Lightning Score in 10th, Win Game One

8/5/15

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — Josh Pagliei (Flagler) had been in this situation before. Back on July 2 and July 11, Pagliei delivered key hits against the Altamonte Springs Boom to either give his team the lead or tie the game. This was no different.

Pagliei's RBI double in the top of the 10th inning propelled the Leesburg Lightning to a 1-0 win over the Altamonte Springs Boom in game one of the best-of-three series on Wednesday night at Lake Brantley High School.

A game that seemed to be over in the bottom of the ninth — Altamonte Springs having bases loaded with one out — extended into the 10th as Leesburg Lightning reliever Christian Townsend (Florida Gulf Coast) got Michael Gizzi (Manatee-Sarasota) to ground into the 4-6-3 inning ending double play, holding the game scoreless.

The Lightning scrounged together five hits throughout the game — the final two being the most important.

Seth Cunningham (ETSU) led off the 10th with a single, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by RJ Warnock (Ave Maria).

That's when Pagliei ripped his two-out RBI double down the right field line to give Leesburg the 1-0 lead and eventual win over Altamonte Springs.

Early on, the Lightning had their opportunities — specifically two against Boom starter Devin Raftery (Nova Southeastern).

Leesburg had a runner on second in the top of the first and top of the second innings. Lightning batters went 0-for-3 with the runners in scoring position.

Raftery threw five strong innings for Altamonte Springs, blanking Leesburg on two hits while walking one and striking out seven.

Once the Boom went to their bullpen, the Lightning had two more opportunities to put a run on the board.

Leesburg failed to push across a run in the top of the sixth with a runner on second. In the top of the seventh with bases loaded and one out, they were unable to score.

The Altamonte Springs bullpen finished the night with one run on three hits, while walking three and striking out four.

Lightning starter Call Graham (Santa Fe) hadn't faced the Boom prior to last night, and it certainly showed.

Graham was lights out in his six scoreless innings of work. When he would get in a jam, he buckled down and made the pitches needed to escape.He walked one and struck out two.

The Leesburg bullpen was phenomenal, allowing three hits in four innings of relief.

Dan Twitty (Saint Leo) gave up one hit in the bottom of the seventh while Anthony Paesano (Georgia Southern) entered the bottom of the eighth with a runner on second and left him stranded.

Drew Peden (Daytona State) gave up a one-out single but then got a 4-6-3 double play, clinching the 1-0 game-one victory over the Boom.

Leesburg looks to clinch a spot in the FCSL Championship game at Tropicana Field with a best-of-three series win against Altamonte Springs today, August 6 at Pat Thomas Stadium-Buddy Lowe Field. First pitch is slated for 7:00pm.

Sean Naylor (York College of Pennsylvania)

Sean Naylor - 08/06/15 1:03pm

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