By, Zack Smolen
 

The Leesburg Lightning wrapped up the 2020 FCSL campaign in first place with a record of 18-5 to capture their third regular season title in team history. With that momentum behind them, they’re all geared up and ready to go in pursuit of their their third championship and first since the summer of 2009. Rich Billing’s squad has put together a multitude of impressive performances all season long and should be considered among the favorites to hoist the championship trophy this week.
 

Players to Watch
 

When it comes right down to it, this might be the deepest unit in the field of postseason teams. Alejandro Figueredo (Seminole St.) immediately comes to mind as someone who can make some noise under the bright lights of playoff baseball. The probable league MVP candidate led all batters with 21 RBI, had the second-highest home run total with three, and trailed only Lucas Dunn (Louisville) in slugging percentage, posting an excellent .571 mark. Nate Henderson (Flagler), Dylan Kelley (UNF) and Sam Bennett (U Penn) all contributed mightily to the Lightning’s success from the mound and will be incredibly difficult tests for whoever they end up playing on Tuesday and possibly beyond. A dark horse for Leesburg and a guy to keep an eye on is Camden Traficante (Stetson), who has really started finding barrels in the past week from the bottom of the lineup and has been stellar at the hot corner all season long.

Why the Lightning Can Win It All 
 

Leesburg’s eldest ball club is the hottest team in the FCSL entering postseason play, riding a four game winning streak, including three consecutive wins against the second, third and forth seeded teams in the River Rats, Squeeze and Storm. This lineup is perhaps the best one through ten in the entire league, leading the league and setting a team records with a .291 batting average and .419 on-base percentage. Every batter in their order is a disciplined hitter and a tough out, highlighted by the team’s 16% walk rate that has led to 5.7 free passes per game. 

The pitching has also been downright dominant, finishing off the season with an astounding SEVEN shutouts to pace the league, and a 2.91 ERA that was just three points behind the River Rats who had the lowest mark. Their bullpen will also be a huge plus with each playoff game going nine innings. The ability to hand the ball to a Connor Gleeson (Gardener Webb), Matt Coles (Carson Newman) or Tucker Smith (Georgia Southwestern) is a huge advantage for this team, and one that might put them over the top. 

And finally, this team just competes every time they’re out there. The Lightning never lost a game by more than five runs, and only lost back-to-back contests once all year. They have three walk-offs to their name, showing a willingness and a wherewithal to hang around and never surrender. “We’ve had these guys for a month and a half now and I don’t know that they’re ready to go home,” said Billings. “I don’t know that any of them are really ready to be done. I think they want to continue to play and they want to continue to win, and that’s a pretty special attitude to see in any team.”

Whether it’s a series or a win or go home scenario, this team is built with the ability and character that it takes to be a championship team and there’s a good chance we’ll see them become just that at the end of the week.