Orlando, Fl. - The Orlando Snappers are just 1 win away from advancing to the championship series after defeating the Leesburg Lightning 2-1 on home soil.

The story of the night for both teams was pitching. The Snappers showcased a pitching clinic, utilizing just two arms though 9 full innings.

Brett Dennis (Rollins) got the start on the mound throwing 4 full innings while giving up just 1 run, 5 hits, 2 walks and recording 2 strikeouts.

Terry Abbott went to his bullpen in the 5th inning and couldn't have asked for a better performance out of Braden Rapp (West Florida) who was absolutely unconscious. The right-hander gave up just 1 hit in 5 innings and gave up no free passes along with retiring 4 via the strikeout.

Offensively, Orlando struck first in the 3rd inning. Austin Pierzynski (UAB) began the inning off with a single.

Two batters later, Pierzynski came around to score from second base, after a Lightning defensive miscue to make it a 1-0 Snappers lead.

After the Lightning tied things up in the fourth inning, Orlando regained the lead in the bottom half on back-to-back doubles by Mario Trivella (FIU) and Hudson Walburn (West Alabama) making it a 2-1 contest.

All the way from the fifth inning to the ninth, Braden Rapp took care of business and secured the 1-run victory for Orlando.

With this win, the Snappers are just 1 game away from storming into the championship series between the Sanford River Rats or the DeLand Suns.

Orlando will look to accomplish that feat on Wednesday, July 23 as they travel to Leesburg for game 2 of this best of 3 series.

First pitch is slated for 7:00pm from Pat Thomas Stadium.

#SnappsUp

Esteban Velez (University of Missouri)