Winter Garden, Fla- Despite scoring two runs, the Lightning were unable to knock in any on their own accord, finishing with no RBIs. The pitching staff cruised through the first half of the game after allowing two runs to score in the first but would run into command issues later. 

First inning struggles plagued Leesburg again in this matchup with LHP Ethan Barrett (Wallace CC) allowing a 2 RBI double that gave the Squeeze a quick 2-0 lead. 

Barrett would settle in through the next two frames, facing the minimum in both the 2nd and 3rd innings before his night was over. 

Starting in the 4th, RHP Carson Henrikson (Hillsborough CC), RHP Scout Updike (Jacksonville U), and LHP Gunnar Plante (Undecided) each threw a scoreless and hitless frame in their short outings. 

The Lightning picked up their first run in the 6th when extra hitter Marco Mueses (Texas Southern U) scored from a wild pitch, making it a 2-1 game. 

New addition, RHP James Hill (USF) was the first reliever to run into trouble in the 7th after he walked the bases loaded before being replaced. RHP Lucas Perez (Florida Southern) was put in and struggled with his command as well, walking in one run and then hitting a batter to bring in another, extending the lead to 4-1. 

In the 8th, Leesburg chipped away at the lead thanks to a balk which plated 2B Ryan Jenkins (Carson-Newman) to make it 4-2. 

RHP TJ Socarras (Pitt) came on in the 8th to keep the lead at just two, but he too would fall victim to command struggles, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks. The second hit Socarras allowed was a two out 2 RBI double which extended Winter Garden’s lead to 6-2. RHP Cade Mattison (U of Memphis) was then put in to stop the bleeding with the bases loaded and just one out. Mattison threw two wild pitches that allowed two runners to score, putting the game at 8-2 going into the final frame. 

Leesburg put together a walk and a single in the 9th before the Squeeze got a ground ball double play to end the game, securing the 8-2 victory. 

“It's hard to win when you have to depend on passed balls, walks, and hit by pitches and they didn’t do a ton of that tonight for us,” said Billings. “If they aren’t going to walk us, we're going to have a hard time scoring runs.”

The Lightning will regroup as they enjoy the three-day All-Star break before they play a three-game series against the Diamond Dawgs starting on Thursday, July 10. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Alfond Stadium. 

Vic Maslia (Syracuse University)