Florida Collegiate Summer League
The 2025 Florida League Season Kicks Into Gear with Schedule Release
Date:05/08/2025 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
SANFORD, Fla.- The 2025 Florida League season is just over three weeks away, and preparations from the league office are in full swing. With that in mind, the Florida Collegiate Summer League is pleased to unveil the 2025 schedule. HOME FIELDS Four home fields will remain the same as the 2024 season. As always, the Sanford River Rats will call Sanford Memorial Stadium, home to the league's O...
2024 All-Florida League Teams Announced
Date:08/11/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- The Florida Collegiate Summer League is pleased to announce the 2024 All-Florida League teams. The teams are broken up into first and second teams, and recognize the best players in the Florida League this season. CATCHER: Aris Rivera (UCF) DeLand Suns The UCF commit had a breakout summer in his second season as a DeLand Sun. Rivera, in just 20 more at-bats, more than t...
John Dowdy Named Randy Harvey Umpire of the Year
Date:08/11/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- In 2018, the Florida League established the Randy Harvey Umpire of the Year Award to honor the historic achievements and contributions to our league and college baseball of Randy Harvey, who passed away in 2020 after a five-year battle with a rare kidney disease. The award is designed to recognize an umpire who embodies the professionalism, excellent judgment and spirit of the awa...
Micah Takac Honored as FCSL Pitcher of the Year
Date:08/09/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- For much of the 2024 Florida League season, the formula for the Winter Garden Squeeze was simple. If Micah Takac (Mercer) was starting, the Squeeze were likely going to win. Takac, the Florida League's leader in wins, helped the Squeeze to a franchise record 21 wins, and has been named the 2024 Florida League Pitcher of the Year. The Pitcher of the Year is selected via a vot...
Titan Kamaka Named FCSL Player of the Year
Date:08/08/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- The Winter Garden Squeeze could be considered to be in a Golden Age for the franchise. The Squeeze have been a top-three team in the Florida League in each of the past two seasons, including a playoff series win last season and a franchise record 21 wins. In the eleven-year history of the Squeeze, perhaps no hitter has been as dangerous at the plate as Mercer infielder Ti...
Joel Core Named Reliever of the Year
Date:08/07/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- The long reliever is perhaps the least glamorous of all pitching roles - not a starter, not a closer, but just as important. And in 2024, no pitcher in the Florida League was more successful in a long relief role than the DeLand Suns' Joel Core (Bethune-Cookman). Core proved to be one of the top relief pitchers in the Florida League, and was selected by league officials as th...
Tripp Landers Named David Eckstein Sportsmanship Award Winner
Date:08/06/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- The Florida Collegiate Summer League named Winter Garden's Tripp Landers as the 2023 winner of the David Eckstein Sportsmanship Award, as announced by the League office on Tuesday. Landers is just the second member of the Winter Garden Squeeze to win the award, and the first since the 2017 season. One player from each of the six teams in the league was nominated by their coac...
Rich Billings Named Florida League Coach of the Year
Date:08/05/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- If it wasn't already clear, 2024 cemented that the current decade in the Florida League belongs to the Leesburg Lightning. As the head coach of the champion Leesburg Lightning, who won their third championship this decade with a two-game sweep of the DeLand Suns, Rich Billings has been named the 2024 Florida Collegiate Summer League Coach of the Year. The award is given annua...
A remarkable season comes to an end for DeLand on Sunday night
Date:07/29/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
DeLand, Fla—On Sunday night, the DeLand Suns had a rough ending to a very successful season. They dropped game two by a final score of 3-2 against Leesburg. After Leesburg scored three runs in the first, Joel Core (Bethune Cookman) came in and shut down the Leesburg lineup the rest of the way, throwing six scoreless frames while striking out seven. The problem was that DeLand couldn...
The Lightning Win 5th FCSL Title, Defeat The Suns, 3-2
Date:07/29/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
(Leesburg, Fla.)- The Leesburg Lightning were able to get out an early lead and never look back, clinching the team's 5th league championship over the DeLand Suns, 3-2. Leesburg would score all three of their runs in the top of the 1st, including one coming off of eventual MVP Logan Chapman on an RBI-double, to put ahead Leesburg 3-0. The Bolts would get a big boost of confidence on the moun...
The Lightning Grab Game 1 From The Suns, Looking To Win 5th League Title Tonight
Date:07/28/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
(Leesburg, Fla.)- The Leesburg Lightning took Game 1 of a potential three game set over the DeLand Suns on Saturday night, putting the team one win away from securing their fifth league title. DeLand would take the early advantage in the top of the 1st off a Nathan Cannizaro RBI-single that would score in Damion Kenealy to put the Suns out in front 1-0. Later that half, Anthony Gonzalez wou...
DeLand drops game one as they find themselves with their backs against the wall
Date:07/28/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
Leesburg, Fla. - Looking to continue riding their momentum heading into the Championship series, the DeLand Suns lost 7-2 on Saturday night against Leesburg, setting up a win-or-go-home scenario heading into Sunday. DeLand struck first in the first inning as Damion Kenealy (Lipscomb) and Gavin Thomas (Davidson) came around to score, putting the Suns up 2-0. That lead quickly diminish...
The Lightning Come Back To Win Game Three, Clinch Spot in Championship Series
Date:07/26/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
(Leesburg, Fla.)- The Leesburg Lightning were able to fend off the Sanford River Rats with a walk-off in the 10th to put the Bolts in their fifth straight league championship series. In the bottom of the 2nd, C Drew Stubbs would connect for the first run of the game on an RBI-single to put Leesburg out in front, 1-0. The lead would be short lived in the top of the 3rd, with Sanford plating acros...
Rats Lose in Walk-Off Fashion to End Their Season
Date:07/26/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LEESBURG, Fla. - In what turned out to be one of the best games of the year, the Sanford River Rats’ 2024 season came to a somber close on Thursday night, coming up short to the top-seeded Leesburg Lightning by a score of 5-4. The Rats held a lead most of the game, and similar to game one, the pitching did their job, across the first eight innings, Jacob Riegel (Tallah...
DeLand punches their ticket to the championship series
Date:07/26/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
DeLand, Fla. - After taking game one with a final score of 6-4, DeLand looked to continue their momentum at home in game two, this time with Dawson Turner (St Leo) on the bump, as they attempted to sweep the #2 seed Winter Garden Squeeze. With an offense as potent as the Squeeze, Cameron Jergens went with Dawson Turner in game two because of his success during the regular season. In 4.1 i...
Winter Garden's championship hopes end in DeLand
Date:07/25/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
After boasting a franchise best 21-12 regular season record, the Winter Garden Squeeze’s tenth season comes to a close in the FCSL semi-final against DeLand. Game 1 Game one was one of Winter Garden’s worst all-around performances of the season, falling 6-4 to the Suns. Defensively, the Squeeze committed a season-high five errors, had eight wild pitches and allowed a ...
The Lightning Jumped On The River Rats, 22-3, Look For Series Win Tonight
Date:07/25/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
(Leesburg, Fla.)- The Leesburg Lightning took a 6-0 lead in the first and would never look back, defeating the Sanford River Rats in Game 2 of the FCSL Semifinals Wednesday night, 22-3. In the 1st, Leesburg would score six runs off of four free passes (both walks and hit by pitches) to take the early advantage, 6-0. Leesburg would tack on five more in the 3rd, including two coming off an RBI-sin...
Sanford Falls Big to Leesburg to Set Up Winner-Take-All Game Three
Date:07/25/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
SANFORD, Fla. - After the Sanford River Rats took game one of the semi-finals series, the Leesburg Lightning bounced back in a big way, grabbing a 22-3 victory at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium on Wednesday night. With the win, the two teams will now head back to Pat Thomas Stadium with their seasons on the line on Thursday. In what was one of the most lop-sided gam...
Game one gets suspended, will finish with game two to follow in DeLand
Date:07/25/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
Winter Garden, Fla.- Two teams who battled well against each other during the regular season, with Winter Garden holding a 4-3 record over DeLand, saw their first game in the semi-finals get suspended in the 9th inning. Thanks to some situational hitting from Andrew Ezell (Stetson), Holden Brauner (Tennessee), Damion Kenealy (Lipscomb), and Mathew Farner( Rollins) as well as taking a...
The Lightning Drop Game 1 To The River Rats, 7-2, Looks To Keep Season Alive.
Date:07/24/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
(Leesburg, Fla.)-The Leesburg Lightning were held off by the Sanford River Rats on Tuesday night, putting Sanford up 1-0 in the Semifinal Series heading into Game 2. In the top of the 2nd, Sanford would strike first in the ballgame from Robbie Demetree's sacrifice fly to RF Riley Fitzgerald to put the River Rats up 1-0. Leesburg would get some quality pitching from Peyton Petry after a stru...
Rats Take Control of Semi-Final Series With Game One Win
Date:07/24/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LEESBURG, Fla. - In what was the most important start of the season for right-hander Corey Peters (Lake Sumter State), the Sanford River Rats pitcher tossed one of his best performances of the season, giving the Rats 5 ⅓ gritty innings in an effort that propelled Sanford to a 7-2 victory. With the win, the Rats now need just one more victory over the Leesburg Lightning to advan...
River Rats Advance with Wild Card Win
Date:07/23/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
SANFORD, Fla. - In what was a close contest at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, the Sanford River Rats were able to edge out the Orlando Snappers 9-6 in the FCSL Play-In Game. As a result, the Rats will now head to Leesburg, taking on the top-seeded Lightning in a best-of-three set, with the winner advancing to the Florida League Championship Series. While he originally was sl...
Same Time Next Year?
Date:07/22/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
Sanford, FL - The Orlando Snappers (12-19) traveled to Sanford Memorial Stadium for the play-in game against the Sanford River Rats (15-16). The winner of this game would advance to the 2nd round of playoffs! The Snappers offense got off to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Osmin Melendez (Seminole State College) led off the game with a single and came around to score later in the inning...
Florida League Player of the Week - Week 7
Date:07/22/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- Throughout the 2024 season, the Florida Collegiate Summer League has honored two players at the conclusion of each week, an FCSL Player of the Week and an FCSL Pitcher of the Week. This week's honors represent performances from Monday, July 15 through Saturday, July 20. The weekly honors are selected via a vote of league coaches and officials. For the second time this season,...
15 Florida Leaguers Drafted or Signed in 2024
Date:07/21/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
LAKE MARY, Fla.- The Florida Collegiate Summer League saw eleven of its alumni selected in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft, which concluded Tuesday, with another four signing a free agent deal in the last week. The 15 players represent all six of the current Florida League franchises, and come from teams over the past four Florida League seasons. The following players, all of whom signe...
Squeeze end regular season with sweep of the Dawgs
Date:07/21/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
The Winter Garden Squeeze ended the regular season by sweeping the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs, taking the third game 11-9 at Alfond Stadium Saturday night. The offense started quickly for both sides, but the Squeeze struck first, putting up five runs in the top of the second. After Mike Bello and Max McClusky singled to open up the inning, Ben Maskin and Dom Bello hit back-to-back doubles ...
Dawgs Fall to Squeeze in Season Finale
Date:07/20/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs lost to the Winter Garden Squeeze 11-9 on Saturday night at Alfond Stadium in the Dawgs’ final game of the summer. Winter Park played loose all night and almost mounted an incredible comeback in the ninth inning. Down five in the bottom half, the Dawgs scored three and had the game-winning run at the plate, but their rally ultimately fell short as...
Rats Blow Early Five-Run Lead As DeLand Scores 13 Unanswered to Win
Date:07/20/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
SANFORD, Fla. - In what was their final home game during the regular season, the Sanford River Rats looked good early on with a five run lead after three innings, but the DeLand Suns stayed resilient, eventually scoring 13 unanswered runs to grab the win. Because of the result, it will be all to play for on the final day of the regular season, with the number three seed in the ...
DeLand takes a key victory as Saturday sets up a winner-take-all game for 3rd place
Date:07/20/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
Sanford, Fla. - In one of their biggest games of the season, DeLand (16-15-1) finally found their way, dropping 14 runs on the River Rats (15-16) 14-6, and now setting up Saturday's season finale to be a crucial game for both teams. With a win for either side, one team will advance to the semi-finals and play the two seed, while the other will host Monday's wild-card game against the ...
Squeeze end Diamond Dawgs' playoff hopes
Date:07/19/2024 Source:Florida Collegiate Summer League
The Winter Garden Squeeze pushed across five runs in the third inning to propel them to a 6-3 victory over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs Friday night, eliminating the Dawgs from playoff contention. “This offense is something else,” said Ben Maskin. “If we were a NCAA division one team, we would take it all and beat Tennessee.” Maskin started the scoring in...
