Lightning Win 2023 FCSL Title

LEESBURG, Fla.- The Leesburg Lightning capped of a first-place finish in the regular season with their fourth title in franchise history at home on Monday night, taking a 7-2 win over the Winter Garden Squeeze in game three of the Florida League Championship Series.

Daniel Foster (Palm Beach Atlantic) got the start on the mound, and it looked like things might be shaky to begin with, as Todd Clay (Pensacola State) went deep with a solo homerun to give the Squeeze an early 1-0 lead.

From that point on, Foster went six more innings and did not give up anymore hits, giving the Lightning exactly what the needed from their starter in a winner-take-all matchup. 

“He (Foster) shows up every day ready to pitch, he’s all I could ask for in a summer ball player and he was phenomenal tonight,” Leesburg Lightning Head Coach Rich Billings said. “He is a phenomenal teammate and an even better human being.”

Foster has been a consistent arm for the Lightning both as a reliever and a starter and even with the bright lights shining down in Pat Thomas Stadium, Foster rose to the occasion and embraced the moment and atmosphere.

“I really kind of turned into a starting pitcher here this summer with the Lightning, the development and experience has been great,” said Foster. “When they (the crowd) started chanting as the game got farther along, it was amazing to see.”

After the solo homerun to put the Squeeze on the board, the Lightning quickly answered in the second inning with a run of their own. An RBI single from Drew Leinenbach (North Florida) deadlocked the game at 1-1, before Leesburg would really open up the scoring in the third inning. 

The Lightning struggled to string offense together through the first two games, but that was not a problem early, as a four-run frame shifted the momentum to Leesburg’s dugout. RBIs from Gabriel Santiago (Coker), Michael Furry (St. Johns River State), Leinenbach, and Tyler Gerteisen (North Florida) gave the Lightning a 5-1 lead that they would never relenquish. 

Furry would come through once again in the fifth and seventh innings with RBIs, and after one run from Winter Garden in the sixth inning, Furry’s efforts extended the Lightning lead to 7-2, which would hold until the end. 

Tyler Donay (Embry-Riddle) and Ryan Brown (Valdosta State) shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings, giving Leesburg their fourth championship in franchise history and redemption from last year’s loss. 

Several key players that remembered the feeling from last year’s loss including Santiago, Brinling, Furry, and Layton Perry (Jacksonville) came back to Leesburg even with other summer ball opportunities, because they wanted to win a championship for Leesburg after last season’s disappointing end. 

“Last year left a sour taste in our mouth for the guys that came back from last year’s team,” said Santiago. “We were in this game three, winner-take-all situation last year, so it’s a good feeling to win it this year.”

What a season it was for the Lightning. They started the season with a 2-6 record, amidst a five-game losing streak, and just when things could have avalanched and gotten even worse, the Lightning’s leaders stepped up and Leesburg would go on to take 19 of their next 22 games, overtaking Sanford for first place in the Florida League standings. They never let their grip on first place go after overtaking the River Rats in the first week of July, and eventually reaching their goal of bringing home the Whiting Cup to Leesburg. 

“I give so much credit to our players for sticking it out and going through that rough patch early and continuing to believe that they could get themselves through it,” said Billings. “Our guys just continued to buy-in, compete, and show up every single day and that’s a special thing, so all credit to them.”

A team that could have given up multiple times throughout the season, but would just never go away, a team that wanted redemption and reached their goal, a team with speed that was almost mesmerizing at times, and most importantly a team who became brothers for a two-month span in the summer, allowing a passionate community to get behind them on their way to a championship. 

Your 2023 Florida League Champions, the Leesburg Lightning. 

(Carter Mansfield, Austin Peay State University)

Carter Mansfield - 08/01/23 2:28am

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