sfoggi posted on July 23, 2011 19:35
LEESBURG, Fla. (July 23, 2011) – The Winter Haven Loggerheads fell 8-4 to the Leesburg Lightning Saturday night at Pat Thomas Stadium.
The loss drops Winter Haven to 11-20 on the season as they also fall to fifth in the Florida League standings. Leesburg takes the sole spot atop the standings with a 23-10 mark, half a game ahead of Winter Park.
Winter Haven was led by five Loggerheads with a pair of hits, while Sean O’Brien (Florida State) extends his hit streak to six consecutive games. O’Brien was a flawless 2-for-2 with an RBI.
A quick 2-0 start for the Loggerheads was halted in the next frame as Chase Durham (Howard College) blasted a two-run homer over the centerfield wall. The Lightning carried on that momentum to the bottom of the third and put together a small rally that saw bases loaded and no outs. Leesburg managed to plate a run before Winter Haven centerfielder Andrew Sterling (Dickinson College) gunned a runner out at home and a double play ended the threat.
The Loggerheads took back the lead (4-3) in the top of the fourth as Sterling hit a two-out single driving in Daniel Gonzales (Rice) and Nick Geary (Georgetown). Sterling was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
In the bottom of the fifth, Leesburg (22-10) tied the ball game and took a one-run lead in the next inning to lead 5-4.
Leesburg kept the Loggerheads scoreless until the final inning of play, but took a commanding 8-4 lead in the home half of the eighth as they scored three runs on two hits.
The Lightning outhit the Loggerheads 16-12, while Winter Haven committed two errors on the night.
In his fifth appearance for the Loggerheads, Michael Heller (Miami-Dade) was charged with the loss tossing two full innings, fanning three. Lake Sumter CC product Ethan Bader picked up his third win of the season in two innings of work. Bader struck out three and walked one.
The loss snaps a two-game win streak the Loggerheads began at their home field at Chain of Lakes Park. Winter Haven will look to close out the regular-season on a good note with eight more scheduled contests.
Winter Haven will head to Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium on Sunday (July 24) for a make-up game from earlier in the summer. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.