Squeeze Lose in Walk-Off Fashion to End 2026 Season

SANFORD, Fla. — The Winter Garden Squeeze's 2026 season came to a heartbreaking end Friday night with a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Sanford River Rats in Game 2 of the Florida Collegiate Summer League semifinals.

The River Rats advanced to the FCSL Championship Series for the second consecutive season, while the Squeeze once again fell short of capturing the organization's first Whiting Cup.

After suffering a 14-1 defeat in Game 1, Winter Garden could have come out flat in the elimination game. Instead, the Squeeze struck first.

Edwin Melendez reached on a fielding error by Sanford second baseman Caleb Scott to lead off the top of the second inning before Cael Reish dropped down a bunt single, putting runners on first and second.

Leonardo Suarez gave the Squeeze a 1-0 lead with a two-out RBI single up the middle, scoring Melendez. Peyson Garcia followed with an RBI single to right field, plating Reish and extending the advantage to 2-0.

Sanford answered immediately in the bottom of the third.

Michael Dobkowski opened the inning with a single to center before Scott was hit by a pitch, bringing the red-hot Jordan Marlo to the plate.

Marlo drove in Dobkowski with a double to deep center, moving Scott to third. Adonys Velez then tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Scott.

From there, the game turned into a pitching duel.

Sanford starter Liam Furey turned in a dominant performance, allowing two unearned runs on six hits over seven innings. He struck out five and threw 71% of his pitches for strikes.

Winter Garden starter Nick Rich matched Furey nearly pitch for pitch, allowing two runs on six hits over five innings while striking out four. Kaden Howell followed with another outstanding relief appearance, tossing three hitless innings and striking out five.

Neither team could break through until the bottom of the 10th.

With runners on first and second, Marlo delivered a walk-off double to send Sanford back to the FCSL Championship Series. He finished the two-game semifinal series with six hits.

The championship series will feature the No. 1 seed Leesburg Lightning and the No. 3 seed Sanford River Rats. Game 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Pat Thomas Stadium.

Although the season ended two wins shy of the championship series, the 2026 campaign marked another step forward for the Squeeze. Winter Garden again came up short in its pursuit of the franchise's first Whiting Cup, but the season provided plenty of optimism that one day the trophy will find its home in Winter Garden.

Zach Moore (University of Florida)