Winter Garden Squeeze fall in double-header, still hottest team in Florida League

With just nine games left in the Florida Collegiate Summer League season, the Winter Garden Squeeze are getting hot at the right time and have the best record in the league over the past 10 games; 8-2. 

The Squeeze (15-11) now sit in third in the standings, just one game back from the first-place Leesburg Lightning (15-9). 

Winter Garden won eight consecutive games and took sole control of the Florida League top spot before falling in both games of a home doubleheader against the Lightning — 6-4 and 7-1 — Saturday, July 6, at A-Game Field on the campus of West Orange High School. 

The two losses sent the Squeeze tumbling down to third. Despite the recent losses, the past 10 games for the Squeeze have been impressive — especially from the batter's box. 

It's been the bats that have carried the team to that 8-2 record, scoring 77 total runs in the 10-game span, an average of 7.7 runs a game, and over the eight-game winning streak, Winter Garden averaged nine runs a game. 

Shortstop Titan Kamaka, a West Orange High alum and former Florida State player (currently in the transfer portal), has been lights out with his bat in the eight games he played in from the past 10. Kamaka batted for an average of .448 (13/29), drove in 13 runs, scored six runs and hit a homer. 

Along with the local star, outfielder Garrett Byrd from Valdosta State has been another one of those key bats for the Squeeze — hitting for an average of .370 (10/27), scoring 10 runs, driving in seven runs, getting walked eight times (.514 OBP) and stealing three bases in the past 10 games. 

Led by its hitting, the Squeeze will look to start another winning streak Monday, July 8, on the road at Lake Highland Prep against the Orlando Snappers (9-15), before heading back home to its friendly confines Thursday, July 11 against the second-place DeLand Suns (14-10).