News

Leesburg Lightning

 

Head Coach: Rich Billings (fifth season)

Assistant Coach: Mick Tinny (first season)

Pitching Coach: Kuehl McEachern (first season)

 

2018 Record: 29-15 overall | 1-2 Postseason | 19-8 Home | 10-7 Away

 

Returning Players

Ronny Hinton, P (South Florida State College)

Matthew Coles, P (Carson Newman University)

Tanner Clark, C (University of North Florida)

Cage Cox, OF (Alabama State University)

Sean Mootrey, 1B (Georgia Gwinnett College)

 

Key Additions

Robbie Scott, IF (Florida A&M University)

Stephen Wilmer, P (East Carolina University)

Edward Surinach, IF (Embry Riddle University)

Cody Morrow, P (University of Alabama-Huntsville)

 

The 2018 season ended for the Leesburg Lightning when they fell in game three of a postseason series to the Sanford River Rats. Despite finishing the 2018 regular season with the best record in the FCSL (28-13), the Lightning’s season ended in without a trip to the league championship series.

 

Returners Look To Build On Last Year’s Success

Each of the five returning players from the 2018 roster will be depended on to produce over the summer of 2019. They have donned the Lightning uniform once before, so they understand the expectations that it brings.

“Our returners will play a huge part in our success this year,” head coach Rich Billings said. “They know what to expect. It can be daunting playing in front of 1,000 plus fans every night and they have already experienced that. They understand the importance of winning here in Leesburg and they are all upperclassmen now so their leadership will be vital to our development as a team.”

After last year’s regular season that found the Lightning at the top of the FCSL standings by 4.5 games, this year’s returners are hoping to build on the team’s prior success.

 

Power and Speed Prevalent in Lightning Lineup

The 2019 Leesburg Lightning lineup will boast a large amount of pop and speed on the basepaths. With this deadly combination of power and speed, Coach Billings believes this Lightning offense can be lethal. “All of the guys that can really run will be depended on heavily to make things happen on the offensive side. Robbie Scott & Donte Wade are just two of them,” Billings said. “We have a few middle of the order bats that will have a chance to change a game in a hurry. Sean Mootrey, Tate Mathis, and Cage Cox will be some guys to watch at the plate.”

 

Robbie Scott (Lake Sumter) and Donte Wade (North Carolina A&T) were both major threats on the basepaths during their respective 2019 college seasons. Scott swiped an eye-popping 42 bases in his sophomore season, while Wade was 7-9 on stolen base attempts for the season.

 

Mathis and Cox will provide a solid amount of power in the middle of the Lightning order. Cox, a former Freshman All-American, launched seven home runs and slugged .547 in his freshman campaign in 2017. Cox possesses a lot of power in his swing. Mathis has eight career home runs under his belt in three collegiate seasons, and carried a .401 slugging percentage in 2018. Sean Mootrey is another guy that carries a lot of pop in his bat, as he is a always a threat to put a ball over the fence.

 

Billings raved about more players on his roster, emphasizing the talent and excitement his roster will bring to Pat Thomas Stadium. “Stephen Wilmer is an outfielder that will be heavily depended on,” Billings said. “He runs well and swings the bat from both sides of the plate. Robbie Scott is a great hitter that is going to get on base, steal a lot of bags, and score a lot of runs. He will be an exciting player to watch. Eddie Surinach is a shortstop that has some pro tools. He is a great defender and will probably hit somewhere in the middle of our lineup.”

 

Wilmer is the lone switch-hitter on the Lightning roster, a trait that could make him a valuable asset. Robbie Scott is coming off back-to-back monstrous seasons, in which he earned a second team All-Conference nod in 2018 after leading Lake-Sumter in hitting with a .325 batting average. He followed up his impressive freshman campaign with a monster year in 2019, slashing .381/.426/.476 with four homers, 81 RBIs and 42 steals. Edward Surinach enjoyed a solid sophomore season as he hit .271 with a home run and eight RBIs in 25 games for Seminole State College in 2019.

 

Lightning Pitchers Hoping To Shut Down FCSL Hitters

The 2019 Lightning pitching staff will have big shoes to fill after the 2018 hurlers posted an impressive 3.30 combined ERA. The staff  racked up 328 strikeouts in 354.1 innings pitched. Coach Billings is excited about the pitchers on the 2019 roster, explaining that this group of hurlers possesses nasty stuff and can light up the radar gun. “On the mound Davis Cunningham will be a starter that the fans are going to enjoy watching,” Billings explained. “His stuff is electric and at 6’7” he is a very intimidating presence. Cody Morrow is a power righty arm that has a fast ball that has been as high as 93 mph. Stephen Wilmer is a guy that will play the outfield as well as pitch. He is a guy we will heavily depend on throughout the season.”

 

Davis Cunningham (Lander) certainly has electric stuff, as proven by his 60 strikeouts in 59.1 innings pitched. Cody Morrow (Alabama-Huntsville) pitched well in limited action in 2019, recording a 3.93 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 18.1 innings. Stephen Wilmer is a two-way player that will play outfield but also be on the mound for the Lightning. Each of these guys, along with several others, will be depended on by Coach Billings to lock down opposing lineups.

 

The Lightning coaching staff and players cannot wait to get the season started. We look forward to seeing all our fans at Pat Thomas Stadium!

 

Jaxon Peebles (University of Alabama)