Dawgs Complete Series Sweep of Suns

DELAND, Fla. – The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs wasted no time taking control Friday night, scoring six runs over the first three innings before cruising to a 6-2 victory over the DeLand Suns at Melching Field. The win improved the Dawgs to 12-9-1 on the season.

Winter Park struck first in the opening inning when Garrett Frost crossed the plate on a DeLand fielding error. The offense exploded in the second, plating four more runs. Osmin Melendez delivered the biggest hit of the inning, lining a two-run double down the right-field line to score Roberto Odor and Justus Mike. Later in the frame, Evan Taveras reached on an error that allowed Melendez to score before Clay Mitchell added an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-0.

The Dawgs added their final run in the third inning as Mason Mojica stole third and scored on a throwing error by the catcher, giving Winter Park a commanding 6-0 advantage. Aggressive baserunning played a key role throughout the night, with Mojica and Odor each swiping two bases while Justus Mike also recorded a stolen base.

On the mound, Daniel Irizarry continued his impressive season, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three Suns hitters en route to his second victory of the season. Kaiden Perez followed with three innings of relief, allowing one run, before Ethan Koller closed out the ninth despite DeLand scoring its second run of the game.

The Dawgs will have Sunday off before returning to Alfond Stadium to face the Orlando Snappers on Monday at 6 p.m.

Justin Baltes (University of Central Florida)