Lakeland Advances to F.S.L. Championship Series

The Flying Tigers defeated Dunedin 3-0 Wednesday night to sweep the North Division Championship. Lakeland's pitching staff did not allow a single run in the series. Lakeland will face the Jupiter Hammerheads on Friday at 6:35 p.m. in Game 1 of the Championship Series. Game 3 will be played at Joker Marchant Stadium on Sunday, September 9th. Tickets are on sale now.

Dominant pitching was the key to Lakeland's sweep of Dunedin in the North Division Championship series. In game 2 Drew Verhagen took the mound and dominated the Jays with 6 scoreless innings and kept Dunedin off the base paths. Daniel Bennett and Melvin Mercedes combined to finish off the game and propel the Flying Tigers into the Florida State League Championship Series.

An early home run from Wade Gaynor in the second inning proved to be the winning run Wednesday night. James Robbins added an RBI single later in the game and Tyler Collins capped the scoring with a towering home run down the right field line to give Lakeland an extra insurance run in the ninth.

The Flying Tigers will face the winner of tonight's game between Jupiter and St. Lucie. Lakeland hold home field advantage in the Championship series and will therefore host the final three games of the series. Game 1 and 2 will be played Friday and Saturday at the South Division Champions ballpark. Games 3, 4 (if necessary), & 5 (if necessary) will be played at Joker Marchant Stadium.