sfoggi posted on June 18, 2011 22:33
SANFORD, Fla. (June 18, 2011) - In a game that was close down the stretch, the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (8-2) defeated the Sanford River Rats 10-6 to move into a tie for first place with the Leesburg Lightning.
“We battled and played well,” said Head Coach Kevin Davidson. “It was a tough game, and I’m proud of our guys.”
Dustin DeMuth (Indiana University) and Ted Blackman (St. Petersburg Community College) led the way offensively for the Diamond Dawgs. DeMuth went 3-for-5 with a home run, one RBI, one stolen base, and three runs scored. Blackman went 2-for-2 with three walks, a double, two RBI, and two stolen bases.
“I’m just seeing the ball well,” said DeMuth.
Winter Park collectively stole 10 bases in total, while pounding out 13 hits.
The Diamond Dawgs started off hot, as they scored three runs in the first two innings. Just before the third inning got started, there was a 25-minute lightning delay. However, the delay did not slow the Dawgs down as they tacked on another run to take an early 4-0 lead.
Light rainfall began to fall in the fourth inning as the River Rats got on board and cut the Diamond Dawgs lead in half, 4-2.
In the fifth inning, the rain started to come down much more steadily, but Sanford managed to plate another run.
The Diamond Dawgs scored two runs in the sixth inning, but missed a chance to truly crack the game wide open as they had the bases loaded with two outs in a 5-3 game.
The River Rats (4-7) took advantage of the Diamond Dawgs missed opportunity in the bottom of the inning as they tied the game up at five a piece.
Things stayed tied for an inning, as this game was beginning to show shades of each team’s previous meeting on Tuesday, June 14, which ended in a 4-4 tie as it was cut short due to rain.
However, the Diamond Dawgs threw their knockout punch in the eighth inning as they scored five runs on five hits, and one error. With two outs and runners on the corners, Blackman hit a double off the right field wall. Blackman was then driven in by a Michael Danner (Polk State College) on single to centerfield. Winter Park was not done, as Austin Chubb (Florida Southern) hit an RBI double to left field, followed by a B.J. Zimmerman (State College of Florida) RBI single to left.
The rain finally subsided in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Sanford would not go quietly in the ninth. With one out, James Ramsey (University of South Florida) reached base on an error by the second baseman. Dan Haverstick (Rhode Island) followed with a walk. Austin Liput (University of South Carolina Upstate) then hit a single into right field to score Ramsey. After a double steal by Haverstick and Liput, and a TJ Gavlik (University of North Florida) walk, Kyle Foti (Flagler College) stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, but went down on strikes to end the game.
Winter Park will take on the Winter Haven Loggerheads for a Father’s Day edition of Florida League baseball on Sunday, June 19th. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
Mitchell Adams (UCF)