The Leesburg Lightning have officially captured their sixth Florida Collegiate Summer League title, defeating the Sanford River Rats 7-3 in a decisive, winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday night.
According to FCSL writer Adam Rothschild, the 2026 championship series was a hard-fought, best-of-three battle that tested the Lightning’s high-voltage on the field.
“Leesburg continued to capitalize on Sanford mistakes in the fourth. Daniel Despaine scored on a wild pitch before Cory Banasiak crossed the plate when Dumas’ sacrifice bunt resulted in a throwing error by Kendall, stretching the lead to 6-0,” Rothschild said in his recap.
“Ben Clenney delivered another dominant postseason performance on the mound, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing four hits and striking out five. Andre Bilbao Jr. and JD Aragort followed with two perfect innings of relief, with Aragort striking out all three batters he faced.”
The Sanford River Rats initially put Leesburg on the brink of elimination after taking Game 1 on Saturday with an 8-4 victory at Pat Thomas Stadium.
Facing elimination, the Lightning offense took control on Sunday on the road at Sanford Memorial Stadium, tying the series with a crucial 13-8 victory.
The team scored 10 hits to Sanford’s 8, keeping the River Rats at bay to secure the 7-3 win on Monday night.
What charges their success?
According to Coach Rich Billings, the Lightning’s perpetual ability to bolt to the top is rooted in the team’s culture.
“We value talent, but more than anything else, we hope to get everyone to understand the importance of showing up every day,” Billings said.
“Success in summer baseball is all about keeping your group together for the whole summer. That’s how they get to know each other, and if we have a revolving door of players, it becomes really difficult for them to succeed as a group.
Billings said they were lucky with their lineup this summer.
“We had a group that was 100% committed to the Lightning, and while winning is way more fun than losing, it isn’t our main focus. We want the players to have opportunities to improve. We need to be able to send them back to their respective college programs better than when we got them, and that takes tons of repetition. We have to stick with all of them through failure, and once they realize that, they have opportunities to succeed here.”
Plus, coaching them off the field, too, relaxes them and allows them to chase success without fear of failure, Billings emphasized.
“They learn to appreciate the fact that they’re not showing up to the ballpark uncertain of whether or not they are in the lineup that night,” he said.
“Our players are talented, but they want to be a part of the organization in Leesburg because the culture is special.”
It’s the sixth championship in the franchise’s history
The team’s president, who’s also a member of the Lake County School Board, felt particularly proud this week.
“We were thrilled last night to watch an incredible group of young men capture our 6th championship in front of a packed house at Pat Thomas Stadium in a winner-take-all Game 3,” Brandeburg said on Tuesday.
“This was a special group of players, coaches, interns, volunteers and, of course, our incredible fans that truly make Leesburg the best venue for summer league baseball in Florida, and this season was year 20 for us, and one we won’t soon forget.”
The Leesburg community celebrated the historic victory across social media, especially the Leesburg Police Department, which flooded social media overnight with congratulations for the 2026 champs.
“We have no plans of slowing down and look forward to competing for championship number 7 next summer at Pat Thomas,” beamed Brandeburg.
According to the Lightning’s president, a huge team effort facilitated the success beyond the home runs and shutouts.
“Huge shoutout to our head coach Rich Billings, the winningest coach in Florida League history, for assembling and leading the roster, Brandeburg said in his list of thanks, adding “Jack ‘Stats’ Meier for being the glue that keeps the organization together, Glenn Cowham in the press box as the most dynamic public address announcer in the League, Kim Higgins for operating the concession stand serving ‘quite possibly America’s final ballpark food,’ Karen Harmon running our merchandise tent, Erin Carney organizing all of our host families, Jamie Abbott for leading our interns, Alan Reisman helping anywhere and everywhere, and countless other volunteers that make the Lightning such a special organization to be a part of.”
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Leesburg Lightning claim sixth summer league title
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial | USA TODAY Network
