Box Score

SANFORD, Fla (June 18, 2018) – There are some games where the ball just doesn’t bounce in a team’s favor, and that was the story for the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs on Monday night as they fell victim to the mercy rule in the seventh inning and lost 11-1 to the Sanford River Rats

The scoring started early again for the Diamond Dawgs.  Alex Jackson (Wichita State) walked and stole a base, and then advanced to third on a single by Brian Ellis (FGCU).  Cale Jones (Santa Fe) hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Jackson and take the early 1-0 lead.

That would be all the offense Winter Park could provide Monday night.  The Diamond Dawgs ended the game with just that one hit from Ellis.  They drew four walks, but were unable to make anything out of it.

“We had one hit, but we hit the ball better than one hit,” said Schall, “We had a lot of balls we squared up; it was just their night.”

Christian Snow (Mobile) smoked a couple of line drives right to infielders.  It was a night where Winter Park didn’t catch a single break, while the River Rats got many, including some perfectly placed balls just out of reach of many fielders.

The game saw three different River Rats hit home runs, two of which were back to back.  In addition to the three long balls, Sanford added 11 more hits, bringing their total to 14.

Both Brandon Johnson (Undecided) and Henry Cartrett (USC Aiken) looked good on the mound.  Their curveballs were exceptional and had anyone watching admiring their breaking stuff.  According to pitching coach Jim Newlin, two of Sanford’s three home runs came off of fastballs, while the other was a change-up up in the zone.

Out of the four games that Sanford and Winter Park have played each other, three of them have been decided by one run, this game being the outlier.  It will be interesting to see how both teams respond and play against each other on Tuesday.

“Tomorrow is a brand new night,” said Schall, “and tomorrow we can have the rhythm.  Our guys will come out and respond.”

Brooks Brophy (Alabama Huntsville) is on the mound for Winter Park for Tuesday’s game.  The Diamond Dawgs have won all three games that he has started in so far.  First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. from Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium.

Ken Landis (UCF)