Rats Offense Powers 8-4 Victory Over Suns

SANFORD, Fla. – The Sanford River Rats erased an early two-run deficit with a dominant middle-inning surge to defeat the DeLand Suns 8-4 on Thursday night.

DeLand struck first in the second inning when Torin Foley grounded into a double play that allowed Boomer Rogozinski to score for a 1-0 lead. The Suns added another run in the third on Nic Partridge's RBI single to center, extending the advantage to 2-0.

Sanford answered in a big way in the fourth.

With the bases loaded, Adonys Velez ripped a three-run double to left field, driving in Zach Walker, Tyler Meyer and Drew Pynes to give the River Rats their first lead of the night. One batter later, Michael Thomas singled to right to score Velez, then advanced to third on a fielding error to make it 4-2.

The River Rats kept the pressure on in the fifth. Drew Pynes lined a two-run single into left-center, scoring Caleb Scott and Jaden Garcia before advancing to second on a throwing error. Tyler Meyer followed with a ground-rule double that scored Pynes and Nick Upperman, stretching Sanford's lead to 8-2.

DeLand scored twice in the ninth on an RBI groundout and an unearned run following a defensive miscue, but the late rally wasn't enough to threaten Sanford's lead.

Brian Kendall improved to 3-0 after allowing two earned runs over 5 2/3 innings while striking out eight.

Sanford and DeLand continue their series Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Sanford Memorial Stadium.

Alejandro Landers (Elon University)