By Kyle Coppola
The Leesburg Lightning Return As Defending Champions in 2024
The Leesburg Lightning baseball team returns for the first home game of the regular season on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. against the River Rats. Leesburg is coming off the 2023 season that saw the Lightning win the championship.
After winning last year’s FCSL championship, the Lightning will look to come out of the gate hot in 2024. Head coach Rich Billings, his father Rich Billings, Sr., and his staff have really built a great sense of pride in Leesburg, and the community has really responded, filling the grandstands night after night.
The Lightning play at Pat Thomas Stadium. The historic venue was home to the Philadelphia Phillies minor league spring training, and so many big names have played on the hallowed grounds over the years.
(Pat Thomas stadium packed with fans watching the Leesburg Lightning. The renovations made to the stadium over the past few years have been met with positive reviews from fans.)
Leesburg will have a fresh new field to play on in 2024. Head groundskeeper Michael Thompson has worked hard at installing a new infield and grass that will be very welcomed. This was part of the ongoing renovations at the stadium that have made it one of the best places to play collegiate, summer, or high school ball in our area.
(Last year was a heck of a ride. 2024 is shaping up to be equally as fun.)
This team has always been made up of some fun local talent from Central Florida but also some really great NCAA talent, including Division 1 players. We look forward to the start of the season, and we will see if the Leesburg Lightning can go back to back in 2024!
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.
