Squeeze Fall, Split Series with Lightning

LEESBURG, Fla. — The Leesburg Lightning (13-5) evened the season series against the Winter Garden Squeeze (8-10) with an 11-3 run-rule victory Monday night at Pat Thomas Stadium.

Both offenses struggled to generate momentum early as the starting pitchers dominated.

Kaden Howell (Santa Fe) worked two scoreless innings for the Squeeze, continuing to showcase his swing-and-miss ability by striking out five batters.

For the Lightning, Ben Clenney (Florida A&M) delivered an outstanding performance. He tossed five scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out four.

Leesburg broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Turner Gross (Western Carolina) singled to right field, and Charlie Keller (Ball State) followed with a double into the right-center gap to score Gross from first and give the Lightning a 1-0 lead.

The Lightning continued to apply pressure after loading the bases. Marcello Cortale (Jacksonville) reached on a fielder's choice to drive in another run, and Ledger Pleasant (Coker) added an RBI single to left field to extend the lead to 3-0.

The game unraveled for the Squeeze in the bottom of the fifth.

Reliever Austin Liss (Valdosta State) issued a leadoff walk to Andon Gray (Florida A&M), and Kaden Thompson (Georgia Southern) followed with a double that moved Gray to third. Dylan Green then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Gray and pushing the advantage to 4-0.

With two outs, the inning spiraled further. Consecutive walks put runners on first and second before Hudson Reed (Troy) lined an RBI single to left field. Rhys Rego (Undecided) entered in relief, but the Lightning kept the rally going as Jack Waddingham (West Florida) delivered an RBI single.

Pleasant collected his second hit of the night with a two-run single to extend the lead to 8-0, and Gabe Campos (Eckerd) capped the six-run inning with an RBI double down the left-field line, giving Leesburg a 9-0 advantage.

The Squeeze showed some life in the sixth. Leonardo Suarez (Polk State) launched a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 9-2.

Fabian Antonsanti (Stetson) provided another bright spot, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double off the left-field wall that scored Landon Towns (Florida SouthWestern State), who had reached on a fielder's choice.

Leesburg ended the game in the bottom of the sixth when Keller lined a two-run single to right field, securing the run-rule victory.

Keller finished 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, while Pleasant added two hits and three RBIs. The Lightning totaled 10 hits and drew 12 walks in the victory.

Winter Garden returns home Tuesday to face the Sanford River Rats (6-11). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Horizon Park.

Zach Moore (University of Florida)