Lightning Overcome Errors To Win Game One

LEESBURG, Fla.- The Leesburg Lightning overcame five errors at home on Tuesday night, winning 7-3 over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs to take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three Florida League playoff semifinals. 

Daniel Foster (Palm Beach Atlantic) got the start for the Lightning and came out unscathed through two massive jams in the first and second inning to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the second inning.

With a three-game losing streak coming into the playoffs, the Lightning just needed a spark in a game that was scoreless, and they would get that injection of life they needed and then some. Tyler Gerteisen (North Florida) stepped into the box with one out in the bottom of the second, he has been an on-base machine this season for Leesburg, reaching base in his first 26 games in a Lightning uniform, along with having a .441 OBP. 

The only irregularity with those numbers is that he had ZERO extra-base hits entering Tuesday’s playoff opener. That changed in a huge way as Leesburg’s silent assassin came through loudly, barreling a two-strike pitch and driving it several feet over the right field fence, giving the Lightning a 1-0 lead and all the juice they needed early on. 

“Hitting a homerun is something that I haven’t really felt in awhile, so getting a good swing on a ball felt really good. After the foul ball, I knew he was either going to make a mistake or throw a wild pitch, so I sat on a mistake and that’s what I got,” said Gerteisen. “We came here to win and our goal is to get out to a lead early, we made some mistakes, but were able to push through and find a way to win."

The Lightning would tack two more runs onto their lead in the third inning on a Michael Furry (St. Johns River State) sacrifice fly that scored Austin Brinling (South Carolina) and an RBI single from Drew Leinenbach (North Florida) that scored Logan Chapman (Georgia Tech) to extend their lead to 3-0.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Winter Park would answer in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs to tie the game at 3-3, forcing Foster to the ball over to Danny Rodriguez (Webber International) after a stellar start. This deadlock would not last long however, as a single from Chapman, followed by a Diamond Dawg throwing error gave Leesburg a 4-3 lead that they would only extend from that point on. 

Chapman was the consistent hand on offense for Leesburg in the matchup, reaching base in all four of his at-bats, with three hits and an RBI. 

An RBI double by Chapman in the seventh inning, followed by RBI hits by Joseph Massa (Samford) and Johnnie Lopez (Seminole State) gave the Lightning all the cushion they needed to secure a 7-3 victory and take a 1-0 into game two of the best-of-three semifinal series. 

Leesburg overcame several key mistakes, including five errors, but were still able to come away with a four-run victory in game one. The Lightning used four different pitchers including Foster, Rodriguez, Ryan Brown (Valdosta State), and Jace Trautner (Indian River State), who were all phenomenal and crucial in slamming the door on any hopes of a Winter Park win. 

“We were not very sharp on the defensive side, but when you get stellar pitching and timely hitting, it can cover for that,” Leesburg Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings said. “We were trying to make sure we got some of our pitchers who haven’t thrown in awhile a good amount of work, and we ended up throwing a really good group of arms out there.”

The Lightning will take on the Diamond Dawgs on the road Wednesday for game two of the semifinal series, with a chance to clinch their spot in the fourth consecutive Florida League Championship Series. First pitch is set for 6:30 PM at Alfond Stadium in Winter Park on Wednesday night.

(Carter Mansfield, Austin Peay State University)

Carter Mansfield - 07/26/23 1:51am

Return to News