Experiencing the Lightning
Baseball is in full “swing” this summer with Leesburg’s own Collegiate Summer League baseball team, the Leesburg Lightning, already halfway through their season with some wins and some losses.
We recently had on our LAKE Magazine Hour the former MLB pitcher and current Lightning coach Frank Viola. He told us on air how the team was doing so far this season and how much he enjoyed helping the young men on his team reach their full potential on the field.
Hearing his passion and admiration for what he does with the Lightning, along with talk of the amazing support from the cowbell-ringing fans, led me to spend a Friday evening watching a home game.
Although it was quite balmy outside, the excitement encouraged me to stay and watching how the team fared against strong competition from the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. Fans cheered, hollered, chanted and rang every kind of noisy instrument they could in support of their boys.
Many of the fans knew the players by name (which showed their interest in the team since players didn’t have their names on the back of their uniforms) so it brought more of the homegrown encouragement to the game.
As for the team itself, the players had their slip-ups here and there but overall worked as a team to make for some great double plays and impressive catches. Of course whenever the team made a great play or hit a decent ground ball, the 100-120 fan capacity were almost in hysterics with praise.
Sadly the team lost in extra innings to the Diamond Dawgs, ending the game at a score of 11-10 Dawgs. However, the loss will only prompt the team (and Mr. Viola) to reassess what needs to be done to improve for their next game. They are two-time champions for a reason!
I’d be interested in going again to another game as it definitely felt like I journeyed back into another time when evenings were spent with your family in the summer air and not in front of a television, computer or phone separated from one another.
To learn of future home games for the Leesburg Lightning, visit their Web site at www.leesburglightning.com .
Loading ...
