sfoggi posted on June 23, 2011 14:23
THE VILLAGES, Fla. (June 22, 2011) - The Sanford River Rats took advantage of pitching control issues by the DeLand Suns to take an early lead that they refused to relinquish as they beat Deland 8-3 on Wednesday. Starter Ryan Heinz (George Washington) went five innings to pick up the win as the Sanford offense got all the runs they needed early on en route to the victory.
Things looked promising for the Suns in the first inning as starter Myles Smith (Miami Dade) cruised through the top half of the first, followed by a two-run single in the bottom half by Kevin Lindheim (Stetson) to give them a 2-0 lead. However, in the top of the second, things got shaky. The first six batters of the inning reached base safely for the Rats, highlighted by back-to-back doubles from Johnny Mazur (Florida Tech) and Kyle Foti (Flagler). After a single and three walks, Smith was pulled with the bases loaded. Reliever Gage Smith (Florida State) allowed three more runs to score and by the end of the half inning, it was 6-2.
Both teams settled down after the second, not allowing another run until a Pat Fortunato (Rhode Island) single plated an insurance run for the Rats in the top of the sixth. The Suns responded with a run in the home half thanks to a Brad Carlton (Stetson) sac fly, but the game was all but in the books at that point.
Sanford got a lot of help from their relievers, who threw four innings and allowed only one hit and one walk coming from the bottom part of their lineup. The Rats six through nine hitters went a combined 7-for-15 at the plate, scoring six runs and knocking in two. Johnny Mazur led the Rats with a 3-for-5 night, including a double and two stolen bases.
Lindheim, who finished the night 2-for-2 at the plate with a run, two RBI and two walks, paced DeLand. The Suns relievers (Smith and Dane Stone, St. Thomas) also had a solid night, throwing an impressive eight innings of relief while allowing only two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
The Suns will finish up their series as “The Villages Sluggers” Thursday, June 23 when they take on the Leesburg Lightning at 7 p.m. at The Villages High School.
Phil Chinnery (Winthrop)