1
FINAL/7
12
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEL | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| LEE | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 0 |
Lightning Crush Suns in Mercy Rule Victory
LEESBURG, Fla - In the final home game of the regular season, the Leesburg Lightning defeat the Deland Suns by a score of 12-1 in a seven-inning mercy rule on Thursday night at Pat Thomas Stadium-Buddy Lowe Field.
After an early solo homer from the Deland Suns, Leesburg would score 12 unanswered runs in just six innings, leading to its 21st victory of the season, solidifying their place as one of the top two seeds heading into the playoffs.
Seven of the 10 Lightning batters would drive in a run throughout the ballgame. It was a career night for Marco Dinges (Tallahassee CC) as he went a blistering 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs.
“I just try to stick to the approach of driving the ball to center or right field,” Dinges said. “I tried to drive the ball to the right side of the field and that’s what happened today.”
Lightning right-handed pitcher Layton Perry (Jacksonville) was excellent once again in the starting role as he dealt the first four innings, allowing just one run on three hits and four strikeouts. Perry now holds an impressive 2.63 ERA in 24 innings pitched this summer.
Third baseman Devon Nowells (Daytona St) continues his hot streak, going 2 for 2 and driving in a pair as well. Nowells has been on a tear lately with seven RBIs in the last four games for Leesburg.
First in relief for the Bolts was lefty Cameron Sereda who was perfect in his two innings of work. Sereda earned the win, striking out two without allowing a run or a hit. In the seventh inning, the final three outs were completed by right-hander Amir Asghar (Bethune Cookman), who induced a game-winning 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded.
The Lightning would also break the franchise record for stolen bases with six swiped bags in the contest for a total of 97, one more than their previous record of 96 in 2021. The team’s stolen base leader is second baseman Gabriel Santiago (Coker) with 22 on the season.
Leesburg would cap off their scoring streak with a bases-clearing, three-run double from center fielder Austin Brinling (Daytona St) in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Lightning ahead by 11 runs.
“Our team is really coming together later in the season,” Dinges said regarding his team's recent offensive surge. “Everyone is locked and loaded, we barrel every ball. This team is not missing man.”
The Lightning improved to 21-11 on the year and will look to game two of their series with Deland, Friday night on the road. First pitch is set for 7:00 pm at Sperling Sports Complex.
Tom Cavanaugh, (Michigan State University)
Batting
| Name | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jorgense, ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| St Claire, cf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Griffis, rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Moran, 1b | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Herrera, 2b/3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Haughey, c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McArdle, c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Biggio, lf/dh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastromauro, 3b/dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Simmons, dh/lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Neal, dh/2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Batting
HR - Moran
RBI - Moran
GDP - Griffis, Herrera
Fielding
E - Moran
Pitching
| Name | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edkins, L | 2.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Udell | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Sprague | 2.0 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Mastromauro | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Wild Pitches - Sprague
Pitches/Strikes - Edkins 53/27, Udell 22/13, Sprague 42/19, Mastromauro 15/9
Groundouts/Flyouts - Edkins 2/2, Udell 1/0, Sprague 4/1, Mastromauro 0/1
Batters Faced - Edkins 14, Udell 5, Sprague 14, Mastromauro 4
Batting
| Name | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brinling, cf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Santiago, 2b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hadley, 2b | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cervantes, rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Cavanaugh, dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Stapleton, c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dinges, dh | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Furry, lf | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nowells, 3b | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Thornton, 1b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cordova, ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Batting
2B - Brinling, Dinges 2, Nowells
RBI - Brinling 3, Cervantes, Cavanaugh, Dinges 3, Nowells 2, Thornton, Cordova
GDP - Cordova
HBP - Cavanaugh, Thornton
Baserunning
SB - Brinling 2, Santiago 2, Hadley, Cervantes, Furry
Pitching
| Name | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Sereda, W | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Asghar | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitches/Strikes - Perry 44/31, Sereda 20/16, Asghar 13/10
Groundouts/Flyouts - Perry 2/5, Sereda 3/1, Asghar 2/0
Batters Faced - Perry 14, Sereda 6, Asghar 5
Suns
Batting
| Name | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jorgense, ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| St Claire, cf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Griffis, rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Moran, 1b | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Herrera, 2b/3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Haughey, c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| McArdle, c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Biggio, lf/dh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastromauro, 3b/dh | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Simmons, dh/lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Neal, dh/2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Batting
HR - Moran
RBI - Moran
GDP - Griffis, Herrera
Fielding
E - Moran
Pitching
| Name | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edkins, L | 2.0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Udell | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Sprague | 2.0 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Mastromauro | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Wild Pitches - Sprague
Pitches/Strikes - Edkins 53/27, Udell 22/13, Sprague 42/19, Mastromauro 15/9
Groundouts/Flyouts - Edkins 2/2, Udell 1/0, Sprague 4/1, Mastromauro 0/1
Batters Faced - Edkins 14, Udell 5, Sprague 14, Mastromauro 4
Lightning
Batting
| Name | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brinling, cf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Santiago, 2b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hadley, 2b | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Cervantes, rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Cavanaugh, dh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Stapleton, c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dinges, dh | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Furry, lf | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Nowells, 3b | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Thornton, 1b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cordova, ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Batting
2B - Brinling, Dinges 2, Nowells
RBI - Brinling 3, Cervantes, Cavanaugh, Dinges 3, Nowells 2, Thornton, Cordova
GDP - Cordova
HBP - Cavanaugh, Thornton
Baserunning
SB - Brinling 2, Santiago 2, Hadley, Cervantes, Furry
Pitching
| Name | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perry | 4.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Sereda, W | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Asghar | 1.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pitches/Strikes - Perry 44/31, Sereda 20/16, Asghar 13/10
Groundouts/Flyouts - Perry 2/5, Sereda 3/1, Asghar 2/0
Batters Faced - Perry 14, Sereda 6, Asghar 5