For a while, It Seemed as though the Sanford River Rats were Unstoppable. No matter who they played, how they played, or how many Innings they played, the W was always in their hands. 

Until tonight, against the team, they most recently took the League Record in consecutive wins from, the Leesburg Lightning. The amount of strings that tie these two teams together is fascinating. Leesburg knocked Sanford out of the Semi-final playoff round in 2024, Sanford Lost their only other game to Leesburg 19-11, and Sanford took their record. The deep history and anger between the two added to the drama that unfolded. 

THE GAME 

Austin Waring was slated to start the first game of the Doubleheader. However, after long lightning delays, he became the starter for “Game 2” which was then a 9-inning game. Waring has good velocity on his Fastball that easily gets by hitters. Although the speed was there, The Lightning were quick through the zone, Mashing 4 back-to-back singles in the bottom of the 1st inning, with 3 Runs scored. Amid the hot offense from Leesburg, Waring still recorded 6 Strikeouts. A good stat to measure Waring's outing today is ERC. In simple terms, ERA not counting defensive mistakes. He boasts a 3.2 ERC so far this season, Showing large potential in the starting rotation. 

Now to the Bats, Which were at their normal pace of play. Xavier Lopez helped the Rats strike with an RBI Single, Scoring Calise. Further strengthening the Small Ball tactics the Rats play, A fielder's choice from Ruocco and a Wild pitch to Drake Harman Scored two more runs, Tying the game and giving the rest of the order a foundation to build upon. 

It became a back-and-forth contest between the pitching staff, as wild pitches plagued the 5th and scored one run for each team. The Final score tonight was 10-5.

THE STORY

Although a lower-scoring game by River Rats standards, Multiple players had multi-hit games. Xavier Lopez was 2-4 with two RBI. His mentality in the box has been aggressive, and these past 7 days have been a big period for him. He continues to make improvements to his game that ultimately lead to more and more hits. Another breakout player we have seen make a big shift is Dawson Mock. For a while, Mock was the “walks machine”. A guy who would walk more than he Hit and strike out until recently, he has been getting the ball in play on top of drawing walks. He was 3-5 tonight with 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 strikeout. Mock completely shifted from the slow tempo, See pitches and go on strategy to a more aggressive one at the plate, and it's working. 

The River Rats still lead the pack at 18-2, And both sides of the team showed great ability in keeping the Lightning honest. They face a Double Header at Sanford Memorial Stadium starting at 4 PM tomorrow, and both teams are bringing all of the contention. 

CHRISTIAN BUSSIERE, DAYTONA STATE

PHOTO BY TARYN FRIEND