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DELAND, Fla.- The DeLand Suns tied a franchise record with their 23rd regular season victory on Saturday night, thanks to a doubleheader sweep of the Seminole County Scorpions. The Suns won the first game, which had been continued from Friday night, 13-12 in eleven innings, before finishing off their eighth straight win over the Scorpions with a 10-3 triumph in the nightcap.

The first game of the doubleheader picked up in the top of the fourth with the score even at five. The Suns scored the first three runs of the day, scoring once in the fourth and twice in the sixth. Hunter Fornari (FGCU) drove in the run in the fourth, singling to drive in Joe McNamara (Winthrop). RBI singles by McNamara and Rodrigo Montenegro (St. Pete College) extended the lead to 6-3 in the top of the sixth.

Seminole County, who was the designated home team in game one, got back within one run in the bottom of the seventh, trimming DeLand's lead to 8-7. Anthony George (Jacksonville) doubled to drive in Brooks Rikeman (Jacksonville) with one out in the inning, and George was then driven in by Parker Smith (Rollins), who added a double of his own. 

DeLand's lead jumped back out to three runs in the top of the eighth. Montenegro drove in Fornari and Mark Townsend (Stetson) with a two-out single, driving in his third and fourth runs of the day. Fornari and Townsend had started the inning with consecutive singles, and helped the Suns take a 10-7 edge.

Three runs crossed the plate for the Scorpions in the bottom of the ninth, forcing extra innings. The Scorpions loaded the bases with one out on an error, a walk, and a hit by pitch. Gunnar Hoglund (Ole Miss) drove in all three runs with a double, and advanced to third on an error. Alex Franzen (Kentucky Wesleyan), who proved to be the winning pitcher, stranded Hoglund on third to send the game to the tenth.

Both teams scored one run in the tenth, forcing a second extra inning. In the eleventh, Robert Bell (Bethune-Cookman) doubled in a run, then scored himself on a McNamara sacrifice fly. Garett Priestley (Marshall) was then able to hold the Scorpions to one run in the bottom half, sealing DeLand's 22nd win.

In game two, Seminole County scored a run in the top of the first, but DeLand answered with four unanswered runs. The Suns scored three runs in the second inning on a two-run triple from Bell and an RBI double from McNamara, then added another run in the third on a single from Garett Wallace (USC Upstate).

One run each in the fifth and sixth allowed Seminole County to get within one run of the Suns. George hit a sacrifice fly to the left fielder to drive in Rikeman to bring in a run in the fifth, and a balk with Fausto Lopez (Middle Tennessee State) on third trimmed DeLand's lead to 4-3.

A six-run bottom of the sixth allowed the Suns to put the Scorpions away for the eighth consecutive time. The Suns had just two hits in the inning - a two-run single from Peter Hutzal (Marshall) and an RBI single from McNamara. The other three runs were plated on a hit by pitch to Wallace, a walk to Christian Pregent (Stetson), and a sacrifice fly by Joe Burke (Kentucky Wesleyan).

Klay Allen (ABAC) struck out six hitters in his five innings of work, and picked up his second victory of the season. Connor Udell (Princeton) finished the game for DeLand, tossing the final two innings to earn a save.

For the Suns, the Florida League season will break for three days for the Southeast Collegiate Prospect Showcase in Cary, North Carolina. Ten members of the Suns roster will play in front of professional scouts against players from other leagues in the southeast. DeLand's next game will be Wednesday against the Sanford River Rats.