Dawgs Rally Late to Secure Series Victory

DELAND, Fla. - The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs used a strong pitching performance and timely late-inning hitting to earn a 4-1 victory over the DeLand Suns on Friday night at Melching Field at Conrad Park.

The Suns struck first in the opening inning when Noah Prudencio lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing home Bryce Pasternack for a 1-0 lead. DeLand held that advantage through the first five innings thanks to solid pitching from starter Nickolas Delucia.

The Dawgs finally broke through in the sixth inning. Canyon Marcewicz reached scoring position and came around to score on an RBI single by Osmin Melendez, tying the game at 1-1.

Winter Park took its first lead of the night in the eighth inning when Houston Hosford lined an RBI double down the left-field line, scoring Justus Mike and giving the Dawgs a 2-1 advantage. The run proved to be the game-winner.

The Dawgs added insurance in the ninth inning. Roberto Odor singled and advanced on a throwing error before a series of Suns miscues allowed Colton Musgrave and Jake Biaggi to score, extending the lead to 4-1. DeLand committed four errors in the contest, three of which factored into the final scoring.

Winter Park's pitching staff was outstanding throughout the evening. Starter Wyatt Flack allowed just one run on three hits over five innings while striking out key Suns hitters and keeping the game within reach. Ty Uchman was dominant in relief, tossing four scoreless innings and surrendering just one hit to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the season.

At the plate, Melendez and Biaggi each recorded two hits for the Dawgs, while Hosford delivered the clutch extra-base hit that put Winter Park ahead for good. The Dawgs finished with seven hits, 4 runs no errors, the Suns went 1 run, 4 hits and 4 errors to boot.

With the victory, Winter Park improved to 4-3 on the season, while the Suns dropped to 1-4. The Dawgs will look to carry the momentum from their late-game surge into their next matchup as they continue Florida League play against the Suns looking to sweep the Suns at Alfond Stadium at 6pm.

Justin Baltes (University of Central Florida)