SANFORD, Fla. – The DeLand Suns (14-19) were unable to make it two in a row against the Sanford River Rats (26-3) as they fell 6-4 to the league leaders.

Sanford struck early, tacking on three in the first after Anthony Ruocco (North Carolina Greensboro) hit a home run to left field to give his team an early 3-0 advantage.

DeLand answered back the very next frame. William Rollings (Undecided) manufactured a one-out single to put a runner on for the Suns. Connor O’Sullivan followed with a two-run, opposite field homer to put DeLand on the board. The round-tripper was O’Sullivan’s first of the season and he is now the fifth Sun this season to record one.

With a 3-2 ball game in the third, the River Rats scored three more after loading the bases in the bottom of the inning, extending their lead to four.

The Suns were able to score twice more in the contest, with Nathan Ricko (Stetson) bringing in Holden Brauner (Undecided) in the fourth. Down 6-3 in the ninth, Eli Tidwell (Undecided) recorded a leadoff triple to keep DeLand’s hopes alive. He was brought in by Gavin Thomas (Davidson), after a hard-hit ball to the second baseman induced an error. The rally was short lived as the River Rats were able to set down the Suns to secure the 6-4 win

A combined pitching effort by Sanford kept the Suns at bay, with a total of six River Rats doing time on the mound.

Despite the loss, John Havens (Undecided) earned Pitcher of the Night recognition for his performance on Friday night. Havens pitched 4.1 innings in relief, only allowing one hit and one walk whilst punching out four in the outing.

The DeLand Suns are back in action as the regular season finale takes place at home at Conrad Park on Saturday, June 19, at 7 p.m.

Adrian Delgado (UCF)