Lightning Bounce Back With Dominant Win Over Winter Park

WINTER PARK, Fla.- After a disappointing opening night loss at the hand of the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs, the Leesburg Lightning bounced back with a resounding 10-1 victory Saturday night to improve to 1-1 on the new season.

The Lightning struggled with errors and consistently throwing strikes on opening night, but Saturday’s matchup proved to be a complete turnaround in those aspects. Nick Vieira (UCF) started the game on the bump for Leesburg and set the tone early, going four innings, with four strikeouts, and no earned runs.

“I like to come in to start the game with an aggressive mindset and fill up the strike zone,” said Vieria. “I take my pitches one at a time, and it really allows me to settle in as the game goes along.” 

Shutout appearances from Dustin Dunlap (Mars Hill), Danny Rodriguez (Tampa), and Daniel Foster (Palm Beach Atlantic) effectively show down the hopes of any kind of comeback from Winter Park. 

After scoring three runs in the first two innings, a massive seven-run outburst in the fifth inning for the Lightning proved to be too much for the Diamond Dawgs to handle. 

Plate discipline was a significant factor in this matchup for Leesburg, as the Lightning drew 12 walks, including eight walks in that huge fifth inning alone. Even with the high-scoring output and run differential between the two teams, the Lightning had the same amount of hits as Winter Park, so plate discipline and drawing walks ended up being one of the main keys to the win for Leesburg. 

“This is a very disciplined group at the plate,” said Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings. “I think these guys take pride in the walks and getting to first base any way they can.”

At the plate, shortstop Gabriel Santiago (Coker) and Tyler Gerteisen (North Florida) shined, with a hit and two RBIs each. 

The Leesburg Lightning will be back in action on Sunday, June 4th against the Winter Garden Squeeze. First pitch is set for 3:30 PM

(Carter Mansfield, Austin Peay State University)

Carter Mansfield - 06/04/23 2:47am

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