FCSL baseball in wild final week

Just as Winter Park’s massive winning streak was collapsing, Leesburg continued its surge on the diamond that’s brought the two teams neck-and-neck in the final week of the Florida Collegiate Summer League’s regular season.

The two teams each had 10-game winning streaks that turned July into a mad dash toward the finish line. In their most recent meetings, Leesburg (22-12) won back-to-back games against the Diamond Dawgs (23-11) to come within a game of them.

But the consecutive pummelings from the Lightning didn’t seem to faze the Dawgs, who immediately bounced back with an 11-1 trouncing over former league-leaders the Orlando Monarchs.

Michael Danner was looking like he would have a slow game until the designated hitter worked a full count six pitches deep in the bottom of the ninth and turned it into the wildest play of the game. With bases loaded and no outs, Danner smashed a triple that cleared the bases, then watched a botched catch send him home in the ensuing confusion, giving the slugger an unusual three-RBI triple that also sent him home.

The blowout was called soon afterward, thanks to five extra base hits by the Dawgs, including two doubles by second baseman Tanner Stanley.

The Dawgs platooned seemingly their entire pitching staff over eight innings, with starter Emilio Ogando throwing 25 of 33 pitches for strikes en route to a three-strikeout win after just two innings of work.

As the Dawgs have continued to cling to their league lead, the rest of the teams have been struggling to not lose ground. The Sanford River Rats (17-17) have held to .500 nearly all season, though that hasn’t helped them dig out of their hole in fourth place.

College Park (9-26), which actually led the league in the first week of the season, has been solidly in last place for the last eight weeks.

After playing a couple at press time, the Dawgs return to the diamond to host the Orlando Monarchs at 7 p.m. July 25 at Alfond Stadium, their last home game of the regular season. Sanford will host the Dawgs at 7 p.m. July 26 at Sanford Memorial Stadium. The College Park Freedom hosts Leesburg at 5 p.m. July 28 in their final home game at Bishop Moore.