sfoggi posted on July 17, 2011 21:15
DELAND, Fla. (July 17, 2011) – The Winter Haven Loggerheads dropped Sunday’s doubleheader to the DeLand Suns with a 7-3 loss in game one and suffered a 2-1 loss in game two.
Sunday’s twinbill was the first time the two have met since June 10 in DeLand.
The Loggerheads (9-18) were led by Andrew Sterling (Dickinson College), as he was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs and a stolen base.
The Loggerheads took a tough loss in the first contest as they fell 7-3 to the DeLand Suns. Winter Haven starting pitcher Peter Miller (Florida State) was hot out of the gates fooling six of the starting nine Suns; Miller had six strikeouts through the first three innings.
Sean O’Grady (Benedictine College) and Cody Slaughter (Brown) scored the Loggerheads two runs in the top of the second. The duo scored on a two-out single by Sterling.
DeLand (16-13) worked their way out of a slump in the bottom of the fourth as Miller gave up his first hit on a single to right. The one base hit given up by Miller eventually went around to score on a throwing error. The Suns then tied the score on a Kevin Lindheim (Stetson) sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the fifth, Miller found himself in a jam with two outs and bases loaded. A throwing error prolonged the inning and ultimately scored Leighton Daniels (Winthrop) to give the Suns a 3-2 lead. Another bases loaded walk would plate another DeLand run and would be the end for Miller. The Florida State product (2-3) tossed 4 2/3 innings and recorded nine punch-outs to tie his season-high. He gave up seven runs, one earned, on one hit and was charged with the loss.
The Suns then extended their lead to 7-2 in the bottom of the fifth with a five-spot, including a bases clearing triple to the right-center gap.
Winter Haven was able to score a lone run in the final inning of play as Kevin Clements (Trinity) hit his third home run of the season on a 1-0 count over the leftfield wall.
Sterling and Clements led the Loggerheads in game one with two hits each.
Despite struggling in the first couple innings, DeLand starting pitcher Austin Jackson (FSC) pitched a complete game, recording one strikeout and issuing one walk.
Game two was a thriller as the game headed into extra-innings with the score tied at one run apiece. Winter Haven scored first in the top of the third, as the Suns took back the run in the following inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, DeLand had a chance to break the tie with runners on the corners and one out. Loggerheads starting pitcher Clayton Freimuth (Trinity) gave up a walk to the load the bases and was pulled from the game; Jonathan Hall (Trinity) was then handed the ball to retire the side. Hall managed to get out of the jam on a strikeout and a fly ball to center.
With the game in extras, Winter Haven failed to plate a run in the top of the eighth. Defending Home Run Derby winner Kevin Lindheim led off the home half of the frame for the Suns on a single and would be replaced by Blake Prince (North Florida) on the bases. Prince then scored the winning run on a walk-off single by Brad Carlton (Stetson).
The Loggerheads will look to snap a six-game losing streak with a three-game home stand at Chain of Lakes Park. Winter Haven will host the DeLand Suns on Tuesday, July 19 with first pitch set for 7 p.m.