By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg Lightning Vault Back To Top of FCSL Standings
The Leesburg Lightning vaulted back to the top of the FCSL standings, but they are still in a three-way tie at the top with the Sanford River Rats and the Deland Suns, all sitting at 9-7 on the season.
The Lightning were able to win a tight 7-5 game against the Winter Garden Squeeze last night. Ryan Jenkins and Dew Clymer had big nights. Tanner Walker and Ethan Stephens both helped Leesburg on the mound late in the game to seal the 7-5 victory.
Leesburg is the defending champions of the FCSL. They have played well this year despite losing four out of their last six contests. The Lightning play against Winter Garden on the road yet again before hosting Winter Garden in Leesburg on Saturday night at 7pm. They will also host the Deland Suns on Sunday before a three-day break and their next away game against the Sanford River Rats on Thursday, June 27th.
The team has been fun to watch. Jordy Oriach leads the team with 19 hits and 10 runs scored. He also leads the team with 10 RBIs, tied with Collin Priest who also has 19 RBIs on the year. Meanwhile, Priest leads the team with three home runs.
Ryland Bozenhard leads the Lightning with 19 strikeouts this year. Brycen Denton, Lucas Perez, and Max Meyer have been terrific as well, not allowing a single run all year. Denton and Perez have 12 strikeouts each, while Meyer has 11. They have been lights out when they’ve come into the game.
Incredibly, we are already halfway through the regular season. It’s very close at the top of the standings this year. Between all six teams, only three games separate them from the top.
Currently, the Lightning, Suns, and River Rats hold onto playoff spots, with the Snappers, Squeeze, and Diamond Dawgs on the bubble. Only the top four teams get into the playoffs for the FCSL.
This weekend should be a lot of fun! We hope to see you out there!
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.
