Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.13 at Salem
May 13, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies kick-off their weekend with a 6:05 contest vs the Salem Red Sox at Carilion Clinic Field. RHP David Sandlin (3-0, 2.93 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Salem counters with RHP Luis Perales (0-2, 6.75 ERA).
Columbia returns home Tuesday, May 23 to start a six-game series with the Charleston RiverDogs. The week marks the return of Copa de la Diversíon weekend presented by Southern Recipe Small Batch Pork Rinds, where the Fireflies will become Los Chiccarones de Columbia for the weekend. Friday, the Fireflies will give away a soccer scarf for the first 1,000 fans through the gates thanks to Southern Recipe Small Batch and Saturday, we'll have a fantastic fireworks display. Tickets are still available at FirefliesTickets.com.
----
FIREFLIES ONE HIT IN 7-1 LOSS: The Fireflies bats only mustered one hit, an infield single off the bat of Brennon McNair, as they fell 7-1 to the Salem Red Sox Friday night at Carilion Clinic Field. The Fireflies (18-13) lone run came in after David Hollie drew a walk in the seventh and scored on a wild pitch. All-in-all, the Fireflies went 0-10 with runners in scoring position, bringing their total to 0-19 over the last two nights. The Red Sox (15-15) started off on the right foot, scoring three runs in the second and third off Shane Panzini (L, 1-2) the righty allowed three runs (two earned) across five innings. Samuel Valerio closed out the game with 1.1 scoreless innings to right the ship for Columbia.
I'M LOOKING AT THE MAN IN THE MIRROR: David Sandlin and Frank Mozzicato have gone back-and-forth on the strikeouts leader board for the Carolina League this season. Thursday it was Mozzicato who retook the lead with seven punchouts to leave him with 48 on the season. Sanlin next tosses in Saturday's contest. The next closest in the Carolina League is Fayetteville's Trey Dombrowski, who has 39 strikeouts on the campaign. Entering Sunday's game, the two Fireflies were also first and second in the circuit with 29.1 and 27.2 innings.
POWER OUTAGE: A big reason the Fireflies bats have been held in check the last few nights has been their batting average when they've had runners in scoring position. In the last two games where Columbia has scored a pair of runs, they have gone 0-19 with runners threatening. As a whole on the series, Columbia is 3-36 (.083) with runners in scoring position. The Fireflies are hitting .167 on the series, which has been driven down after being one-hit Friday evening. The Fireflies have been held to fewer than three runs in each of their last three games.
CLIMBING THE LADDER: The Fireflies pitching staff has been on a roll this season. As a whole, the team has a 3.12 ERA this season, which is good for the third-best team ERA in all of Minor League Baseball. The Tulsa Drillers pace the pack with a 2.75 ERA in their first 31 games.
COMEBACK KUDRNA: After a tough start to the year, the Royals number two prospect, according to MLB.com, Ben Kudrna has put together back-to-back impressive starts. The righty worked his first quality start of the season May 4 vs Myrtle Beach and prior to allowing a solo homer in the fourth inning May 10 at Salem, had a 14.2 inning scoreless streak. The streak was the longest scoreless streak for a pitcher in the Carolina League this season.
IT'S A MAJOR AWARD: Columbia's relief pitcher Steven Zobac allowed a runner to reach scoring position for the first time this season Tuesday night, but the righty didn't allow anyone to score. Zobac has not allowed a run in his first 11 innings of the season, giving him the third-longest scoreless stretch of the season in the Carolina League. His performance has been good enough to earn him Carolina League Pitcher of the Month honors. He's the first Fireflies player to win a Carolina League monthly award.
THE ROAD IS LONG: After the final two games of this series vs the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Fireflies will head on the road for back-to-back weeks. They will not return home until they play the Charleston RiverDogs May 23.
Carolina League Stories from May 13, 2023
- Two Home Runs Launch Pelicans To Victory Over Hillcats 7-2 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Five-Run Fifth Inning Blasts Woodpeckers to First Win Over Cannon Ballers - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Fireflies Outlast Salem in 10-8 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Division Leading Mudcats Win Third Straight 6-1 - Carolina Mudcats
- RiverDogs Launch Three Home Runs in 8-4 Defeat of GreenJackets - Charleston RiverDogs
- Workinger Pushes Hit Streak to 15 But GreenJackets Drop Third Straight - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Walked Off by Wood Ducks in Game 5 - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Freddies' Lineup Stifled in 6-1 Defeat - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.13 at Salem - Columbia Fireflies
- Delmarva Takes Battle of the Birds - Down East Wood Ducks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
