SANFORD, Fla.- On the fourth day of the 2025 Florida League season, Sanford head coach Jesse Litsch handed the baseball to Ryland Bozenhard (South Alabama) for the first time.

The result? Five innings, ten strikeouts, and a Sanford victory.

It would prove to be a sign of things to come for both the Rats and the 5-11 righthander.

Including the playoffs, Bozenhard went 4-0, and the Sanford River Rats went 7-0 in his appearances, leading to his selection as the 2025 Florida League Pitcher of the Year. The Pitcher of the Year is selected via a vote of league staff, coaches, and scorekeepers, and is selected from nominees from each of the FCSL's six teams.

Across six appearances in the regular season, the second-year Florida Leaguer struck out 36 hitters in 25 innings, all while surrendering just 16 hits. He posted a 2.52 earned run average, a WHIP of 0.96, and opposing hitters managed a batting average of just .184. The hits the opposition would get rarely went for extra bases, with opposing hitters sporting a slugging percentage of .218.

Sanford was victorious in each of Bozenhard's seven appearances, with the bullpen following his lead in each contest. The Rats never allowed more than three runs in any of those seven games, with Bozenhard allowing more than one run just twice, and never allowing more than three runs.

Down the stretch, Bozenhard was essentially unhittable. In his final four starts of the season, the righthander allowed just one run on seven hits across 18 innings of work. He struck out 23 hitters in that time span, with the River Rats outscoring their opposition by a 27-5 margin.

The last of those starts came in Game 1 of the FCSL Semifinals, his final start of the season. In his lone playoff start, he recorded his finest outing of the season. He tossed five shutout innings against the DeLand Suns at Sanford Memorial Stadium, allowing just two hits while striking out eight. He led the Rats to an 8-0 victory in Game 1, sparking a sweep that sent Sanford to the Florida League Championship Series.

In addition to his honors as Florida League Pitcher of the Year, Bozenhard was selected as a Florida League All-Star, and (spoiler alert) will be included as a First Team All-Florida League starting pitcher, a team that is announced Saturday. He was the leader of a staff that was the best in the Florida League in the regular season, earning him this recognition as the top pitcher in the Florida League for the 2025 summer.

This week, the Florida League will be unveiling our yearly award winners. The schedule of awards is as follows:
Monday: Coach of the Year- Terry Abbott
Tuesday: David Eckstein Sportsmanship Award- Blake Fields
Wednesday: Reliever of the Year- Kaiden Lopez
Thursday: Player of the Year- Dawson Mock
Friday: Pitcher of the Year - Ryland Bozenhard
Saturday: All-Florida League
Sunday: Randy Harvey Umpire of the Year