Leesburg, Fla- Despite another good start from a Lightning pitcher, the bats could not provide enough run support to keep up with the Rats. All three runs came in the first four frames before the offense was shut down the rest of the way.

Starting RHP Ryan Furey (UNF) tossed a scoreless 1st and after allowing a leadoff walk he got some help from C Cole Bullen (UF) who threw out a runner trying to steal third. 

The Lightning got on the board first in the 2nd after RF Charlie Keller (Ball St) scored on a wild pitch to give the team an early 1-0 lead. 

After the 1st, Furey threw back-to-back 1-2-3 frames before running into trouble in the 4th. The righty allowed a solo homer to lead off the inning which tied the game at 1-1. 

In the bottom of the inning, Leesburg would get that run back as Keller shot a ball over the center field wall for his third home run of the season. With a runner on, the two-run bomb gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead.  

Sanford answered back in the 5th with a ground ball to 3B Reid Snider (LA Tech) who delivered a high throw to home which allowed the Rats to score a run. With the bases still loaded, RHP Cade Mattison (U of Memphis) would walk a run in which tied the game at 3-3. 

After a throwing error allowed two Rats to get into scoring position in the 6th, a wild pitch then brought home another run. CF Julian Irizarry (Pitt) then made an incredible catch in center to save another run, though the runner at third still scored on the sacrifice fly, making it 5-3 heading into the 7th.”

RHP Lucas Perez (Florida Southern) came on in the 7th and got some help from his defense as Keller threw a runner out at home to keep it at a two-run deficit. 

Despite allowing a two out single followed by a walk, Perez would end up striking out the side in the 8th to keep the game at 5-3.

The offense had a chance with the bases loaded in the 8th, but they were unable to get any runs across as the Sanford bullpen shut the bats down, leaving three runners stranded. 

In the final frame, the Rats got an RBI double, but Keller and Bullen teamed up for a perfect relay to cut down the trailing runner trying to stretch it into a triple. With the runner at second scoring before the out at third, this gave Sanford a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the inning. 

With a hard throwing lefty on the mound for the River Rats, the Lightning struggled to make contact and went down quietly as the Sanford pitcher struck out the side in the 9th. 

Coach Billings discussed how important it is to take advantage of favorable opportunities with runners in scoring position, especially with the bases loaded. 

“We’ve got to drive in more runs,” said Billings. “You can’t expect a team like that to walk in guys and throw wild pitches. They didn’t walk us much tonight, a couple balls to the back stops and a couple mistakes on their end but we’ve got to pitch better also.”

The Lightning will play their sixth consecutive game on Tuesday, July 15 with the Diamond Dawgs coming to town for just one game. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Pat Thomas Stadium. 

Vic Maslia (Syracuse University)