Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.3 vs Myrtle Beach
May 3, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at 7:05 pm at Segra Park. LHP Oscar Rayo (0-0, 2.25 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters with 2022 first-round pick RHP Cade Horton (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
Tonight is all about Paws and Claws at Segra Park! It's another Trash the Poop Wag-Along Wednesday where fans can bring their dogs out to the ballpark with the purchase of a berm ticket! If that weren't enought, we're also selling 16 oz cans of White Claw Seltzer for $5 all night long. Tickets are still available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES WIN FOURTH STRAIGHT TO CLAIM FIRST: The Fireflies dominated in every facet of the game in their third shutout of the season as they took out Myrtle Beach 12-0 Tuesday night at Segra Park. Daniel Vazquez broke things open in the bottom of the first, popping a three-run homer over the left-center wall off of starter Michael Arias to plate Omar Hernandez and Brett Squires and give Columbia a 3-0 lead. The bats weren't done there. Erick Peña slapped a single to right field in the third, scoring Brett Squires and Daniel Vazquez to push the Fireflies lead to a handful. The next inning, Jean Ramirez came around on a Hernandez single to right that put Columbia in front 6-0 as the bats continued to roll.
VICTORY STARTS WITH VAZQUEZ: The Fireflies' 19-year-old shortstop has started the year off hot, and the Carolina League is starting to take notice. Vazquez leads the Fireflies in nearly every offensive category and last night he smacked his first round-tripper of the year in the first inning to put Columbia up 3-0. He finished Tuesday 3-4 with a career-high five RBI. The Villa Mella, Dominican Republic native is finding himself all over the League leaderboards as well. Vazquez ranks eight in batting average (.338), fourth in RBI (17), second in hits (25) and sixth in stolen bases (10). He trails Tim Elko who leads the circuit with 28 hits.
ZOOMING ZOBAC: 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 longest scoreless streak to start the season in the League. Tonight's starter for Myrtle Beach, Cade Horton, is right behind Zobac with 10.1 scoreless to start the year.
IT'S A MAJOR AWARD: David Hollie's heroics Sunday, when he hit four homers and drove in seven RBI across a doubleheader for Columbia were good enough to earn him Carolina League Player of the Week honors. Hollie is the first Fireflies player to win a weekly award since River Town did so last April.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARD: Tuesday night, David Sandlin whiffed eight Pelicans hitters to retake the League strikeouts lead. He took the mantle from teammate Frank Mozzicato who has 34 punchouts on the season. The top non-Fireflies pitcher is Jake Bennett, the former teammate of David Sandlin at the University of Oklahoma. Sandlin also leads the Carolina League in innings pitcher with 23.1 and wins with 3. Mozzicato paces the League in ERA at 1.42.
WE'RE GOING SQUIRES DANCING: First baseman Brett Squires is the first Fireflies player to have a hitting streak longer than five games this year. Squires has hit safely in eight-consecutive games, a stretch that began April 26. During the run, the Oklahoma-product is 12-26 (.462) with three doubles and a homer. He has driven in six runs and scored 10 during the run.
GLOWING ARMS PAVING PATH: The Fireflies team ERA through the first 22 games of the season is 2.97, which is the fourth-best mark in all of Minor League Baseball. Lake Elsinore leads the way with an absurd 2.45 ERA in their first 22 games. The Fireflies have the top mark in the Carolina League, finding themselves in front of the second place Down East Wood Ducks, who are sitting at 3.18 on the season.
Carolina League Stories from May 3, 2023
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- Lynchburg Evens Series with One-Sided Wednesday Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Carolina Suffers Series Tying Loss in Delmarva - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Scores Seven Unanswered, Walks off Winners on Pelicans 10-8 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats Roster Moves 5.2 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Peña's Two Homer Night Leads Fireflies to Comeback Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Kannapolis Unable to Complete Comeback in Education Day Matchup with Augusta - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- GreenJackets Take Kannapolis to School on Education Day - Augusta GreenJackets
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.3 vs Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
- Birds Blanked by Fireflies 12-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Salem Starts 12-Game Homestand with Big Win over Fayetteville - Salem Red Sox
- Ballers Drop Series Opener at Home against Augusta Tuesday Night - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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