Lightning Celebrate America's 250th With 6-1 Victory Over DeLand

LEESBURG, Fla. – The Leesburg Lightning celebrated America's 250th birthday with another win Saturday night, defeating the DeLand Suns, 6-1, at Pat Thomas Stadium to improve to 20-7 on the season.

After three scoreless innings, the Lightning broke the game open with a five-run fourth. Preston Murphy and Charlie Keller reached to begin the inning before KT Thompson brought home the first run on a fielder's choice that was compounded by a DeLand error. Dylan Green followed with an RBI single, Marcello Cortale added an RBI infield single, and Ledger Pleasant capped the rally with an RBI fielder's choice to give Leesburg a 5-0 advantage.

DeLand's only run came in the fifth after an error allowed Joshua Vinciguerra to score, but the Lightning answered immediately in the bottom half. With the bases loaded, Cory Banasiak was hit by a pitch to force in Preston Murphy and extend the lead back to five at 6-1.

Brandon Reiter struck out 10 over four scoreless innings while allowing just two hits to earn his first victory of the season. Ben Clenney and Ethon Tesmer combined to finish the game, limiting the Suns to one unearned run on one hit over the final two innings.

The Lightning collected seven hits, led by Dylan Green, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Charlie Keller, Turner Gross, Cory Banasiak, Marcello Cortale and Preston Murphy each added a hit, while Murphy scored twice. Leesburg also put constant pressure on the bases, stealing seven bags in the victory.

With the win, the Lightning reached the 20-win mark and continued their strong play at home heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

Before the All-Star break, Leesburg will head on the road for a matchup with the Winter Garden Squeeze as it looks to extend its winning streak. The Lightning and Squeeze are scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch on Sunday at Horizon High School.

Adam Rothschild (Susquehanna University)