sfoggi posted on June 28, 2011 21:57
WINTER PARK, Fla. (June 28, 2011) - The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (12-3) rolled through the visiting Sanford River Rats in an 11-3 victory, winning their fourth consecutive game.
Michael Danner (Polk State College) led the way for the Diamond Dawgs offensively as he nearly hit for the cycle. Danner went 3-for-5 with a single, double, and home run, while driving in three runs and scoring two.
Rain played somewhat of a factor through the first five innings of the game. However, the Dawgs were able to use the conditions to their advantage as their bats and base running put pressure on the River Rats defense, forcing them to make tough plays all night long.
Sanford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as T.J. Gavlik (University of North Florida) doubled home Alex Mendez (University of South Florida) in the top of the first inning. Winter Park countered with a run of their own to tie things up in the bottom of the second inning.
In the top of the fourth, the River Rats had runners in scoring position, but failed to make the Diamond Dawgs pay. With one out and runners on second and third, Winter Park starting pitcher Brad Renner (Hillsborough Community College) made the necessary adjustments to get out of the jam unscathed.
“He kept the ball down,” said Head Coach Kevin Davidson.
Renner was able to get a ground ball back to the mound and a strikeout to end the inning. The Diamond Dawgs then grabbed the lead, and never relinquished it.
Danner kicked off the bottom of the fourth inning with a home run over the right field fence.
“It felt great,” said Danner. “I was just trying to hit the ball hard, and I was able to keep my hands inside.”
Winter Park brought home two more runs in the inning to extend their lead to 4-1 as they forced Sanford into a couple of errors. One such instance came when Dustin DeMuth (Indiana University) broke early on a steal attempt for third base, but the pitcher made a throwing error and DeMuth came around to score.
Nonetheless, the River Rats responded in the top of the fifth by scoring two runs as they cut the Diamond Dawgs lead to one run.
However, Winter Park came right back with a four-run bottom of the fifth, giving them an 8-3 lead.
Diamond Dawgs relievers Drew Packard (Villanova University) and Case Nixon (University of Alabama) finished the job, as they combined to throw four scoreless innings, while surrendering just one hit and striking out six.
“Packard did well,” said Davidson. “I was very proud of his performance.”
Winter Park added on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to extend their lead by eight. Nixon sent the Rats packing as he struck out the side to end the game.
The Diamond Dawgs will take on the Winter Haven Loggerheads on the road Thursday, June 30. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Mitchell Adams (UCF)