Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.10 vs Myrtle Beach
April 10, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
After last night's wild walk-off win, the Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. Columbia sends top pitching prospect RHP Blake Wolters to the bump for his debut and Myrtle Beach counters with RHP Mason McGwire, the son of 12x MLB All-Star Mark McGwire.
Tonight is our first Trash the Poop Dog Days of Summer at Segra Park, where your dog can join you at the game for free. Fans can also get $5 12 oz cans of Whiteclaw seltzer at concessions stands. For tickets and more info, visit ColumbiaFireflies.com.
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WILD PITCH WALK-OFF CAPS OPENING NIGHT: The Fireflies showed excellent patience at the plate, drawing four walks to set up a walk-off wild pitch to score Erick Torres to beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6-5 Tuesday night at Segra Park. Columbia entered the ninth inning trailing 5-4. After a Jhonny Perdomo line out to right field to start the inning, Scarlyn Lebron (BS, L 0-1) lost control, walking Milo Rushford, Erick Torres and Blake Mitchell to set up an 11-pitch battle with Daniel Vazquez that ended in a walk to tie the game. Next, Myrtle Beach changed arms and brought in Garrett Brown to face Derlin Figueroa. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Brown sailed a pitch to the backstop, allowing Torres to come around and win the game for the Fireflies. It was the Fireflies second walk-off winner on Opening Night in the last three years and their first walk-off win since Lizandro Rodriguez scored on a walk-off balk against Fredericksburg June 24, 2023.
OPENING DAY PENA: Erick Pena is something of an opening day legend at Segra Park. The lefty hit a walk-off three-run blast against the Augusta GreenJackets in 2022 for his first home opener with the club and he kept his bat rolling yesterday against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The Fireflies only mustered three hits despite scoring six runs in the win, but two of the hits ended up being big homers for the club. Pena started the scoring with a two-run blast that plated Austin Charles and flipped the script, giving Columbia a 2-1 lead in the second. It was the club's first home run of the campaign.
LEGACY VS RISING STAR: Tonight's pitching match-up is bound to be fun. Flamethrower Blake Wolters has hit 100 MPH in spring training this year and is the Fireflies top pitching prospect, going up against Mason McGwire. McGwire has a three-pitch mix and has been described by the Cubs as a sponge for learning more about his craft.
THE NUMBER STANDS OUT: In a small sample size, the Fireflies have had a lot of trouble with runners in scoring position. The club is 4-45 (.089) when runners are at second or third across their first 28 innings offensively. The club left 9 runners on the basepaths Friday and exceeded that number with 10 LOB in Saturday and Sunday's games. Both of Columbia's hits with runners threatening came in Saturday's contest, but took 16 attempts at the plate following an 0-7 showing with RISP Friday.
SPINNING ZEROS: To kick-off the season, the bullpen has been perfect, working 17 frames without allowing an earned run with 21 punchouts. The pen has allowed a pair of unearned runs off nine hits and six walks, but has been a huge part of why the club is .500 through the first four games. Jacob Widener has been the leader for the pen. Yesterday he got a strikeout to strand three inherited runners and keep the Fireflies within striking distance. The big lefty has spun 3.1 frames with seven punchouts this season while allowing a single hit.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING: It's early, but the Fireflies have two hitters who have at least one hit in each game this season. Center fielder Erick Torres went 1-3 with a pair of walks in last night's contest, scoring the winning run off a wild pitch. He has a .400 average and has slipped nicely into the lead-off spot. Derlin Figueroa smashed his first homer of the year over the lawn in right field to move his hitting streak to four games. He has a team-best three RBI to pair with a .294 average. The corner infielder looks poised to be the Fireflies clean-up hitter this season.
Carolina League Stories from April 10, 2024
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- Mudcats and Wood Ducks Postponed Thursday - Carolina Mudcats
- Mudcats Hold off Wood Ducks for First Home Win - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.10 vs Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
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- Walks, Errors Define Second Straight Loss for GreenJackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- Woodpeckers Ride Long Ball to Victory in Second Installment of Series - Charleston RiverDogs
- Fireflies Score Four Unanswered, Down Pelicans 6-5 on Walk-Off - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Wild Pitch Walk-Off Caps Opening Night - Columbia Fireflies
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