Dawgs See Late Lead Slip Away in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs let a late lead slip away Thursday night, falling 6-5 to the Orlando Snappers on a heartbreaking walk-off in 10 innings at The First Academy. The defeat marked the Dawgs' fourth consecutive loss after they were unable to hold a two-run advantage in the bottom of the 10th.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Winter Park chipped away throughout the night. Canyon Marcewicz put the Dawgs on the board with an RBI single in the second before Houston Hosford drove in another run with a sacrifice groundout in the fourth. The game was tied in the seventh when Marcewicz came home on a Snappers fielding error.

The Dawgs appeared to have seized control in extra innings. Jake Biaggi scored on Skyler Jersey's RBI triple to give Winter Park its first lead of the night, and Jersey later crossed the plate on a wild pitch to extend the advantage to 5-3.

Orlando answered immediately in the bottom half. A hit batter with the bases loaded cut the deficit to one before Luke Mottola lined a two-run walk-off single to left field, completing the Snappers' comeback and handing the Dawgs another crushing defeat.

On the mound, Gage Allen settled in after a difficult first inning, allowing three runs over four innings. Nick Sakowski was outstanding in relief, tossing four scoreless innings to keep the Dawgs within striking distance. Anthony Filice allowed two runs in the 10th before Benjamin Filler was charged with the loss as Orlando completed the walk-off rally.

With the loss, Winter Park dropped its fourth straight game, continuing a frustrating stretch despite rallying from an early three-run deficit and taking the lead in extra innings.

The Dawgs return to action Friday against the DeLand Suns at Melching Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m., and a fireworks show will follow the game.

Justin Baltes (University of Central Florida)