Sanford Steals Game 1, Lightning Face Elimination

LEESBURG, Fla. – For the first time all season, the Sanford River Rats defeated the Leesburg Lightning, earning an 8-4 victory Saturday night at Pat Thomas Stadium to take a 1-0 lead in the Florida Collegiate Summer League Championship Series.

The win puts Sanford one victory away from capturing the 2026 Whiting Cup and the franchise's sixth FCSL championship.

Both pitching staffs dominated through the first two innings, with neither team recording a hit.

Sanford broke through in the third when Nick Upperman launched a solo home run to left-center field for his first homer of the season. Later in the inning, Jordan Marlo stayed hot at the plate with a two-run double, scoring Caleb Scott and Michael Dobkowski to extend the River Rats' lead to 3-0.

The River Rats continued to apply pressure in the fourth. With runners moving on a full-count pitch and two outs, AJ Seymour lined an RBI single to center to score Michael Thomas. After a Leesburg pitching change, Dobkowski crushed a three-run home run over the left-field fence—his first of the summer—to cap a four-run inning and give Sanford a commanding 7-0 advantage.

Leesburg chipped away with two runs in the fourth before adding single runs in the sixth and eighth innings, but Sanford's pitching staff never allowed the Lightning to mount a serious comeback.

Chase Marsh earned the win with 5 2/3 innings of work, allowing three runs—two earned—on the way to seven strikeouts. Broch Bracher, Jack Hershey and Tyler Garcia combined to finish the game with 3 1/3 innings of relief.

With the victory, Sanford takes a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Championship Series and can clinch the 2026 FCSL title in Game 2 on Sunday at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. as the River Rats look to secure the franchise's sixth Whiting Cup championship.

Adam Rothschild (Susquehanna University)