Lightning Strike Out 18 River Rats in 6-1 Victory

LEESBURG, Fla. – The Leesburg Lightning rode a dominant pitching performance and timely offense to a 6-1 victory over the Sanford River Rats on Friday night at Pat Thomas Stadium, extending their winning streak and improving to 15-6 on the season.

Sanford struck first in the opening inning on an RBI single by John Dobkowski, but the Lightning answered immediately. Hudson Reed tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Dylan Green lined a two-run single up the middle later in the inning, giving Leesburg a 3-1 lead it would never relinquish.

The Lightning added to their advantage in the fifth inning when Marcello Cortale scored on an RBI double by Andon Gray before Charlie Keller lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 5-1. Leesburg plated its final run an inning later when Cortale reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Dylan Green to score for a 6-1 cushion.

The story of the night belonged to the pitching staff, which combined for 18 strikeouts while holding the River Rats to one run. Brandon Reiter struck out eight over 3.2 innings in his start, allowing one run on three hits. Carson Henrikson followed with another outstanding relief appearance, earning the win after striking out eight over 3.1 scoreless innings. Miguel Figueroa added two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh before Andre Bilbao Jr. closed out the victory in the ninth.

Green paced the offense by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Turner Gross finished 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Gray added an RBI double, and the Lightning manufactured runs throughout the evening with three sacrifice flies and aggressive baserunning, including two stolen bases by Cortale.

Leesburg's pitching staff struck out 18 Sanford hitters, tying together one of its most dominant performances of the season. After two straight victories over the River Rats, the three-game series concludes Saturday, June 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Sanford Memorial Stadium.

Adam Rothschild (Susquehanna University)