Dawgs playoff bound

W.P. faces Deland

By Isaac Babcock
| 9:24 a.m. August 3, 2011

Photo by: Isaac Babcock - Winter Park fell to Winter Haven July 28, the first of a string of losses to end the regular season.

Winter Park - Maitland Observer
Sports

It’s playoff time for the Florida Collegiate Summer League, as potential MLB prospects battle it out on the field to see who’s the top team in Florida.

But things got weird in the last two weeks of the regular season, shaking up the top of the league and putting in doubt who has the best odds at going all the way.

The Leesburg Lightning, who trailed the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs for most of the season, came roaring back in the last 10 days, winning crucial games to accelerate ahead of the flagging Dawgs as the regular season drew to a close.

And the Lightning closed out that season last weekend with wins over the Orlando Freedom and Winter Haven Loggerheads to win the regular season championship handily with a 29-12 overall record.

Meanwhile Winter Park, which had held the league lead for most of the last two months, descended into its worst losing streak of the year, losing three straight to close out the season at 22-14-1. That final killer blow on their season put them 4.5 games out of first place as the Lightning took the regular season championship.

During their collapse, the Dawgs have still managed to have some of the best players in the league.

Chad Modomo, the Dawgs’ starter who had dominated from the mound, watched his ERA rise to a still strong 2.25, but absent consistent run support, he couldn’t pick up a fifth win to hold onto the league lead. Ben Brown remains a strong starter, tied for second in the league with a 1.35 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 40 innings.

From the plate, the Dawgs’ Ted Blackman has been the hardest man to stop, hitting for a massive .425 average while hammering 19 RBI and three home runs. B.J. Zimmerman leads the league in RBI with 30, coming in fourth in average at .355.

But in the playoffs, as the FCSL’s history has shown, it’s a whole different ball game.

After playing a first-round game against DeLand at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Sanford Memorial, the Dawgs will return to the diamond at 7 p.m. Thursday at Conrad Park in DeLand. At 7 p.m. Friday the Dawgs will again play DeLand, this time at Sanford Memorial Stadium.