Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.24 vs Augusta
April 24, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Emmanuel Reyes (1-0, 5.17 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Augusta counters RHP Davis Polo (0-2, 4.91 ERA).
Tonight is our second HBCU Night, presented by Synovus Bank. Join the Benedict College Marching Band as we pay homage to our neighbors on Harden Street and all our local HBCUs. It's also Malmo Oat Milkers night. The Fireflies will don Oat Milkers jerseys in partnership with Oatly. One fan will throw out a first milk carton "pitch" and 50 fans will win a swag kit, courtesy of Oatly. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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GREAT PITCHING, FOUR-RUN EIGHTH LEAD TO FIREFLIES WIN: The Columbia Fireflies worked their second shutout of the season amid a scoring flurry as they took the opener 8-0 against the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park Tuesday morning. Ethan Bosacker (W, 1-0) continued to flourish for the Fireflies. The righty spun five scoreless innings with four punchouts to move his ERA to 0.56 on the season in his first 16 frames. Bosacker allowed five hits in all-three of which came in the first inning. He retired nine-consecutive hitters from the last out of the second to a two-out single in the fifth before he escaped the inning and passed the ball to the pen. It only took one arm in relief for Columbia today as Logan Martin (S, 1) worked the Fireflies second four inning save of the season. Martin struck out four in as many innings while walking one and allowing a pair of hits without any runs.
QUALITY BOSACKER: Ethan Bosacker became the first Fireflies pitcher to notch a quality start during the 2024 season April 17. He continued his stretch of dominance against Augusta Tuesday, tossing 62 pitches to get through five scoreless innings. The righty has gotten off to a great push this year. After five scoreless frames from the bullpen in his first appearance of the year at Segra Park, yesterday he went six innings, allowing a single hit (a homerun) while punching out seven. He's striking out a batter per inning and has a 0.56 ERA this year.
MARVELOUS MITCHELL: The Fireflies back stop has been riding a hot streak fueled by patience at the plate. He currently has for the second-longest on-base streak in the Carolina League, a 13-game stretch that began April 6. On the run he is 14-47 (.298) with an incredible 16 walks which have pushed his on-base percentage to .484 on the run.
BLISTERING BULLPEN: Despite giving up the lead late Tuesday afternoon, the Fireflies bullpen has been a walking highlight reel for the 2024 season so far. The pen is 5-4 through its first 67.1 innings of work and has 78 punchouts while spinning to the tune of a 2.41 ERA. To put that into perspective, as a whole, the Fireflies have a 2.87 ERA this season, which is good for the best in Class-A baseball by six points. The lowest ERA in Minor League Baseball belongs to the Birmingham Barons who have worked a 2.25 ERA across 128 innings in their first 16 games.
MARGIN OF VICTORY: It's wild to think about, but when the Fireflies have lost, they haven't lost by much. The club is 10-5 this season and of those five losses, four have been by a single run--with two coming in extra innings. Their fifth loss was also in extra innings, but it came by a pair of runs. This season, the Fireflies have the highest run-differential in the Carolina League as they have outscored opponents by 32 runs in their first 13 games.
I'M COMING HOME: This year, the Fireflies have a 3-4 record away from Segra Park, but the team has been hot at home, taking six of their first seven contests in the friendly confines.
LUCKY NUMBER EIGHT: The Fireflies have owned the eighth inning of games this season. So far, they're outscoring opponents 16-1 in the penultimate inning of regulation. 16 runs is tied for their most runs in a single inning with the first frame of games and they have allowed more than one run in every other inning. Their next fewest runs allowed in an individual inning is four, which they've done in both the sixth and seventh innings of games this season.
Carolina League Stories from April 24, 2024
- Compton's Big Day Not Enough as 'Jackets Fall 6-5 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Fireflies Rally Behind Bullpen in 6-5 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- FredNats Shut Out Shorebirds for Second Straight Night - Delmarva Shorebirds
- FredNats' Pitching Dominates Delmarva - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Hillcats Fall to Myrtle Beach - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Birds Route Hillcats 15-2 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Mudcats Come Back Again Late to Stun Red Sox - Carolina Mudcats
- Cannon Ballers Win on Ninth Inning Error as RiverDogs Drop Fifth Straight - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.24 vs Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Pratt Activated off IL - Carolina Mudcats
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