Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.3 at Carolina
May 4, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Carolina Mudcats tonight at 5 pm. RHP Logan Martin (0-0, 6.23 ERA) gets the ball for Columbia and Carolina counters with RHP Yorman Galindez (0-0, 2.08 ERA).
Columbia returns home for 13 games in 13 days beginning May 7. The Fireflies welcome The Salem Red Sox and the Charleston RiverDogs to Segra Park during the run ending May 19. The club has tons of fun promotions on tap, including Star Wars Night May 11 and a Frank Mozzicato Bobblehead Giveaway May 10. Buy your tickets today at ColumbiaFireflies.com.
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EVERYONE REACHES IN COLUMBIA'S 9-1 WIN: The Fireflies bats got back on track, beating up on the Carolina Mudcats 9-1 as each Fireflies hitter reached base safely at least once Friday night at Five County Stadium. Columbia (13-11) vaulted into the lead in the fourth inning. Austin Charles was hit by a pitch and then Dionmy Salon, Jhonny Perdomo and Brennon McNair drew walks to load the bases and plate the second run of the game for Milo Rushford. The outfielder sliced a double to center doubling Columbia's lead by plating Salon and Perdomo and moving McNair to third. Later, Erick Torres and Blake Mitchell added sacrifice flies, moving Columbia's big lead to 6-0. Erick Torres broke the scoreless tie in the top of the first. He lined a double to right to start the game and advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch that allowed him to come around on a Blake Mitchell ground out to make the score 1-0.
GET HIM ON AND BRING HIM HOME: With a lead-off double Friday, Erick Torres clinched his longest hitting streak of the season, a six-game set that started April 27. Torres' streak is tied for the seventh-longest active hitting streak in the Carolina League. The center fielder has found his home in the lead-off spot this season. Overall, he is ninth in the league in average and on-base percentage and seventh in hits and runs scored. He's been playing even better over the last six-games where he is 9-22 (.409) with five runs scored.
IT'S ALL ROSES HERE: Jarold Rosado has been great out of the bullpen this season. He has a 2.25 ERA after allowing a 10.38 ERA in 2023. His success continued in two appearances (3 IP, 5 K) last week. On the season, the young pitcher has worked 12 innings in eight games. He has allowed three earned runs and punched out 15. The real secret to his success this year is that his walk rate is down from 16.7% in 2023 to only 6% in 2024.
SPOILING QUALITY PRODUCTS: Wednesday, Felix Arronde worked six, one-run innings for his first quality start of the season. He held the Mudcats hitless through five innings, but it didn't end up being enough. The bats couldn't add some run support and the Fireflies lost 2-1 in 12 innings. So far this season, the Fireflies pitching staff has spun two quality starts. The other belongs to Ethan Bosacker. The Fireflies record is 0-2 in those two games.
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).
SKID: After an electric start to the 2024 campaign, Columbia has grinded to a halt the last eight games, finding themselves 1.5 games behind the Fayetteville Woodpeckers for first in the South Division. The Fireflies have dropped six of their last eight games after an 11-5 start to the campaign.
COMING HOME: The Fireflies are 5-7 on the road and 8-4 at home this year and return to Segra Park Tuesday for a 13-game homestand.
Carolina League Stories from May 4, 2024
- Rally 'Cats Top Kannapolis - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Pitching Dominates In 8-1 Win Over Salem - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Pitchers' Duel Between RiverDogs and GreenJackets Suspended in 11th Inning - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Win Third Straight Over Woodpeckers - Delmarva Shorebirds
- FredNats One-Hit Down East - Fredericksburg Nationals
- RiverDogs and GreenJackets Suspended in 11th Inning - Charleston RiverDogs
- Fayetteville Drops Third Consecutive Game in Salisbury - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Mudcats and Fireflies Suspended Due to Rain - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Saturday, May 4 at Carolina Suspended in Third Inning - Columbia Fireflies
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.3 at Carolina - Columbia Fireflies
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