By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg Lightning Win Walk-Off 10 Inning Thriller against Deland
A tense night at Pat Thomas Stadium featured a classic low-scoring battle, with just four runs scored across 10 innings. The Leesburg Lightning emerged victorious, edging out the Deland Suns 3-2 in walk-off fashion thanks to strong pitching and a bit of late-game drama.
Head Coach Rich Billings showcased his bullpen depth, cycling through six pitchers to secure the team’s second one-run win of the season.
Right-hander Zachary Murkin set the tone early, tossing four scoreless innings while surrendering just one hit and a walk. He had the benefit of an early cushion after Charlie Keller launched a towering two-run homer in the second inning to give the Lightning a 2-0 lead.
The Suns broke through in the sixth, capitalizing on a throwing error at second base to plate their first run. Moments later, an RBI single evened the score at 2-2.
From there, Leesburg leaned on clutch relief outings from TJ Socarras and Nick Delnegro, who each navigated high-pressure situations to keep the game deadlocked.
The Lightning threatened again in the eighth, putting two on with no outs. However, an attempted sacrifice bunt backfired, resulting in a fielder’s choice that erased the lead runner at third. Deland pitcher William Rollings then escaped the jam with a strikeout and a groundout.
In the ninth, 2B Ledger Pleasant sparked hope for a walk-off with a leadoff double ripped down the third base line. A pinch-hit groundout by Julian Irizarry moved Pleasant to third, but Deland shut the door with a lineout and groundout to force extras.
(Ledger Pleasent is a graduate of Eustis High and currently plays for St. Johns River State College.)
Jose Paniagua took the mound in the top of the 10th, tasked with keeping the game tied with a runner starting at second under extra-inning rules. Paniagua retired all three batters he faced including a strikeout to keep the Lightning in position to win it.
Leesburg capitalized in the bottom half. With Ryan Jenkins pinch-running at second for Juan Orozco, James Strom stepped in and worked a full count before grounding to second. What seemed to be a routine out turned chaotic when the throw to first went wide, allowing Jenkins to hustle home for the walk-off score.
The win moves Leesburg to 6-4 on the season and into second place in the Florida League standings.
Leesburg will aim to clinch the series on the road Friday, June 12, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. at Deland’s Melching Field.
Photo Credit – Leesburg Lightning
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
