CarL Columbia Fireflies

Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.26 vs Delmarva

May 26, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


The Fireflies close out their series with the Delmarva Shorebirds this afternoon at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. RHP Ethan Bosacker (4-1, 1.77 ERA) climbs the hill for Columbia and Delmarva counters with RHP Michael Forret (2-3, 4.26 ERA).

The Fireflies return to Segra Park June 4 to start a set with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Help the team unmask some villains Saturday, June 8 for Scooby-Doo! Night presented by Escapology. The club will also be giving away a piece of history, as the first 1,000 fans will receive a Tyler Tolbert Bobblehead Friday, June 7 thanks to SAFE Federal Credit Union. Buy your tickets now at ColumbiaFireflies.com.

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FIREFLIES SCORE DOUBLE DIGITS, RESIST LATE RALLY IN WIN: Arthur W. Purdue Stadium hosted a barn-burner Saturday evening. The Columbia Fireflies and Delmarva shorebirds combined for 18 runs on 25 hits in front of a Memorial Day Weekend crowd. Four of the five contests in this series have resulted in at least 10 combined runs. The Fireflies held control for most of the contest, but had to thwart a late-effort by the Shorebirds to extend the game. Delmarva entered the final half-inning trailing, 10-5. RBI singles by Thomas Sosa and Aneudis Mordan brought the shorebirds within striking distance. With two men on base and two outs, Angel Tejada was caught between the bases on a Stiven Acevedo base hit. Tejada rounded second on the single and fell into "no-man's" land between second and third base, giving Columbia's defense an easy opportunity to end the ninth-inning rally. Columbia scored the first runs of the game. Erick Pena and Jhonny Perdomo swatted back-to-back RBI doubles in the top of the second inning. A half-inning later, Delmarva evened the score with a longball off the bat of Jake Cunningham.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Derlin Figueroa started a 12-game hitting streak May 12, and he is 18-44 (.409) with three homers and nine RBI. His hitting streak is the longest active streak in the Carolina League. It's the Fireflies' longest hitting streak since Trevor Werner hit safely in 12-straight contests from August 15-29, 2023. If that hitting streak weren't enough, Figueroa is also on a 17-game on-base streak, which is one game behind Miguel Bleis for the longest active streak in the League. It's the second-longest on-base streak for a Fireflies hitter this year (Blake Mitchell, 18).

MAY FLOWERS: After having some trouble in April, Logan Martin and Emmanuel Reyes have come into their own again in the month of May. Reyes recorded a 6.04 ERA with 23 punchouts in 25.1 innings in April before surging with a 3.00 ERA in his first three starts in May. He also has brought the swing and miss stuff, striking out 20 in his first 15 frames this month. Martin has a 1.69 ERA after a 6.23 ERA in April and has spun 16 innings after just 13 last month.

A NEW HOPE: Ethan Bosacker, has the second-best ERA in the Carolina League, a 1.77 mark that is just .65 behind League leader Matt Wilkinson. Lynchburg's starter last pitched May 19 where he allowed one run over five innings of work. Bosacker is also fifth in opposing average (.185) and second in WHIP (0.81) in the Carolina League.

SPOILING QUALITY STARTS: Friday, Felix Arronde worked six shutout frames before handing the ball to the bullpen in what turned out to be a 1-0 loss in 10 innings. Columbia has had some trouble winning ballgames when their starter spins a quality start. The club is 0-6 when their starter goes six innings or longer and allows three or fewer runs this year.

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).

ROAD BLUES: This year, Columbia has sat right around .500 on the season. They'll played well at home, going 14-11 in their first 25 contests at Segra Park, but are 7-9 away from the friendly confines to start the year.

Check out the Columbia Fireflies Statistics



Carolina League Stories from May 26, 2024


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