June 2, 2025
Leesburg Lightning Win First Game of 2025 FCSL Season In 10 Inning Thriller
By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg Lightning Win First Game of 2025 FCSL Season In 10 Inning Thriller
A wild, back-and-forth affair between Leesburg and Sanford ended in fireworks as the Lightning erupted for a 12-run 10th inning to secure a 19-11 victory over the River Rats on Sunday night.
Down to their final three outs in the ninth, Leesburg pulled off a gutsy rally to tie the game, highlighted by a sharp grounder from left fielder Eli Thurmond that took a tough hop and allowed the tying run to score from second. A daring send from third base coach Tanner Clark paid off as Marco Mueses slid in safely, knotting the game at 7-all.
Left-hander Nick Delnegro followed with a shutdown bottom of the ninth to send things to extras.
The 10th inning was a nightmare for Sanford’s bullpen. After two quick walks loaded the bases, a series of wild pitches and defensive miscues opened the floodgates. By the time it ended, Leesburg had sent 15 men to the plate, collected six hits, and watched three runners score on passed balls or errors. Shortstop Ryan Jenkins, who started the frame at second base, scored the first of 12 Lightning runs in the inning. Mueses added a 3-RBI double to put the game well out of reach.
Sanford made some noise in the bottom half, scoring four runs, but the deficit was too large to overcome.
Offensively, Leesburg saw contributions up and down the lineup. Every batter reached base at least once, with four players collecting multiple hits.
The first few innings mirrored the high-scoring chaos. Charlie Keller gave Leesburg an early lead with an RBI single in the first, but a balk allowed the Rats to even things up in the bottom half. Leesburg struck again in the third, capitalizing on two wild pitches and a single from Mueses to take a 4-1 lead. Sanford clawed back, eventually pulling ahead 7-4 after a fifth-inning surge that included a two-run homer from Dawson Harman and a bases-loaded balk.
A seventh-inning sacrifice fly by extra hitter Ledger Pleasant trimmed the deficit to two. Then came a shutdown effort from reliever Ethan Barrett, who pitched three perfect innings, striking out three and giving Leesburg time to regroup.
Leesburg (1-2) will look to keep the momentum rolling when they host the Winter Garden Squeeze on Monday night at Pat Thomas Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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.
