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 Columbia Fireflies

Fireflies Finalize Sweep over Augusta

August 18, 2017 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


AUGUSTA, GA - The Fireflies plastered five runs in the eighth inning and defeated the GreenJackets, 5-0. Columbia swept Augusta for the third time in 2017 and finished the season series with 15 wins in 25 meetings.

Jay Jabs helped start the offensive explosion in the eighth frame. The 22-year-old drove in Columbia's (22-30, 62-58) first run with an RBI single. Later in the stanza, J.J. Franco crushed a three-run double into right-center field. Dash Winningham put the icing on the cake. The Floridian knocked in a run with a single and now has a team-leading 63 RBIs this season.

This game was scoreless after seven innings. Columbia's defense came up clutch in the bottom of the seventh. Augusta (22-30, 45-72) threatened with Cristian Paulino at first base and Kelvin Beltre at third. Paulino attempted to steal while Johneshwy Fargas was at the plate. Fireflies catcher Dan Rizzie threw towards second and Luis Carpio caught the ball in front of the bag. At this point, Beltre sprinted to home and tried to score. Carpio smartly chucked the ball to the plate and Rizzie tagged out Beltre. This kept the contest tied before the visitor's monster eighth inning.

Jose Carlos Medina was impressive in his debut for Columbia on Thursday night. The 20-year-old battled through six innings and worked around four walks. Medina only gave up two hits during this span. The southpaw was the 16th different pitcher to start a game for the Fireflies this season.

Matt Pobereyko (W, 2-1) tossed two scoreless frames out of the bullpen. The righty posted two strikeouts in his 17th appearance of the season.

The Fireflies finished with 11 hits. Jabs, Andres Gimenez, and Reed Gamache had multi-hit performances. It's the fourth straight game the team has produced 10 or more hits. Gimenez also finished with three stolen bases. The 18-year-old becomes the third player in franchise history with three steals in one game.

The Fireflies return home for an action-packed weekend series with the Rome Braves. First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Spirit Communications Park. The highly anticipated Total Eclipse Weekend runs from August 18 to August 21. Columbia plays five games against Rome in four days with Saturday being a doubleheader.

You can listen to the action on ESPN Columbia 94.9 FM and 1230 AM, ColumbiaFireflies.com and the TuneIn Radio app starting at 6:45 p.m. The game also airs live on MiLB.tv.


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