SANFORD — The Florida League Playoffs are set to begin Monday night. For just the second time in Florida League history, the playoffs begin without the defending champions, as the Orlando Snappers will not have a chance to defend their title.
The Regular Season ended on an amazing high note on Saturday.
Three teams, the Sanford River Rats, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs and defending champion Orlando Snappers were fighting for the final two playoff spots and all stood within just 1/2-game of each other.
Wins by Sanford and/or Winter Park would clinch spots, while a loss by either one and a win by Orlando would get the Snappers in.
All three were able to pull out wins, thereby eliminating Orlando.
The biggest surprise was the River Rats, who were in last place most of the season and were at least five or more games out of a playoff position right before the All-Star Break. And not only did they make the playoffs, but with a sweep of DeLand, Sanford moved all the way up to the No. 3 seed.
Here is the results for the final week of the regular season and the Postseason Schedule:
Tuesday, July 14
* Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 4, Leesburg Lightning 3, 7-innings.
* Orlando Snappers 8, Sanford River Rats 0.
* Winter Garden Squeeze vs. DeLand Suns, cancelled.
Wednesday, July 15
* Winter Garden Squeeze 18, Orlando Snappers 13.
* DeLand Suns 5, Orlando Snappers 0.
Thursday, July 16
* Winter Garden Squeeze 12, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 7.
* Sanford River Rats 8, DeLand Suns 4.
* Leesburg Lightning 5, Orlando Snappers 4.
Friday, July 17
* Winter Garden Squeeze 8, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 7.
* Sanford River Rats 6, DeLand Suns 5.
* Leesburg Lightning 9, Orlando Snappers 8.
Saturday, July 18
* Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 12, Winter Garden Squeeze 7.
* Orlando Snappers 6, Leesburg Lightning 0.
* Sanford River Rats 8, DeLand Suns 3.
Sunday, July 19
No games scheduled.
PLAYOFFS
Play-In Game:
Monday, July 20
(5) DeLand Suns vs. (4) Winter Park Diamond Dawgs at Rollins College/Alfond Stadium at Harper Shepherd Field, 6 p.m.
Semifinals
Best-of-3
Tuesday, July 21
Play-In Winner vs. (1) Leesburg Lightning on Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.; (3) Sanford River Rats vs. (2) Winter Garden Squeeze at Horizon High School, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, July 22
(1) Leesburg Lightning at home of Play-In winner; (2) Winter Garden Squeeze vs. (3) Sanford River Rats at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 23
If Necessary
Play-In Winner vs. (1) Leesburg Lightning on Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.; (3) Sanford River Rats vs. (2) Winter Garden Squeeze at Horizon High School, 6 p.m.
Friday, July 24
Make-Up Day.
Championship Series
Best-of-3
Saturday, July 25
At home of Higher Seed.
Sunday, July 26
At home of Lower Seed.
Monday, July 27
If necessary: at home of High Seed.
Tuesday, July 28
Make-Up Day.
Wednesday, July 29
Make-Up Day.
Here's an inside look at the race for the Whiting Cup.
Play-In Game:
Monday, July 20
(5) DeLand Suns vs. (4) Winter Park Diamond Dawgs at Rollins College/Alfond Stadium at Harper Shepherd Field, 6 p.m.
The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2023, while the DeLand Suns are in the postseason for the third year in a row. DeLand is in the Wild Card Game for the second straight year, and will look for a repeat of last year's Wild Card win over Winter Garden. Winter Park's last trip to the playoffs in 2023 featured a Wild Card win, a walk-off victory over Orlando.
DeLand and Winter Park's last meetings in the playoffs were in the 2018 and 2019 Florida League Championship Series, with the Suns winning in 2018 and the Dawgs answering in 2019.
Florida League Semifinals (Best of 3):
#2 Winter Garden vs. #3 Sanford
Tuesday, July 21
Game 1 _ (3) Sanford River Rats vs. (2) Winter Garden Squeeze at Horizon High School, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, July 22
Game 2 _ (2) Winter Garden Squeeze vs. (3) Sanford River Rats at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 23
If Necessary
Game 3 _ (3) Sanford River Rats vs. (2) Winter Garden Squeeze at Horizon High School, 6 p.m.
Winter Garden is in search of their second trip to the Florida League Championship Series, as the Squeeze came up one game short of the title in 2023. Sanford, which qualified for the playoffs for the 23rd time, has unfinished business from a year ago, when the River Rats had the best regular season record in league history only to flame out in a 2-0 Florida League Championship Series sweep.
Sanford and Winter Garden last met in the playoffs in 2023, when the third-seeded Squeeze swept the second-seeded Rats in the FCSL Semifinals, sending Winter Garden to the Florida League Championship Series for the first time.
#1 Leesburg vs. Wild Card Winner
Tuesday, July 21
Game 1 _ Play-In Winner vs. (1) Leesburg Lightning on Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 22
Game 2 _ (1) Leesburg Lightning at home of Play-In winner, TBA.
Thursday, July 23
If Necessary
Game 3 _ Play-In Winner vs. (1) Leesburg Lightning on Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.
The Leesburg Lightning are the playoffs' top seed for the third time in the last four years. The top seed in the playoffs has gotten to the Florida League Championship Series in each of the last four years, with Winter Park's upset of Sanford in 2021 the last major upset.
Should the Lightning match up with DeLand, it would be a rematch of the 2024 Florida League Championship Series, a 2-0 sweep for Leesburg. The Lightning last faced Winter Park in 2023, when Leesburg swept the Diamond Dawgs in the FCSL Semifinals.
Florida League Championship Series
Best-of-3
Saturday, July 25
Game 1 _ At home of Higher Seed, TBA.
Sunday, July 26
Game 2 _ At home of Lower Seed, TBA.
Monday, July 27
Game 3 _ If necessary: at home of High Seed, TBA.
The 2020s have belonged to the Leesburg Lightning, who have been in the championship series five times since 2020. Sanford (2020) and Winter Park (2022) also have titles this decade, with DeLand (2018) searching their first crown in almost a decade. The lone Florida League team without a franchise is Winter Garden, coming the closest in 2023. Who will claim the crown this year?
