Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.31 at Kannapolis
May 31, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers at Atrium Health Ballpark at 7 pm tonight. LHP Hunter Patteson (2-3, 3.73 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Kannapolis counters with RHP Grant Taylor (0-0, 3.97 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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MITCHELL HOMERS TWICE IN LOSS TO KANNAPOLIS: Blake Mitchell showed off his power bat Thursday night, but it wasn't enough to beat the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers as Columbia fell 14-5 at Atrium Health Ballpark.Blake Mitchell got the Fireflies on the board with his team-leading seventh round tripper in the top of the third inning. His solo shot cut Kannapolis's lead to 6-1. His monster homer was launched at 110 MPH and went 475 feet to right field.He added a second homer in the top of the seventh to give the Fireflies five runs on the night. It was Columbia's second multi-homer game of the season as Mitchell joined Austin Charles in accomplishing the feat this year. It was the first multi-homer game of the Royals' 2023 first rounder's career.
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 2.57 ERA in his first four starts in May. He also has brought the swing and miss stuff, striking out 21 in his first 21 frames this month. Martin has a 1.35 ERA after a 6.23 ERA in April and has spun 20 innings after just 13 last month. The big difference for Martin has been limiting opponents hits, opponents are hitting .183 against him in May after hitting .288 against the righty in April.
A NEW HOPE: Ethan Bosacker, has the second-best ERA in the Carolina League, a 1.81 mark that is just .69 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. Wilkinson was called up to Lake County May 22. Bosacker is one of four Fireflies pitchers who have logged enough innings to be in the top-10 innings eaters in the Carolina League. The righty was selected from Xavier University in the 13th round of the 2023 draft and in a starting and piggy back roll this year, he has proven to be a critical piece of the Fireflies pitching staff.
MASHING MITCHELL: Not only did Blake Mitchell get the second multi-homer game of the season for the Fireflies, but Columbia's backstop is hot at the plate. The 19-year-old has reached in 13-consecutive games, his second-longest on-base streak of the season (18) and the third-longest on-base streak for a Fireflies player in 2024. Mitchell is 17-50 on the run (.340) and has driven in an astounding 15 RBI with five homers in his last 13 games.
SPOILING QUALITY STARTS: Wednesday, Emmanuel Reyes spun six one-run innings in what turned out to be a 3-2 loss in Kannapolis. Columbia has had some trouble winning ballgames when their starter spins a quality start. The club is 0-7 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 leaderboard, behind Dash Winningham (25 in 2016 and 2017) and tied with Juan Carlos Negret (23 in 2021).
Carolina League Stories from May 31, 2024
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- Five-Run Fifth Too Much for GreenJackets to Overcome in Loss to Woodpeckers - Augusta GreenJackets
- Mudcats Claim Series from Delmarva - Carolina Mudcats
- Hillcats Spank Red Sox, 11-1 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Bush's Grand Slam Powers Woodpeckers' in Win Over GreenJackets - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Pelicans Fall on Friday Night to RiverDogs 5-3 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Kannapolis Blanks Columbia in 4-0 Shutout Win Friday - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Mudcats Win Fourth Straight Over Shorebirds - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.31 at Kannapolis - Columbia Fireflies
- Fireflies' Bats Silenced Friday - Columbia Fireflies
- Roster Update: Acosta Added from Biloxi; Baez to IL - Carolina Mudcats
- Wood Ducks Double up Nats - Down East Wood Ducks
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