FLORIDA LEAGUE
The defending champion Leesburg Lightning and Winter Garden Squeeze both pulled out late-inning comebacks to remain within a 1/2-game of each other in the standings, while the Sanford River Rats also pulled off a comeback over the DeLand Suns on Thursday to move within a win of advancing straight into the semifinals heading into action on Friday.
The Squeeze, meanwhile, also romped to a big win over the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs on Thursday to eliminate the Dawgs from the postseason and giving the Orlando Snappers the No. 5 spot.
The Lightning and River Rats both hold the tie-breakers over the Squeeze and Suns, respectively, and both needed to win just one of their final two games to advance to the Semifinals on Tuesday.
Here are the most updated Standings, Results and Upcoming Schedule available at Print Time:
Standings (thru Friday, July 19):
1. Leesburg Lightning, 20-11; 2. Winter Garden Squeeze, 20-12 (0.5 game behind); 3. DeLand Suns, 16-15 (4.0 games behind); 4. Sanford River Rats, 15-16 (5.0 games behind); 5. Orlando Snappers, 12-19 (8.0 games behind); 6. Winter Park Diamond Dawgs, 12-22 (9.5 games behind).
Results:
Monday, July 8
Diamond Dawgs 5, Suns 2; River Rats vs. Lightning, Rain; Squeeze vs. Snappers, Rain.
Tuesday, July 9
All-Star Event @ Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, Rain.
Wednesday, July 10
All-Star Event @ Melching Field at Conrad Park. East 3, West 3.
Thursday, July 11
Diamond Dawgs 7, Lightning 0; Snappers 13, River Rats 5; Squeeze 3, Suns 0.
Friday, July 12
Lightning 6, Diamond Dawgs 4; Snappers 8, River Rats 5; Squeeze 13, Suns 0.
Saturday, July 13
Snappers 4, River Rats 1; Lightning 14, Diamond Dawgs 5; Suns 6, Squeeze 4.
Sunday, July 14
River Rats 7, Lightning 6; Squeeze vs. Snappers, Rain.
Monday, July 15
Diamond Dawgs vs. Snappers, Rain; Lightning vs. Suns, Rain; River Rats vs. Squeeze, Rain.
Tuesday, July 16
Squeeze vs. River Rats, Rain; Lightning 7, Suns 3; Diamond Dawgs 9, Snappers 2.
Wednesday, July 17
Lightning vs. River Rats, Rain; Squeeze 4, Snappers 3, 10-innings.
Thursday, July 18
River Rats 6, Suns 2; Squeeze 10, Diamond Dawgs 0, 5-innings; Lightning 9, Snappers 1.
Friday, July 19
Suns 14, River Rats 6; Squeeze 6, Diamond Dawgs 3; Lightning 9, Snappers 0, 7-innings.
Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, July 20
Squeeze vs. Diamond Dawgs, Alfond Stadium, 6 p.m.; Snappers vs. Lightning, Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.; River Rats vs. Suns, Melching Field at Conrad Park, 7 p.m.
POSTSEASON
Play-In Game
Monday, July 22
No. 5 Snappers vs. No. 4 seed (Suns/River Rats), TBA, 7 p.m.
Semifinals (Best-of-3)
Tuesday, July 23
Play-In Game winner at No. 1 seed (Lightning/Squeeze), TBA, 7 p.m.
No. 3 seed (Suns/River Rats) at No. 2 seed (Lightning/Squeeze), TBA, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 24
No. 1 seed at Play-In Game winner, TBA, 7 p.m.
No. 2 seed at No. 3 seed, TBA, 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 25
(If Necessary, both teams with one loss)
Play-In Game winner at No. 1 seed, TBA, 7 p.m.
No. 3 seed at No. 2 seed, TBA, 7 p.m.
Friday, July 26
Make-Up Day.
Championship (Best-of-3)
Saturday, July 27
Game 1 at higher seed, TBA, 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 28
Game 2 at lower seed, TBA, 7 p.m.
Monday, July 29
(If Necessary, both teams with one loss)
Game 3 at higher seed, TBA, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 30
Make-Up Day, TBA.
Wednesday, July 31
Make-Up Day, TBA.
In other FCSL News:
* Games streamed LIVE on FLOSPORTS _ 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 more information.
PARKS AND REC MONTH
The Seminole County Board of County Commissioners has proclaimed July as Park and Recreation Month in Seminole County. Residents and visitors are encouraged to celebrate by visiting Seminole County parks, trails, and natural lands to earn free limited-edition posters.
Now in its third year, the Park Poster Challenge features artistic renderings of favorite Seminole County parks, inspired by the National Park Service travel posters of the 1930s and '40s. Participants can pick up free posters by visiting three Seminole County parks throughout July, taking a photo at each location, and presenting photos to staff at Red Bug Lake Park, Sanlando Park, Sylvan Lake Park, or the Museum of Seminole County History.
Find a park in "Florida's Natural Choice" at seminolecountyfl.gov/parks.
ORLANDO SPEEDWORLD
Coming up at Orlando Speed World Dragway:
* Today (Saturday) _ Baldie’s Lizard Racing N/T Midnight Mayhem. Test and Tune and Grudge Racing, plus N/T 28/275 Shootout, Invitational Shootout and JR 484. Gates open at 3 p.m. and Track Hot at 4 p.m. Admission is $25. For more information call Smoke at 941-266-7259.
* Wheels Up Wednesday _ “All Welcome Test and Tune and Grudge Racing” with gates opening at 6 p.m. and racing from 6 p.m.-to-10:30 p.m. $20 General Admission or $30 to race.
* Full Throttle Friday _ “All Welcome Test and Tune and Grudge Racing” with gates opening at 4 p.m. and racing from 6 p.m.-to-11 p.m. $20 General Admission or $30 to race.
The Dragway Information Hotline is at (407) 568-5522 and the website is at _ www.raceosw.com/dragway/.
SpeedWorld is located 17 miles east of Orlando in Bithlo at 19164 East Colonial Drive, between Orlando and Titusville on Highway 50 at the 520 Cocoa Cutoff.
NEW SMYRNA SPEEDWAY
New Smyrna Speedway will be hosting the David Rogers Super Late Model Florida Sunbelt Series Twin 50 tonight (Saturday).
Also running will be the E-Mods, Black Jack Seal Coating Bomber A’s and Florida Southern Ground Pounders.
Pit gates open at 2 p.m. with Division Practice from 3:45 p.m.-to-5 p.m. Ticket booths and grandstand gates open at 3:30 p.m. Heat Races are at 6 p.m., followed by Super Lates Qualifying and Feature Racing at 7:30 p.m.
Adult admission is $20 (reserved seating is $25, the top six (6) rows of the Main Grandstand) with all seniors (65+) and military (with valid ID for proof of age or Military affiliation) admitted for $18. Early Bird Discount $5 off Adult General Grandstand Admission from 3:30 p.m.-to-6 p.m. Kids 12-17 are $5 (No Early Bird Discount). Kids 11 years of age and under are free of charge (MUST be accompanied by paying Adult to qualify for Free Admission). Pits - Members ($25), Non-Members ($35).
On Sunday, NSS will host a Swap Meet from 8 a.m.-to-Noon. ALL Vendors Welcome! Food Trucks...Boiled Peanuts!...Timothy's Steak n Hoagie Factory, Sharkbite Jerky. $10 donation for a vendor spot with all proceeds going to the Hart to Heart Breast Cancer Foundation. E-mail _ [email protected] _ or call Tammy at 386-290-0816 to pre-register.
The track is located at the corner of SR. 44 and CR 415, between New Smyrna, DeLand and Daytona.
For information on New Smyrna Speedway, visit _ www.newsmyrnaspeedwayusa.com _ or call the track office at 386-427-4129.
ORLANDO CITY
Orlando City SC (9-9-6, 33 points) extended its win streak to four-straight matches on Wednesday night, earning a 3-0 victory against host Nashville SC (6-10-8, 26 points) at GEODIS Park. For the seventh straight match the Lions tallied multiple goals, also earning their sixth clean sheet of the 2024 campaign.
Scoring Summary:
* 19’ - César Araújo (Martín Ojeda) – ORL 1, NSH 0 _ The Lions got things started on the night when Martín Ojeda stepped up to take an attacking free kick in Nashville’s final third of the field. Ojeda sent the ball to the far post where fellow midfielder César Araújo was able to get his head on the ball, knock it into the ground in front of goalkeeper Joe Willis and ultimately in for the opener.
* 40’ - Alex Muyl (Own Goal) – ORL 2, NSH 0 _ The Lions added one more just before the end of the first half when midfielder Martín Ojeda got involved again, drawing a foul in a dangerous area. Ojeda stepped up to cross the ensuing free kick into the box, angling it to the far post for Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique. A Nashville defender got his head onto it and deflected it into his teammate Alex Muyl. The ball deflected off Muyl’s face and back into the net for the Lions’ second of the night.
* 81’ - Ramiro Enrique (Iván Angulo) – ORL 3, NSH 0 _ Ramiro Enrique added to the Lions’ insurance with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match, scoring his third goal in as many games. After a shot by Luis Muriel was blocked, Iván Angulo collected the deflection and sent a quick pass wide right to Enrique. The striker made no mistake, rifling a shot off the underside of the crossbar and past Joe Willis.
Next Match:
The Lions will next return home to host New York City FC at INTER&Co Stadium tonight (Saturday). That match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
For more information on Orlando City SC, visit OrlandoCitySC.com or follow on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
ORLANDO PRIDE
The Orlando Pride (11-0-5, 38 points) will start play in the inaugural NWSL X LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup, beginning group play by traveling to Cary, N.C., and taking on the North Carolina Courage at WakeMed Soccer Park tonight (Saturday). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
For more information on Orlando Pride, visit Orlando-Pride.com or follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
