Playing Under Alternate Magoos Identity, Squeeze Win

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — The Winter Garden Squeeze, playing under their alternate identity as the Horizon West Magoos for the second consecutive season, completed a dramatic comeback Sunday night. In a marathon three-and-a-half-hour contest that featured four lead changes and even fireworks from nearby Walt Disney World, the Magoos (13-13) defeated the Leesburg Lightning (20-8), 9-8, at Horizon Park.

Leesburg struck first in the opening inning. Charlie Keller delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0 before Dylan Green added a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 2-0. Keller finished 2-for-3 at the plate.

The Magoos answered immediately against Leesburg ace Miguel Figueroa. The left-hander entered the night without allowing an earned run this season but was making his first start after pitching exclusively out of the bullpen.

Cael Reish and Alex Galan opened the bottom of the first with back-to-back singles before catcher Leo Suarez drilled a two-run double off the center-field wall to tie the game. Figueroa then issued two walks to load the bases, and Wilfredo Soto was hit by a pitch to force home the go-ahead run. A wild pitch later in the inning allowed another run to score, giving Horizon West a 4-2 advantage.

The Magoos added to their lead in the third when second baseman Peyson Garcia lined a two-run single into shallow center field with the bases loaded, stretching the advantage to 6-2.

Leesburg chipped away in the fourth as Keller drove in another run with a sacrifice fly after Cory Banasiak led off the inning with a single.

Horizon West regained a four-run cushion in the bottom half of the inning when Suarez reached on a fielding error by Lightning shortstop Daniel Despaine, allowing another run to score and making it 7-3.

The Lightning responded with four runs in the fifth to erase the deficit. Jack Waddingham doubled into the left-center gap to score Green before Cory Banasiak reached on an error by shortstop Fabian Antonsanti, cutting the lead to 7-5. Matthew Dumas then delivered the biggest hit of the inning, lining a two-run double to tie the game at 7-7. Dumas led Leesburg with three hits.

Leesburg briefly reclaimed the lead in the sixth when Kaden Thompson lifted a sacrifice fly to score Keller, making it 8-7.

The Magoos answered once again in the bottom half. A perfectly executed double steal by Antonsanti and Reish forced an errant throw from catcher Preston Murphy, allowing Antonsanti to score the tying run.

In the seventh, Antonsanti delivered the decisive hit. With runners on second and third, the shortstop lined an RBI single to put Horizon West back in front, 9-8.

Jack Sanchez and Keith Holden combined for three scoreless innings out of the bullpen to preserve the victory, shutting the door on Leesburg in the back-and-forth affair.

The Magoos enter the Florida League All-Star break in second place before opening a series against the DeLand Suns (11-14) on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Conrad Park at Stetson.

Zach Moore (University of Florida)