WINTER PARK, Fla (June 17, 2018) – The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs had a much better week, going 3-2 and improving their record to .500.  After a 1-4 week in which they struggled with errors and leaving runners on base, Winter Park cleaned up both of those issues to keep themselves competitive in all of their ballgames.

Alex Jackson (Wichita State), a relatively new add to the Winter Park roster, had a great week at the plate.  He has played in six games for the Diamond Dawgs, five of them during this past week.  Jackson has reached in every game and carries a six-game hitting streak into Monday’s game in Sanford.

The Diamond Dawgs traveled to DeLand to open up the week on Monday.  Winter Park scored a run in the first inning, which has been a theme to this point.  The Diamond Dawgs posted a three-run fourth inning on their way to secure a 4-3 win.

Brandon Johnson (Undecided) got the start and pitched well, but was not able to factor into a decision.  He threw 4.1 innings, only allowing one earned run on one hit while striking out three.  JP Williams (Undecided) came on for the six out save after Hunter Connor (Flagler) had a nearly perfect 2.2 innings, surrendering only one hit.

Tuesday saw another close game between the two teams.  More runs were scored in the first inning, as the Diamond Dawgs led 2-1 at home.  Jacob Teter (Florida Southern) hit the first home run of the season for the Diamond Dawgs, a long blast to deep left center field.

Winter Park went on to take a 6-2 lead.  The game became close again when DeLand hit a three run homer to make the game close again.  Turner Scruggs (Winthrop) had a four inning save to secure the 6-5 victory.

Wednesday’s forecast was a mess, as there was rain pretty much all over Florida.  The Diamond Dawgs were able to begin their game in DeLand as they went for the series sweep.  The breaks did not go their way as the Suns went up 3-0 after the first inning.  Winter Park was on the comeback trail, as they pushed across a run in the fourth to cut the deficit to two.

Just as the Diamond Dawgs got rolling, so did the thunder, which was accompanied by lightning and rain.  The game had just headed to the bottom of the fifth when the umpires pulled the players off the field.  Action wouldn’t resume that night, but the game would go final because it had reached the proper inning to go official, handing Winter Park the 3-1 loss.

More rain in the area cancelled Thursday and Friday’s games against the Winter Garden Squeeze.  Thankfully, the weather held up enough to get a double header in on Saturday in Winter Park.

Game one of Saturday’s double header started with a quick, scoreless first inning, followed by a 42-minute lightning delay.  The teams were able to take the field after that, and the scoring opened up.  The Diamond Dawgs scored three runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead 3-1.  That would be the only lead for them during game 1, as Winter Garden hit two more homers and ended up winning 9-3.

The Diamond Dawgs' luck changed in game 2, an important game they needed to win to avoid going on another three game losing streak.

For the second time on the day, the Diamond Dawgs put up three runs in the bottom of the second.  Winter Park never looked back, on their way to a 7-3 victory and a split of the double header.

Christian Snow (Mobile) continued to improve on a season which saw him off to a slow start.  He went two-for-three with two RBI’s and belted his first homer of the year.  Tyler Self (Alabama Huntsville) picked up the victory in the second game Saturday as he threw for five innings and only allowed two hits.

The Diamond Dawgs have a tough schedule ahead of them this week.  They square off with the Sanford River Rats and the Leesburg Lightning, with three road games against Sanford.  One of those road games is at Bishop Moore, but Winter Park will technically be the away team.  The Lightning have only lost one game all season and currently sit atop the FCSL standings.

Sanford has played well against the Diamond Dawgs, as all three matchups featuring these two teams have been decided by one run.  Brandon Johnson will get the start on Monday against the River Rats.  Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium will host the first pitch at 7:00 p.m.

Ken Landis (UCF)