sfoggi posted on July 12, 2011 21:48
SANFORD, Fla. (July 12, 2011) - The best of the Florida League congregated at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium Tuesday for the Mid-summer Classic, FCSL edition. Balls were flying out of the park in the afternoon as Kevin Lindeim (DEL, Stetson) took top honors in the Mad Dog Bats Home Run Derby; but the exhibition game took on a different flavor as pitching dictated the story.
The North squad featuring DeLand, Leesburg and Sanford bested the South, comprised of Orlando, Winter Park and Winter Haven, 2-1 as hits and runs became hard to come by.
All three runs came during the first three innings, with the North jumping out in front first. The club picked up a run in each of the first two innings to grab a 2-0 lead. The South got on the board in the third, the same inning in which the team found their first base runner of the game.
Kevin Lehane (ORL, Jacksonville) reached base on a one-out walk before Justin Burgess (WH, Montevallo) punched a double down the right field line. When the ball was misplayed in the outfield, Lehane scampered home.
That’s when the arms took over.
The South’s pitching became nearly flawless for the rest of the game. Highlighting the seven pitchers who threw for the team were Garrett Nuss (ORL, UCF), who tossed two innings striking out three, and Pete Miller (WH, Florida St.), who went 1 2/3 striking out four.
The combined efforts of the seven allowed seven hits over the game, striking out 11 while only walking three. The North All-Stars were just a little bit better. Eight North pitchers combined to allow only one run on six hits, adding four strikeouts.
Austin Jackson (DEL, Florida Southern) picked up the victory for the North as the starter retired all six batters he faced. Max Rusch (LEE, Flagler) showed why he leads the Florida League in saves as he retired the final three hitters to close the door.
Alex Mendez (SAN, South Florida) was named the game’s Most Valuable Player as he picked up two hits and scored a run. Most importantly, perhaps, Mendez made a nice catch in left field in the fourth to save several runs.
Florida League regular-season play resumes Thursday, July 14 as all six teams return to action. The teams have roughly two and a half weeks of games left before the playoffs begin for the top five teams.
Jake Snyder (Marshall University)