Lightning Fall In Game Two

WINTER GARDEN, Fla.- The Leesburg Lightning were unable to keep their streak of late-game heroics on the road Sunday afternoon, taking a 4-3 loss against the Winter Garden Squeeze in game two of the Florida League Championship Series. 

Danny Rodriguez (Webber International) got the start on the mound for the Lightning and had a shaky start to the game, giving up three consecutive walks and a sacrifice fly to open the game, but settled in and got out of the jame to keep the Winter Garden lead at 1-0 in the first inning. 

Rodriguez would settle in nicely however throwing shutout innings in the second and third innings, before the Leesburg offense really got going. 

In the top of the fourth inning, the Lightning put together a huge three-run inning, highlighted by RBIs from Tyler Gerteisen (North Florida), Drew Stubbs (Webber International), and Brooks Bryan (Troy), giving the Lightning their entire offensive output for the game and a 3-1 lead. 

The Squeeze would quickly answer with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame, as Riley Fitzgerald (Flagler) took over on the mound with a one-run lead to work with. 

The Lightning lead would not last for much longer, as one-run outputs in the sixth and seventh innings gave Winter Garden a one-run lead of their own at 4-3. 

Leesburg was unable to capitalize on multiple baserunners and scoring all game long, but especially in the ninth inning, allowing Winter Garden to close the game out and for a winner-take-all game three with a 4-3 win. 

Not stringing hits together was a common struggle and theme outside of the third inning, and eventually led to being a huge factor in the loss. 

“Going into the last game, it doesn’t matter what it looks like, we just have to make sure those runs get in,” Leesburg Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings said. “Our pitching and defense has been really good, but we just really have to find a way to drive in runs.”

The Lightning will have multiple pitching options going into the final game of the championship series, and will not be afraid to throw everyone that is available if needed. 

The third and final game of the Florida League Championship Series will be on Monday night at Pat Thomas Stadium in Leesburg, Florida. First pitch is set for 7 PM.

(Carter Mansfield, Austin Peay State University)

Carter Mansfield - 07/31/23 2:03am

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