Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.15 vs Charleston RiverDogs
Published on May 15, 2024 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their season today at 12:05 pm at Segra Park. It'll be the team's final scheduled day game this year. RHP Blake Wolters (0-0, 3.65 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Charleston counters with RHP Santiago Suarez (2-2, 3.00 ERA).
Today is a business special at the ballpark! Come on out and take an extended lunch break to enjoy some day baseball. Buy your tickets at ColumbiaFireflies.com.
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PATTESON BRILLIANT IN 3-1 LOSS: Fireflies starter Hunter Patteson was brilliant, but it wasn't enough to earn a win, as the bullpen allowed three runs in the final two innings of a 3-1 loss to Charleston at Segra Park Tuesday evening. Starting pitching was the name of the game tonight, as both starters logged quality outings on the hill. Hunter Patteson became the first Fireflies pitcher in 2024 to log seven frames and he trekked seven innings while allowing only one hit. He punched out seven batters as he threw 70 pitches and 57 strikes. It ended up leading to a no-decision though. The Fireflies (16-15) are now 0-4 when their starting pitcher works a quality start this year.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Tuesday, left-handed hitter Derlin Figueroa mashed his fourth homer of the season. It was a solo blast that produced the only run of the day for Columbia. All four of the infielders homers have come at Segra Park this year and all four of them have gone out to the right field lawn area.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Fireflies relievers have been on a tear this season and it's showing up in the win column for Columbia. The Fireflies bullpen has a 2.69 ERA this season, which is the fourth-best mark in all of Minor League Baseball. Columbia's relief core has a 10-6 record with 168 punchouts in 137.1 innings of work. They trail the Fredericksburg Nationals (2.22 ERA in 174.0 innings), Birmingham Barons (2.29 ERA in 102.1 innings) and Rocket City Trash Pandas (2.29 ERA in 118.0 innings).
A NEW HOPE: Ethan Bosacker, has the second-best ERA in the Carolina League, a 1.17 mark that is just .15 behind League leader Matt Wilkinson. Lynchburg's starter last pitched May 12 where he allowed one run over five innings of work. Bosacker is also second in opposing average (.159) and first in WHIP (0.75) in the Carolina League.
IT'S ALL ROSES HERE: Jarold Rosado has been great out of the bullpen this season. He has a 1.72 ERA after allowing a 10.38 ERA in 2023. His success continued in his four appearances (5 IP, 9 K) since the start of May. On the season, the young pitcher has worked 15.2 innings in 10 games. He has allowed three earned runs and punched out 22. The real secret to his success this year is that his walk rate is down from 16.7% in 2023 to only 4.8% in 2024.
SPOILING SOLID STARTS: The Fireflies run with quality starts continued Tuesday as Hunter Patteson twirled Columbia's longest start of 2024. After seven one-hit innings where the RiverDogs were unable to score on the southpaw, the bullpen ceded three runs in the eighth and ninth and Columbia lost to Charleston 3-1. Columbia now has four quality starts this season. Ethan Bosacker has two and Felix Arronde has one. Surprisingly, the Fireflies record is 0-4 in games where their starter spins a quality start.
POWERING PENA: Saturday night, Fireflies outfielder Erick Pena mashed his Carolina League-leading fourth round tripper of the season. He's currently eighth in the Carolina League with a .485 on-base percentage. Pena has had a storied career with Columbia. He made the Opening Day Roster in 2022 and started his career with a bang, launching a walk-off homer against the Augusta GreenJackets on Opening Night. All-in-all he has mashed 23 homers in the neon and navy, nine in 2022, 10 in 2023 and four this year. It places him second on the Fireflies all-time homer leadboard, behind Dash Winningham (25 in 2016 and 2017) and tied with Juan Carlos Negret (23 in 2021).
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