Squeeze Clinch No. 2 Seed with Walk-Off Win
| Final (10) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
|
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 3 |
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. - The Winter Garden Squeeze rallied from a four-run deficit Friday night, scoring three times in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 8-7 at Horizon Park, clinching the No. 2 seed in the Florida Collegiate Summer League playoffs and home-field advantage in the semifinal round.
Winter Garden took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Fabian Antonsanti doubled to open the game and later scored on Osjun Rivas' RBI groundout.
The Diamond Dawgs answered in the second as Huston Guinn launched a two-run home run to left-center, putting Winter Park ahead 2-1.
Winter Park extended its lead in the fourth. Jake Biaggi singled home Skyler Jersey before Osmin Melendez followed with an RBI single to make it 4-1. Melendez finished with three hits to lead the Diamond Dawgs offensively.
Garrett Frost added an RBI single in the fifth, stretching the lead to 5-1.
The Squeeze responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning. Cael Reish singled ahead of Colson May's two-run home run to center, cutting the deficit to 5-3. Leo Suarez and Peyson Garcia followed with consecutive singles before Josh Schaller drove in Suarez with an RBI single. Moments later, Rivas reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Garcia to score the tying run.
Neither team scored again in regulation, sending the game into extra innings.
Winter Park took a 7-5 lead in the 10th under the international tiebreaker rule. Frost, the placed runner, scored when Antonsanti's throwing error allowed Biaggi to reach safely, and Guinn later came home on Melendez's fielder's choice.
The Squeeze answered one final time. Courtesy runner Josh Schaller scored on a wild pitch before Alex Galan lined an RBI double down the left-field line to tie the game at 7-7. With two outs, Brody Bellomo delivered a walk-off single to right field, scoring Galan and completing the comeback.
The victory improved Winter Garden to 17-16 and secured the No. 2 seed in the FCSL playoffs. Winter Park fell to 14-18-1.
The teams conclude the regular season Saturday at Alfond Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
Zach Moore (University of Florida)