Sanford River Rats
| Sanford River Rats | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| League | FCSL | ||
| Location | Sanford, Florida | ||
| Ballpark | Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium | ||
| Year founded | 2004 | ||
| League championships | 3 (2004, 2011, 2015) | ||
| Colors | Blue, White |
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| Mascot | Ralphie | ||
| Management | John Welton | ||
| Manager | Michael Lieberman | ||
| Uniforms | |||
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The Sanford River Rats are a wood bat collegiate summer baseball league team located in Sanford, Florida. The team is a member of the Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL) and plays its home games at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium. The team is an inaugural member of the FCSL.
The River Rats were one of the inaugural teams of the FCSL. The team won the FCSL championship in the league's inaugural 2004 season and was the runner-up in the following 2005 season. After that, the team went into a bit of a slide, finishing fifth in 2006, fifth in 2007, and sixth in 2008.
In 2009, the Rats finished with a 23-17 record, good enough for a 2nd-place finish. On offense, they tied for the league lead in home runs (19) and led the league with a whopping 93 stolen bases. Jordan Yost led the team with a league high 7 HR and 35 RBI. On the defensive side, the Rats led the league in team ERA (3.50) and fielding percentage (.962). Pitcher Bryan Brown tied for the league lead in wins (5) and was 2nd in strikeouts with 52. The #2 seed Rats lost in a three-game series to the Belleview Bulldogs in the playoffs that year.
2010 brought on a change in regime as Davey Johnson was hired to be the head coach. His professional demeanor took a very talented Rats roster to a 28-13 record, good for 2nd place in the league. On offense, they finished first in the league in triples, walks and steals. College teammates Kelvin Clark (.333 avg, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 31 runs) and Tyler Benzel (.321 avg, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 32 runs), both from Florida Southern University, led the team at the plate. The pitching staff led the league in WHIP (1.32), opponent average (.232) and ERA (3.44). Starting pitcher Jeremy Strawn led the team in wins (4), innings pitched (46.1), and ERA (1.75). The season ended in disappointment however, as the Leesburg Lightning swept the Rats in the playoffs semifinals two games to zero.
After Johnson took the manager position with the Washington Nationals, the Rats turned to Steve Piercefield to lead them in the 2011 season. The regular season was a roller coaster of good play and poor effort. Entering the last week of the season, the Rats were in last place in the standings. After finishing 5-2 in the last week of the season, they earned the 4th seed with a 16-22 record.
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