Dawgs Drop Fifth Straight Game

DELAND, Fla.- The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs' defense unraveled Thursday night, turning what looked like a promising start into a 12-4 loss to the DeLand Suns at Melching Field. Although the Suns scored 12 runs, only six were earned as Winter Park committed five errors that fueled DeLand's offensive outburst.

The Diamond Dawgs came out swinging in the second inning, building a 4-0 lead behind an RBI walk from Eric Entrekin, a two-run single by Osmin Melendez and an RBI single from Jacob Pearl. It appeared Winter Park had seized control early.

However, three defensive errors allowed the Suns to erase the deficit and score six runs in the bottom of the second, with only three of those runs being earned. A throwing error, a fielding miscue and shaky defense extended the inning and gave DeLand extra opportunities that it capitalized on to take a 6-4 lead.

The defensive issues continued over the next two innings. Winter Park finished with five errors overall, including two by Entrekin, while Melendez, Colton Musgrave and Canyon Marcewicz each committed one. Those mistakes led to six unearned runs, allowing the Suns to pull away with three runs in the third and three more in the fourth to secure the 12-4 victory.

The Diamond Dawgs will have July 4 off to rest and regroup before returning to action Sunday against the Sanford River Rats at 5 p.m. at Sanford Memorial Stadium.

Justin Baltes (University of Central Florida)