The Leesburg Lightning Hold Off the Sanford River Rats in League Opener, 8-6
(Leesburg, Fla.)-The Leesburg Lightning (1-0) dueled off against the Sanford River Rats (0-1) in the Florida Collegiate Summer League's 2024 Season Opener, grabbing an 8-6 opening night victory on the road.
The Lightning found their rhythm off three scoreless innings from the Florida Gulf Coast right-hander starter, Ryland Bozenhard, only allowing three hits in his first outing of the season, followed by an early 2nd inning run off of the bat of 3B Orlando Pena, propelling Leesburg out in front early.
The River Rats would match the work with starter Corey Peters also going for three innings of work and only allowing the run off of Pena, but the Lightning begin to click come the 4th inning, posting three runs after the Sanford pitching change to right-hander Daleshawn Smith. Jordy Oriach and Collin Priest would both contribute heavily to the 4th inning rally, tacking on a single and a double towards the multi-run effort.
Leesburg would hold steady with their lead, bolting up to a 7-1 lead over Sanford at one point during the game. However, the River Rats found some a groove offensively in the 8th, driving in 4 runs, coming off two pairs of singles from RF Xavier Lopez & 3B Robbie Demetree, who subbed in late for starter Jalen Hairston.
Right-hander Ethan Stephens would take care of the last 1 and a third innings of work, closing out the game off of three strikeouts and only allowing one run across.
"That was a pretty good first outing," said Head Coach Rich Billings post-game. "We saw some really good things. Saw a couple of barrels, even some of the outs were hit well. We made some nice plays on defense. Our pitchers threw well for the most part. Got a really good start from Ryland Bozenhard. So, I was encouraged by that. Ethan Stephens came in there in the in the bottom of the eighth in a tough spot and got us got."
The Leesburg Lightning return home Friday night, welcoming in the Sanford River Rats for the team's home opener, the first home game since Game 3 of last season's championship series. First pitch is slated for 7pm EST.
Dylan Spaulding (University of South Florida)
