Wes Weeks struck out looking. 2 out
Jose Crisostomo popped up to 2b. 3 out

Top 3rd

Robert Scott grounded out to 3b. 1 out
Chandler Robertson flied out to lf. 2 out
Tyler Osik singled to shortstop.
Brian Ellis out at first 1b to p. 3 out

Bottom 3rd

Matthew Wiseman walked.
Tucker Rayburn flied out to rf. 1 out
Luke Brown popped up to ss. 2 out
Tanner Clark flied out to cf. 3 out

Top 4th

Cale Jones singled to left center.
Cristian Rivera flied out to cf to right center. 1 out
Cale Jones advanced to second on a passed ball.
Jeff Korte struck out swinging. 2 out
Cale Jones advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Abraham Sequera walked.
Graham Dvorak popped up to ss. 3 out

Bottom 4th

Jay Prather walked.
Tanner May flied out to 2b. 1 out
Jay Prather advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Frank Niemann singled through the left side. Jay Prather advanced to third.
Wes Weeks hit by pitch. Frank Niemann advanced to second.
Jose Crisostomo walked, RBI. Wes Weeks advanced to second. Frank Niemann advanced to third. Jay Prather scored.
Matthew Wiseman doubled down the lf line, 2 RBI. Jose Crisostomo advanced to third. Wes Weeks scored. Frank Niemann scored.
AJ Chacon replaces Turner Scruggs at pitcher.
Tucker Rayburn singled through the left side, RBI. Matthew Wiseman advanced to third. Jose Crisostomo scored.
Tucker Rayburn advanced to second on a wild pitch. Matthew Wiseman scored on a wild pitch.
Luke Brown grounded out to 2b. Tucker Rayburn advanced to third. 2 out
Tanner Clark struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. 3 out

Top 5th

Robert Scott singled up the middle.
Chandler Robertson singled through the right side, advanced to second on a throwing error by rf. Robert Scott advanced to third, scored on the error, unearned.
Tyler Osik lined out to 1b. 1 out
Brian Ellis flied out to cf. 2 out
Cale Jones flied out to rf. 3 out

Bottom 5th

Jay Prather popped up to 3b. 1 out
Tanner May struck out looking. 2 out
Frank Niemann flied out to 2b down the rf line. 3 out

Top 6th

Matthew Coles replaces Hunter Caudelle at pitcher.
Cristian Rivera doubled down the lf line.
Jeff Korte out at first 2b to p. Cristian Rivera advanced to third. 1 out
Abraham Sequera flied out to ss to left field. 2 out
Graham Dvorak walked.
Robert Scott hit by pitch. Graham Dvorak advanced to second.
Chandler Robertson flied out to lf. 3 out

Bottom 6th

Wes Weeks reached on a fielding error by 3b.
Wes Weeks advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Jose Crisostomo struck out swinging. 1 out
Matthew Wiseman struck out swinging to catcher. 2 out
Tucker Rayburn hit by pitch.
Luke Brown grounded out to 2b. 3 out

Top 7th

Dominic Jeancola replaces Matthew Coles at pitcher.
Tyler Osik singled up the middle.
Tyler Osik out at first p to 1b, picked off. 1 out
Brian Ellis walked.
Cale Jones hit by pitch. Brian Ellis advanced to second.
Cristian Rivera homered to right field, 3 RBI. Cale Jones scored. Brian Ellis scored.
Jeff Korte popped up to 3b. 2 out
Abraham Sequera struck out looking. 3 out

Bottom 7th

Tanner Clark flied out to 2b to right field. 1 out
Jay Prather grounded out to 2b. 2 out
Tanner May grounded out to ss. 3 out

Top 8th

Louis Davenport replaces Dominic Jeancola at pitcher.
Graham Dvorak struck out swinging. 1 out
Robert Scott struck out looking. 2 out
Chandler Robertson fouled out to 3b. 3 out

Bottom 8th

Frank Niemann popped up to 2b. 1 out
Wes Weeks struck out swinging. 2 out
Jose Crisostomo grounded out to 3b. 3 out

Top 9th

Sean Mootrey replaces Tucker Rayburn at first base.
Tyler Osik walked.
Brian Ellis fouled out to c, bunt. 1 out
Tyler Osik stole second.
Cale Jones struck out looking. 2 out
Cristian Rivera flied out to cf. 3 out

Bottom 9th

Matthew Wiseman walked.
Sean Mootrey flied out to lf. 1 out
Luke Brown reached on a fielder's choice to second base. Matthew Wiseman out at second 2b to ss. 2 out
Tanner Clark singled through the left side. Luke Brown advanced to second.
Jay Prather walked. Tanner Clark advanced to second. Luke Brown advanced to third.
Tanner May grounded out to ss. 3 out

Top 10th

Aaron Simple replaces Louis Davenport at pitcher.
Jeff Korte out at first p to 2b to 1b. 1 out
Abraham Sequera struck out swinging. 2 out
Graham Dvorak walked.
Robert Scott walked. Graham Dvorak advanced to second.
Pedro Reyes-Ruiz replaces Aaron Simple at pitcher.
Chandler Robertson struck out swinging. 3 out

Bottom 10th

Frank Niemann flied out to rf. 1 out
Wes Weeks singled through the left side.
Jose Crisostomo grounded into double play 2b to ss to 1b. Wes Weeks out on the play. 3 out

Top 11th

Tyler Osik struck out swinging. 1 out
Brian Ellis walked.
Brooks Brophy replaces Brian Ellis at .
Cale Jones flied out to rf. 2 out
Brooks Brophy stole second.
Cristian Rivera intentionally walked.
Jeff Korte doubled to left center, 2 RBI. Cristian Rivera scored. Brooks Brophy scored.
Abraham Sequera struck out swinging. 3 out

Bottom 11th

Brooks Brophy replaces at first base.
Maxwell Clark replaces AJ Chacon at pitcher.
Matthew Wiseman grounded out to ss. 1 out
Sean Mootrey walked.
Walker McCleney replaces Sean Mootrey at .
Luke Brown doubled down the rf line. Walker McCleney advanced to third.
Tanner Clark hit by pitch.
Gage Warren replaces Maxwell Clark at pitcher.
Jay Prather flied out to cf, SF, RBI. Walker McCleney scored. 2 out
Tanner May flied out to cf. 3 out

Both games rained out in Sanford Saturday night.