sfoggi posted on June 18, 2011 21:36
LEESBURG, Fla. (June 18, 2011) - The Lightning fell to the Winter Haven Loggerheads 9-6 in front of the home crowd at Pat Thomas Stadium. The loss was just the second of the season for Leesburg.
Saturday was Bark at the Park Night and there were plenty of four-legged fans in attendance. The dogs up for adoption were walked onto the field between innings and were treated to several amenities outside the stadium as well. The first pitch of the game was thrown out by two monkeys, who got some help from their trainers getting the ball to the catcher. To everyone’s dismay, the apes weren’t up for adoption. With the exception of the loss on the field, everyone in attendance had a great time at the ballpark.
The Loggerheads (5-6) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Lightning starter Dylan Hathcock (UNC-Greensboro) gave up back-to-back doubles to Sam Halpern (Barry) and Sean O’Grady (Benedictine College). The three run, four hit first inning was the worst start for the Lightning this season. Winter Haven would add another run off Hathcock in the third inning to pad their lead to four heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Lightning (9-2) bats came alive. Right fielder Chase Durham (Howard College) led off with a blast to left center that everyone thought was gone, including Durham who had to hustle back to second base when the Loggerhead center fielder raised his arm and signaled a ground rule double. But Durham would quickly cross home plate, regardless, after hits from the bottom of the Lightning order and a big two-run single from Mike Albaladejo (Florida Atlantic). A sacrifice fly from Jake Tillotson (Florida) brought home Troy Drummond (Delaware State) and in keeping true to their resilient reputation, the game was knotted up at four.
The tie didn’t last long however. Winter Haven would score five runs in the next half inning off of reliever David Lucroy (East Carolina), who was charged with the loss, his first of the season. The disastrous fifth inning was full of wild pitches and passed balls and one scary moment where a Lucroy fastball tailed in, hitting batter Cody Slaughter (Brown) in the jaw. The audible crack sent a hush over the Leesburg faithful, however Slaughter received ample protection from his helmet, which absorbed most of the blow. And just as quickly as the Lightning came back, they found themselves down once again, this time by a score of 9-4.
The Lightning would score a run in the sixth and in the ninth, but couldn’t overcome the five run deficit established by the Loggerheads. Leesburg actually outhit Winter Haven 10-9, but the offense couldn’t conquer the atypical struggles from the Lightning pitching staff, who are still the best in the Florida Collegiate Summer League.
Albaladejo, Durham, Nick Octavi (Harford CC), Chris Coburn (College of Central Florida) and Tom Sicking (UTPA) each had two hits in the game and the Lightning once again played solid defensively.
The Lightning look to turn things around tomorrow (Sunday, June 19) against Orlando, who is currently last in the league and whom the Lightning have beat three times this season. The game is at 5:00 p.m. at Pat Thomas Stadium.
Nick Beardi (Medaille College)