FloridaLeague posted on June 08, 2010 05:27
Kevin Jones (East Carolina)
After the final out Monday night in Leesburg, Tyler Benzel (Florida Southern) was the man of the hour. The third base slugger had just dictated the game with his play, guiding the visiting River Rats to a 6-0 shutout win over Leesburg.
Before the final out Monday night in Leesburg, Tyler Benzel was a man among boys on the baseball diamond. Now hitting second in the batting order due to the arrival of catcher Austin Chubb (State College of Florida), Benzel flourished in his new spot, going 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and 2 RBI’s. Following the 8th inning, Benzel’s 4 hits were as many as the entire Lightning team had.
“It was just a quality day for me,” said Benzel, who reiterated to me that this wasn’t a career best for him. “I’m locked in the zone and I’m just playing hard.”
Benzel added a steal and was gobbling up every ball that came his way at the hot corner. Assistant coach Kevin Scott was very delighted with Benzel’s play.
“This kid can pick it, this kid can stick it and he plays with such energy. I’m more than impressed.” said Scott. Benzel upped his average to .526, now second in the league.
Benzel stuck out as an individual Monday, but as a unit, the pitching staff silenced the normally raucous Lightning crowd. The River Rat pitchers retired the side in order four times, often jamming hitters creating easy ground ball outs.
Zach Haile (High Point) was very accurate in his 4 innings pitched, not walking a single Leesburg batter. Haile weathered the only storm the Lightning were able to brew up in the 4th, getting out of a bases loaded jam.
Next followed James Strawn (State College of Florida) the younger brother of opening day starter Josh Strawn (Southern Polytechnic). James was excellent in 3 innings of relief. Strawn fanned four batters and allowed just one hit.
“I was mainly just using my fastball and picking my spots. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to start.” Strawn said.
Brad Renner (Rollins) concluded the final 2 innings with two strikeouts. Renner threw 30 pitches, 23 of which were strikes. The Lightning could only muster up 5 hits total and none of them were for extra bases.
On the same day he was announced as the Florida League Player of the Week, Kelvin Clark (Florida Southern) demonstrated why he’s capable of winning the award every week. Clark went 3-for-5 with a double (that nearly cleared the fence) and 3 RBI. Clark has 5 RBI’s which tie him for first in the Florida League.
The River Rats stole a season high 4 bases against the Lightning. After a three run 4th inning by Sanford, no more runs were scored in the entire game.
The River Rats (4-0) will be playing in DeLand Tuesday night to face the Suns.