Winter Garden Holds Off Late Rally, Defeats Leesburg 6-3
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
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1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | X | 6 | 7 | 2 |
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – The Leesburg Lightning trimmed the deficit late, but the Winter Garden Squeeze built an early lead and held on for a 6-3 victory Saturday night at Horizon Park, handing the Lightning their second consecutive loss.
Winter Garden struck first in the opening inning when Edwin Melendez lined an RBI double down the left-field line to score Fabian Antonsanti. The Squeeze added two more runs in the second on an RBI single by Brody Bellomo and an RBI groundout from Antonsanti to take a 3-0 lead.
Leesburg answered in the third. KT Thompson doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Turner Gross, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Winter Garden responded immediately in the bottom half as Cael Reish delivered an RBI single to restore a three-run advantage.
The Squeeze added two insurance runs in the sixth inning. Bellomo ripped an RBI double down the left-field line before Antonsanti followed with an RBI single that was aided by a Lightning outfield error, extending the lead to 6-1.
Leesburg mounted a late charge in the seventh when Cory Banasiak doubled down the left-field line to score Jack Waddingham and make it 6-2. Marcello Cortale added a solo home run in the ninth, his second of the summer, but the rally went no further as Winter Garden closed out the victory.
Andon Gray paced the Lightning offense with two hits, while Thompson and Banasiak each doubled. Cortale finished with a hit and an RBI, and Banasiak drove in a run with his seventh-inning double.
On the mound, Brandon Reiter made his fifth start for Leesburg and took the loss after allowing four runs over 2 1/3 innings. Ryan Perzanowski provided a strong relief outing, striking out seven over 2 2/3 scoreless innings, while Carson Henrikson and Ethon Tesmer combined for four strikeouts across the final two frames. As a staff, Lightning pitchers recorded 17 strikeouts.
Despite drawing seven walks and striking out 17 Winter Garden hitters, Leesburg was unable to overcome the early deficit and stranded 13 runners on base. The loss dropped the Lightning to 12-5 on the season.
The fourth and final game of the series against the Squeeze is scheduled for Monday, June 22, at Pat Thomas Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
Adam Rothschild (Susquehanna University)