SANFORD — Season 22 is here.
Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium will be the place to be tomorrow (Thursday) when the 2025 Florida Collegiate Summer League season kicks off with traditional Opening Night Ceremonies featuring the host Sanford River Rats against the two-time defending champion Leesburg Lightning and Head Coach Rich Billings, the winningest coach in Florida League history.
These two teams have seen a lot of each other recently, as in addition to regular season games, this is the second straight year, and third in the past four, that they have played the season-opening game and they also squared off in the 2024 Semifinal series, won by the Lightning in three games.
This will be fans’ first chance to see potential future Major League Baseball players in action. There have been 537 FCSL alumni drafted or signed by Major League Baseball Clubs with 38 having played at Major League level, including current players, Kerry Carpenter (Seminole County Scorpions) of the Detroit Tigers, Slade Cecconi (Seminole County Scorpions) of the Cleveland Guardians, Dylan Crews (Lake Mary High School, Sanford River Rats) of the Washington Nationals, Jacob deGrom (Stetson, DeLand Suns) of the Texas Rangers, Santiago Espinal (Lyman High School, Sanford River Rats) of the Cincinnati Reds, Austin Hays (Seminole State, DeLand Suns) of the Cincinnati Reds, Justin Lawrence (College Park Freedom) of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Justyn-Henry Malloy (Orlando Scorpions) of the Detroit Tigers.
Activities kick off at 5 p.m. with a Tailgate Party in the HSMS parking lot sponsored by The West End Trading Company, Ladies 327, Budweiser, Sanford Main Street and @aXismagazine.
Among the activities will be Live Music, Food Trucks, and a Kids Zone with a bounce house and other games for the young fan.
The normal Opening Ceremonies of introduction of the teams, introduction of dignitaries, the singing of the National Anthem and the ceremonial first pitch, will take place prior to the scheduled 7 p.m. start of the game.
You can purchase tickets at - https://floridacollegiatesummerleague.thundertix.com/events/247127.
The FCSL will once-again consist of six teams with four playing at the same location as last season.
In addition to Opening Night, Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium and the River Rats will also host the annual All-Star Game. The Lightning will return to the intimidating confines of Pat Thomas Stadium, while the DeLand Suns are back at the palatial mecca that is Conrad Park at Melching Field and the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs will play their games at Rollins College’s Alfond Stadium.
The Orlando Snappers will shift their home base to Orel Hershiser Field on the campus of The First Academy, a high school facility that has previously played host to such franchises as the Orlando/College Park Freedom and the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. The Winter Garden Squeeze move to a brand new facility, playing home games on the campus of Horizon High School.
All Florida League games will once again be streamed live and archived for replays on FLOSPORTS this season. For information about how to access this content go to _ https://www.flobaseball.tv/collections/tag/fcsl/event?view=live-and-upcoming&utm_campaign=fcsl&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=floridaleague.com%2Fview%2Ffcsl&utm_content=website&rtid=&coverage_id= _ for FLOSPORTS content.
Go to _ www.floridaleague.com _ for the upcoming schedule and more information.
Here are some other big games to watch this season:
* Friday, May 30, Sanford at Leesburg (Pat Thomas Stadium). A rematch of Opening Night will also be the home opener for the defending champion Lightning. Head coach Jesse Litsch and the River Rats will look to spoil the celebration in front of some of the Florida League's most passionate fans.
* Friday, May 30, DeLand at Winter Park (Alfond Stadium). Under the direction of head coach Jim Newlin, the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs open their home schedule against the DeLand Suns. The Diamond Dawgs will be looking for a return trip to the playoffs in 2025 after being the lone team left out a year ago.
* Friday, May 30, Winter Garden at Orlando (Orel Hershiser Field). For the first time since 2019, a Florida League game will be played on the campus of The First Academy, one of Central Florida's top prep programs. Perhaps a positive sign for Terry Abbott and the Snappers - the last team to call Hershiser Field home, the 2019 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs, went 30-7 and won the FCSL title.
* Saturday, May 31, Orlando at Winter Garden (Horizon High School). Head coach Mike McDaniel, the new head coach at John Melvin Christian College, will bring his team to a brand new ballpark for the 2025 season. The Squeeze have been a top-three regular season finisher in each of the past two years, and will look to start 2025 on the right note in their home opener.
* Sunday, June 1, Winter Garden at DeLand (Melching Field). After a busy May that will see Melching Field host the ASUN conference tournament and the Florida high school baseball All-Star Game, the Suns take the field for the first time. DeLand rose to third place in the regular season standings last season, then knocked off Winter Garden to claim a spot in the Florida League Championship Series.
* Thursday, July 3, Leesburg at DeLand (Melching Field). Fans will be invited to stay at Melching Field postgame to take in DeLand's annual fireworks show, launched from nearby Earl Brown Park.
* Friday, July 4, DeLand at Leesburg (Pat Thomas Stadium). "The Pat" on the fourth of July is a sight to behold. Capacity-plus crowds are often seen in Leesburg, as the Suns and Lightning battle before the city of Leesburg's extravagant Independence Day fireworks spectacular. This is a must-see for baseball fans in central Florida.
* Tuesday, July 8, Florida League All-Star Game (Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium). The Florida League's best take the field in Sanford for the League's annual Midsummer Classic. A prospect workout and the Home Run Derby will proceed the event, with first pitch between the East and the West set for 7 p.m.
* July 21-24, Florida League Playoffs. The 2025 postseason starts as the number four seed hosts the number five seed in a Play-In Game. The winner advances to the FCSL Semifinals (Best 2-out-of-3) to face the regular season pennant winner, while the second and third seeds battle in the other semifinal.
* July 26-28, Best-of-3 Florida League Championship Series _ Can anyone topple the Leesburg Lightning? Leesburg has been in this series in each of the past five seasons, winning titles in 2021, 2023, and 2024. In that span, five of the six Florida League franchises have at least played for a title, with Sanford winning in 2020 and Winter Park winning in 2022. DeLand's last title came in 2018, with the last Snappers title coming in 2005, when the team was located in Zephyrhills.
