Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.5 vs Myrtle Beach
May 5, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. Southpaw Frank Mozzicato (0-0, 1.42 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters with lefty Jackson Ferris, who is making his professional debut.
Tonight, the Fireflies are giving their first Future Royalty Bobblehead, courtesy of SAFE Federal Credit Union. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a Gavin Cross Bat Throne Bobblehead. You'll want to get to the game fast, as these will be gone in a hurry. Gates open at 6 pm. Tickets are still available at FirefliesTickets.com.
--------------
FIREFLIES SHUTOUT PELICANS FOR SIXTH-STRAIGHT WIN: The Fireflies spun their fourth shutout of the campaign as the team beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 6-0 in their sixth-consecutive victory Thursday night at Segra Park. Ben Kudrna (W, 2-2) spun a season-high six scoreless frames, punching out six hitters. It was Kudrna's first quality start of the season, he's the third Fireflies pitcher to spin a quality start this season, following Shane Panzini and Frank Mozzicato. The bullpen closed out a clean game utilizing two frames from Cooper McKeehan and one inning from Ben Sears. Sears whiffed a pair of hitters in the ninth and McKeehan got one strikeout in the seventh.
CHASING HISTORY: The Fireflies have won six consecutive games, which is just two shy of their franchise-record eight-game winning streak. The Fireflies set their record August 11-19, 2022, as they took their last four games against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on the road, before coming home and winning four straight vs the Kannapolis Cannonballers.
CLEAN SHEETS: Last night, the Fireflies blanked the Pelicans for the second time this series and for their fourth shutout of the season. In 2022, the Fireflies only had a pair of shutouts and both were late in the season. Columbia's two shutouts were August 28 and August 30.
ROUNDING INTO FORM: After a tough start to the year, the Royals number two prospect, according to MLB.com, Ben Kudrna has put together back-to-back impressive starts. The righty worked his first quality start of the season May 4 vs Myrtle Beach and has now tossed 11.2-consecutive scoreless innings. The streak is the longest-active and second longest overall scoreless streak for a pitcher in the Carolina League this season.
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. His performance has been good enough to earn him Carolina League Pitcher of the Month honors. He's the first Fireflies player to win a Carolina League monthly award.
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.
Carolina League Stories from May 5, 2023
- Nats Drop Both Ends of Twin Bill - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Furman Fuels Lynchburg to 10-3 Win Over RiverDogs - Charleston RiverDogs
- GreenJackets Ride Six-Run Third to Take Fourth Straight - Augusta GreenJackets
- Ferris Dazzles in Debut, Pelicans Beat Fireflies 4-2 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Fayetteville Quiets Salem Bats to Even Series - Salem Red Sox
- Fireflies' Rally Stifled in 4-2 Loss to Pelicans - Columbia Fireflies
- Shorebirds Lose Second Straight to Mudcats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Herrera Placed on 7-Day IL - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.5 vs Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
- Woodpeckers Throw One-Hitter in Win over Red Sox - Salem Red Sox
- Pelicans Drop Third Game to Fireflies 6-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
