At the end of another week in the Florida League, the Sanford River Rats (7-3) have asserted themselves as the No. 1 team in the league. That came at a price for the Winter Garden Squeeze (5-5), though, as they dropped both weekend games to Sanford and fell to the No. 3 spot. In Winter Garden’s stead, the Altamonte Springs Scorpions (6-4) are riding a three-game winning streak into the No. 2 spot.

On the other end, though, the DeLand Suns (3-6) have had their hot start cooled, as they are on a five-game losing streak and sit in last place. The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (3-5) finished this past weekend with a loss, as the No. 4 Leesburg Lightning (3-4) won the two teams’ only game this weekend on Saturday.

Sanford’s weekend-winning effort was led by center fielder Richie Rivera (Tampa). He finished the weekend 3-for-6, three runs and an RBI, including a home run in the River Rats’ 4-3 win on Friday. Right fielder Rodney Tennie (Georgia Gwinnett) and catcher Anthony Mulrine (Samford) also contributed two-RBI performances in Sanford’s 10-4 win on Thursday. For the Squeeze, second baseman Drew Frederic (Troy) notched two RBIs in each of the losses, finishing the weekend 5-for-9 with four RBIs.

For Altamonte Springs, designated hitter Jacob Corso (Georgia State) and catcher Riley Wash (St. Johns River) each had two-RBI performances in the Scorpions’ 10-6 win over the Suns on Thursday. Righty Mathew Oset (New Orleans) also struck out four of the six batters he faced in the win. As for the Suns, third baseman Jordan Morrow (Stetson) and center fielder Matthew Mulkey (Winthrop) were DeLand’s primary sources of offense. Morrow finished the weekend 4-for-7 with two RBIs, and Mulkey hit 4-for-9 with two runs.

In the 2-1 Leesburg win, it was Winter Park righty Tyler Keysor (Eastern Florida State College) who shined. He struck out eight and allowed one run on two hits in his 6.0 innings of work. Lightning shortstop Kevin Lambert (Western Kentucky) recorded Leesburg’s lone RBI, as Diamond Dawgs catcher Luis Olivier (Embry-Riddle) went 2-for-3 with Winter Park’s only RBI.

Player of the Week

Sadler Goodwin, Troy
Winter Garden
6-16 (.375 avg), 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI, BB, SB

Goodwin paced the Squeeze offense with six hits in four games, including a two-hit night against Winter Park and a three-hit effort versus the River Rats. Against the Diamond Dawgs, he was 2-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Winter Garden played Leesburg on Wednesday, and Goodwin delivered two RBI in the 7-6 win. His best game came on Thursday against the Rats when he went 3-4 with a single, double and home run. He scored twice and drove in one in the 10-4 loss. 

Pitcher of the Week

Kyle Wiseman, Lake Sumter
DeLand
2 G, 4.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Wiseman kept his team in a pair of close games last week. He threw a perfect inning against the Diamond Dawgs on Wednesday, recording one punchout. He made his biggest impact on Friday night against Altamonte, however. Wiseman came on in the fifth inning of a tied ballgame with one out and two men on. He pitched the Suns out of the jam without allowing a baserunner, and then repeated the process in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. He retired eleven straight hitters, and racked up four strikeouts in his 3.2 innings. 

Second and third place will be hotly contested spots in the standings this week as the Scorpions and Squeeze start the week with a three-game series, beginning at Lake Brantley High School. DeLand will look to claw its away out from the bottom as it takes on the Lightning, starting with a home game at Conrad Park. Sanford figures to pull away from the rest of the league, as the River Rats will play the No. 5 Diamond Dawgs.

Here are your probable starters for the Scorpions-Squeeze series to start the week:

• June 19 at Lake Brantley HS
  • Altamonte Springs starter: LHP Jimmy Robbins
  • Winter Garden starter: RHP Sadler Goodwin
• June 20 at West Orange HS
  • Winter Garden starter: RHP Jarred Neal
  • Altamonte Springs starter: RHP Jared Cenal
• June 21 at Lake Brantley HS
  • Altamonte Springs starter: LHP Ethan Koehler
  • Winter Garden starter: RHP Ryan Ashworth

Here are your probable starters for the Suns-Lightning series to start the week:

• June 19 at Conrad Park
  • DeLand starter: RHP Cooper Cain
  • Leesburg starter: RHP Tyler Parry
• June 20 at Pat Thomas Stadium
  • Leesburg starter: RHP Tucker Smith
  • DeLand starter: RHP Matthew Reitz
• June 21 Conrad Park
  • DeLand starter: RHP Thad Harris
  • Leesburg starter: RHP Michael Johnson

Here are your probable starters for River Rats-Diamond Dawgs series to start the week:

• June 19 at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium
  • Sanford starter: RHP Frank Follaco
  • Winter Park starter: RHP Brett Shure
• June 20 at Bishop Moore HS
  • Winter Park starter: RHP Matthew Sneed
  • Sanford starter: LHP Hamp Skinner
• June 21 Bishop Moore HS
  • Winter Park starter: RHP JJ Niekro
  • Sanford starter: RHP Jacob Webb