Sanford Bats Silent in Run Rule Loss

SANFORD, Fla. - The Sanford River Rats were swept in their three-game series against the Leesburg Lightning after suffering a 12-0 run-rule loss Saturday night at Pat Thomas Stadium.

Leesburg took control from the outset and never allowed Sanford to gain any momentum, scoring in six consecutive innings while capitalizing on River Rat miscues throughout the contest.

The Lightning opened the scoring in the first inning when KT Thompson crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Later in the frame, Marcello Cortale lifted a sacrifice fly to score Hudson Reed and give Leesburg a 2-0 advantage.

Leesburg added to its lead in the second inning when Turner Gross scored during a pickoff attempt. The Lightning pushed the margin to 4-0 in the third on a sacrifice fly by Reed.

The game began to slip away in the fourth inning. Two unearned runs crossed the plate after Preston Murphy lined a two-run double into the left-center field gap, scoring Gross and Jack Waddingham to make it 6-0.

Leesburg broke the game open in the fifth. Charlie Keller delivered a two-run double down the first-base line to score Thompson and Dylan Green before later crossing the plate on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 9-0.

The Lightning added three more runs in the sixth inning. Thompson drove in Murphy on a fielder's choice, another wild pitch allowed Ledger Pleasant to score, and Keller capped the scoring with an RBI single to right-center field.

With Leesburg leading by 12 runs, the Florida Collegiate Summer League run rule ended the game after seven innings.

Keller paced the Lightning offense with three RBIs, while Murphy added two. Reed and Cortale each drove in a run as Leesburg finished with 12 runs despite recording only nine hits.

Sanford struggled to contain the Lightning attack, with six of Leesburg's 12 runs coming unearned. The River Rats managed just three hits and were shut out for the first time this season.

The loss completed a three-game sweep for Leesburg, which outscored Sanford 33-11 over the series.

Sanford will look to regroup as it returns to action next week.

Alejandro Landers (Elon University)