Suns Erupt for Win In Front of Lively Crowd

DELAND, Fla. - The DeLand Suns defeated the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 12-4 in five innings on Friday night.

After a scoreless first inning, the Diamond Dawgs struck first in the second. The first two batters reached after being hit by pitches, and a one-out walk loaded the bases. A bases-loaded walk with two outs scored the first run before back-to-back RBI singles brought home three more runs. Winter Park carried a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the second.

The Suns quickly erased the deficit, scoring six times in the bottom half of the inning. The rally began with a single by Josh Vinciguerra (Undecided) and an RBI single from Noah Prudencio (Florida State College), which scored Vinciguerra. Nate Ricko (Pasco-Hernando State) followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Torin Foley (Embry-Riddle) then reached on a fielding error, allowing Prudencio to score.

Devon Crown (Mississippi Christian) followed with a perfectly placed bunt single to load the bases. With still nobody out, Bryce Pasternack (Daytona State) drew a walk to force in Ricko. Shane Thomas (Undecided) added a sacrifice fly to center to score Foley, and Boomer Rogozinski (Stetson) hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Crown. With DeLand ahead 5-4, Derek Lopez (Embry-Riddle) recorded his first hit as a Sun, driving in Pasternack to extend the lead to 6-4.

DeLand added three more runs in the third inning. A trio of errors loaded the bases with no outs before Foley grounded into a fielder's choice, scoring Vinciguerra to make it 7-4. Crown followed with a deep double that brought home Ricko and moved Foley to third. Pasternack then lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Foley and extending the lead to 9-4.

The Suns put the game away with three more runs in the fourth. Rogozinski led off the inning with a single, then stole both second and third base. With Rogozinski at third and Lopez at first, Vinciguerra lined an RBI single to score Rogozinski. Prudencio then singled to load the bases for Ricko, who delivered a sharp single to right field that scored both Lopez and Vinciguerra, pushing the lead to 12-4.

DeLand starter Nick Delucia (Daytona State) tossed a five-inning complete game, striking out eight while earning his second victory of the season.

The Suns' offense was balanced throughout the lineup. Vinciguerra, Prudencio, Ricko and Crown each collected two hits. Nine DeLand batters recorded at least one RBI, while Ricko, Foley and Pasternack each drove in two runs.

With the victory, DeLand improved to 11-13, while Winter Park fell to 12-14-1.

The two teams are not scheduled to meet again during the regular season.

The Suns return to action on the road against the Leesburg Lightning on July 4.

J.C. Fox (Mississippi Christian University)