Squeeze Defeat Diamond Dawgs Behind Trio of Pitchers

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — The story of the Winter Garden Squeeze's fourth straight victory was its dominance on the mound.

The trio of Rylee Gibson (The Citadel), Rhys Rego (Undecided) and Caleb Clanton (Santa Fe) were excellent all evening, combining to allow just one run in a seven-inning contest that was delayed for 1 hour, 45 minutes because of lightning in the area.

Gibson got the start and worked three innings, allowing three hits and the Diamond Dawgs' lone run while striking out three. Rego followed with two scoreless innings of relief.

But the pitcher who stood out above all was Clanton. The right-hander recorded his second save of the season and struck out five batters, four looking.

Behind the dominant pitching, the Winter Garden Squeeze (6-8) held on for a 2-1 victory over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (7-7-1) on Paint the Park Purple Night at Horizon High School. With the two-game sweep, the Squeeze evened the season series after dropping the first two meetings.

The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs struck first in the top of the second inning. Daniel Irizarry (John Melvin Christian) led off the frame with a single to right-center field, and Evan Tavares (Undecided) lined a double down the left-field line, allowing Irizarry to score from first.

The Squeeze answered in the bottom half of the inning. Josh Bell (Florida A&M) was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, and a walk to Leo Suarez (Polk State) put Winter Park starter Knute Rockey (Embry-Riddle) in trouble. Another hit batter, this time Cael Reish (Flagler), loaded the bases for Winter Garden.

An infield single by Colson May (Lake-Sumter State) allowed Bell to score from third, tying the game at 1-1. Rockey limited the damage by inducing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Osjun Rivas (Undecided).

The Squeeze took the lead in the third inning thanks to a series of free passes from Rockey. He walked leadoff hitter Javier Calzadilla (Undecided) and hit the next three batters, forcing in Calzadilla with what proved to be the game's winning run.

The Squeeze return to action Thursday when they open a three-game series against the Leesburg Lightning (11-3). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Horizon High School.

Zach Moore (University of Florida)