After flying high against Eustis last Tuesday, DeLand came back down to earth. The DeLand Bulldogs' rough 8-2 defeat to the Winter Springs Bears on Wednesday might stick with them for a while. The result was an unpleasant reminder to DeLand of the 3-2 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in February of 2016.
For Winter Springs' part, Aiden Smarrito tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Sam Downey, who scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Owen Swanson, who scored two runs and stole two bases.
DeLand's defeat dropped their record down to 10-7. As for Winter Springs, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 12 games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-8 record this season.
Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. DeLand will face off against Merritt Island at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Merritt Island is coming into the matchup with four straight victories at home, so DeLand will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. As for Winter Springs, they will head out on the road to challenge Lake Howell at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Winter Springs' pitching crew has only allowed 3.4 runs per game this season, so Lake Howell's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
