The crack of the bat is back at Pat Thomas Stadium Friday night, when the Leesburg Lightning take on the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs at 7pm tonight.

The Lightning are preparing for another summer of baseball, storm delays and packed stands drawing fans from Leesburg and The Villages.

For many of the college athletes arriving in Leesburg, the Florida Collegiate Summer League is the closest thing they’ve experienced to professional baseball. The six-team wood-bat league brings players from around the country together for a grueling summer built around development, repetition and adjustment.

“For this league, it’s the crack and not the familiar ping,” Head Coach Rich Billings says. “Unlike the aluminum bats used during the college season, wood bats expose everything. With aluminum bats, the sweet spot is a lot bigger and you can cut loose a little bit. With wood, you really have to be a skilled hitter.”

The adjustment, he says, is learning not to over swing.

“You really have to hit the sweet spot with wood,” Coach Billings says. “It changes your whole approach in the box.”

But the adjustment goes far beyond hitting.

Summer baseball in Central Florida means standing on a field at 4pm in June, waiting through daily thunderstorms and restarting games after 30-minute lightning delays while trying to stay mentally sharp.

“The heat is another element,” he says. “Every lightning strike is another 30-minute wait. Keeping them locked in mentally is part of it.”

Coach Billings, a Leesburg High graduate who also coaches at Lake-Sumter State College, has led the Lightning since 2015 and helped turn the organization into one of the league’s most successful teams. Still, he says the summer league is less about statistics and more about growth.

“The league is really designed for development,” he says. “We have some good players that have had success. Then maybe they fail for the first time and they have to learn how to handle it. It gives these kids the chance to mature.”

Pat Thomas Stadium presents challenges of its own. Though the dimensions may not appear intimidating on paper, Coach Billings says the ballpark often plays much larger than expected.

“Our field plays bigger than it is,” Coach Billings says. “The wind rarely blows out. It can make it feel really large.”

This year’s roster includes returning players like fan favorite Charlie Keller and what Coach Billings believes could become a deep pitching staff.

Still, Billings says one of the things that makes the Lightning unique is the connection players build with the community over the course of the summer.

“A lot of senior residents from The Villages are here and very supportive,” he says. “And they may not know that these are college kids. To the fans and especially the kids, our players are like pros.”

That support, he says, is something players quickly learn not to take for granted.

“I always encourage the players to interact with fans, sign autographs and embrace the role they play in the community during the summer season.”

The season runs through late July at Pat Thomas Stadium, 240 Ball Park Road, Leesburg. Home games are free to attend. For schedules, roster information and updates, visit leesburglightning.com.

Photos by Gina Horan and provided