Winter Garden, Fla. - The Horizon West Magoo’s (Winter Garden Squeeze) stayed undefeated in games under their alter ego after getting their second straight win, this time against the Deland Suns 6-4 at home on Thursday.

It was another successful night, sponsored Huey Magoo’s of Horizon West, at Horizon High School filled with many different activities and games for people of all ages to enjoy as well as food from Magoo’s themselves served in the concessions.

Dual first pitches were thrown by Sam, the General Manager of the aforementioned Huey Magoo’s location, and Marissa from the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine. These were the two featured sponsors of the night as fans came out to support the Magoo’s.

Throughout the evening, attendees got to enter prize raffles, while children were able to compete in games along the concourse and on the field, such as dizzy bat races, racing around the bases and corn holes. The one and only Spider-Man made an appearance as well as Horizon West took home the win.

This was a crucial victory for the hosts as they came out of the all star break 9-16 heading into their final full series of the summer against the Suns, who had the same record. 

Similar to most of the previous contests between these two teams, some crooked numbers were put up in the box score as offense came in flurries for both sides.

It was a pitching duel for most of the game, with neither Horizon West or Deland budging outside of a flurry of early runs.

Both starting pitchers threw well in their first and third innings of work. They needed no more than four batters in any halves of those respective frames to retire the side.

The action got going in the top of the second when the Suns scored all four of their runs. Holden Brauner (Undecided) hit an RBI double to start it off as Daniel Baez (Florida Atlantic) scored to put the visitors up 1-0 early. Then, Osmin Melendez (Undecided) and Joshua Valente (Brewton Parker) both walked with the bases loaded and Michael O’Brien (Kaskaskia CC) forced a fielder’s choice on a ground ball to second to extend the lead to 4-0.

Just like they have all season, the Magoo’s had an immediate response. In the bottom half of the second inning, lightning struck twice when Braeden Weckman (Snead State) and Dominic Donatucci (State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota) both joined in on the fun with RBI base hits of their own to cut the deficit and make it a 4-3 ballgame after two.

Horizon West was not done yet. Donatucci continued to keep his bat hot as he drove in his third run of the game off of another RBI single in the home half of the fourth to tie things up at four apiece after as many innings.

This one returned to the pitcher’s duel that it started off as, with no more runs being scored again until the eighth frame.

One of the biggest moments of the season thus far for the Magoo’s came in the penultimate inning as they were looking for a new source of momentum late in the matchup. After swinging at a breaking ball on the first pitch he saw, Isaac Incinelli (St Johns River State) swung on the second and crushed his second home run of the summer over the right center field wall to give his team the lead at 6-4 with one inning left to play.

“He threw me a changeup on the first pitch,” Incinelli said after the game about his big moment. “So I just tried to wait back and sit back for the off speed that I knew was coming. And with a guy on second, I just tried to put a good swing on it and get the barrel on it.”

Horizon West sealed the deal in the top of the ninth to cap off their tenth win of 2025. This puts them in sole possession of fourth place in the FCSL as the regular draws to a close in just under two weeks.

The Magoo’s are back at it again on July 11 for game two of this three game series against the Suns at home at Horizon High School at 6:30 p.m.

Rickie Potts II (Syracuse University)