Suns Continue Winning Ways With 9-5 Victory

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - The DeLand Suns continued their winning ways Friday night, defeating the Winter Garden Squeeze, 9-5.

The Suns struck first, plating three runs in the opening inning. Shane Thomas (Undecided), Nic Partridge (Florida) and Derek Lopez (Embry-Riddle) each drew walks to load the bases before Boomer Rogozinski (Stetson) cleared them with a three-run double, giving DeLand a 3-0 lead.

The Squeeze answered with a run in the bottom of the first.

DeLand extended its lead in the third. Partridge reached on an error to open the inning before Lopez followed with a single. Rogozinski then delivered his second double of the game, driving in both runners to push the Suns' lead to 5-1.

The Suns added another run in the fifth. Rogozinski led off the inning with his third double of the game, stole third and came home on a throwing error to make it 6-1.

Horizon West responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Squeeze threatened for another, but DeLand executed a 6-3-2 relay to cut down a runner at the plate and end the inning.

The Suns added another run in the sixth. Devon Crown (Mississippi Christian) drew a two-out walk and advanced to second before Shane Thomas lined an RBI single to score Crown, extending DeLand's lead to 7-3.

The Squeeze answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to trim the deficit to 7-5. Once again, the inning ended with DeLand throwing out a runner at the plate, this time on a strong throw from left fielder Shane Thomas.

DeLand put the game away in the eighth. Nate Ricko (Pasco-Hernando) drew a leadoff walk before pinch runner Richie Collazo (Undecided) entered the game. Pinch hitter Trey Seluk (Undecided) followed with a single, and Torin Foley (Embry-Riddle) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. With two away, Thomas lined a two-run double to score Collazo and Seluk, extending the Suns' advantage to 9-5.

Rogozinski and Thomas led the DeLand offense. Rogozinski finished 3-for-5 with three doubles, five RBIs and two stolen bases, while Thomas went 2-for-3 with two walks, a double and three RBIs.

With the victory, DeLand improved to 13-14, while Horizon West fell to 13-15.

The two teams continue their weekend series with a doubleheader Saturday in DeLand. First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

J.C. Fox (Mississippi Christian University)