LEESBURG, Fla. -- The Leesburg Lightning (19-17) and the Seminole County Scorpions (8-28) faced off on Thursday night in a battle of the fourth and fifth place teams in the Florida League standings.

The Scorpions got a first inning home run from Parker Smith (Rollins) that gave them an early 1-0 advantage. It was the fourth bomb of the season for Smith. 

The Lightning did not trail for long, as the Bolts evened the score in the bottom of the first when Nick Lewis (Valdosta State) drove in Parker Pillsbury (Chipola) on an infield single and tied the game at 1-1.

In the second, Robbie Scott (North Florida) reached base on a single with two outs in the inning. Pillsbury followed Scott and crushed a two-run home run, his fourth of the season, that pushed the Bolts out to a 3-1 lead. 

Leesburg got their second home run of the game in the third inning, this time from Clark. The North Florida backstop’s second homer of the year was a two-run shot that extended the Lightning lead to 5-1. 

In the fourth, the Lightning got production from the trusty designated hitter, Cage Cox (Valdosta State), as he struck for an RBI double that brought in Lewis. Cox’s double grew the lead to 6-1 for the Lightning.

The score held until the eighth, when the rain came pouring down and ended the game. The Lightning defeated the Scorpions, 6-1, for their seventh straight triumph.

Lightning starter, Josh Wilson (Florida A&M), was magnificent on the mound. Wilson allowed just one run in seven innings, while striking out seven Scorpions. Wilson only allowed three hits. Amir Asghar (undecided) relieved Wilson in the eighth and worked a scoreless frame and struck out the side.

The Lightning travel to Sanford on Friday for game two of its series with Seminole County. The game will begin at 6:30.