Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.6 vs Myrtle Beach
May 6, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
It's the Revenge of the Sixth and the Fireflies are hosting their annual Star Wars night, presented by Blanchard Machinery at Segra Park, with first pitch set for 6:05 pm. RHP Shane Panzini (1-1, 3.38 ERA) takes the rubber for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters with righty Nick Hull (2-0, 4.50 ERA).
As a part of Star Wars night, presented by Blanchard Machinery, we'll have a post-game fireworks show at the ballpark along with lightsabers and lightsaber training available for kids at Segra Park. You can purchase tickets for the game starting at $7 at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES RALLY STIFLED IN 4-2 LOSS TO PELICANS: The Fireflies rallied late, but were unable to complete the comeback, as they fell 4-2 to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Friday night at Segra Park. Fans were treated to a duel between the top two lefties from the 2021 and 2022 drafts. Myrtle Beach's Jackson Ferris twirled three scoreless innings, punching out seven of the 10 Fireflies he faced before turning to the Pelicans bullpen. The Pelicans got the first run of the game. Cristian Hernandez smashed his second homer of the season off Frank Mozzicato (L, 0-1) in the third inning to turn the advantage to 1-0 in favor of Myrtle Beach. Columbia's starter would allow two more runs in the fifth, one off a single from Moises Ballesteros and the other came when Wesley Scott hurled a wild pitch, scoring inherited runner Cristian Hernandez, making it 3-0 at the close of the fifth.
THERE'S ALWAYS A BIGGER FISH: David Sandlin and Frank Mozzicato have gone back-and-forth on the strikeouts leader board for the Carolina League this season. Last night it was Mozzicato's turn to take back first place, as he notched seven whiffs against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The southpaw paces the pack with 41 punchouts and Sandlin is just behidn at 39. The next closest in the Carolina League is Fayetteville's Trey Dombrowski, who has 33 strikeouts on the campaign. The two Fireflies are also first in the circuit in innings pitched with 23.2 and tied for seventh in WHIP amongst qualifying pitchers at 1.14.
GREAT, KID, NOW DON'T GET COCKY: The Fireflies pitching staff has been on a roll this season. As a whole, the team has a 2.93 ERA this season, which is good for the fifth-best team ERA in all of Minor League Baseball. Lake Elsinore leads the pack with a blistering 2.49 ERA in their first 213 innings of the season. ‰ ‰ ‰
YOUR FOCUS DETERMINES YOUR REALITY: 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.
THIS IS THE WAY: 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 third-longest scoreless stretch of the season in the Carolina League. 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.
I'D JUST AS SOON KISS A WOOKIE: After the final two games of this series vs the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Fireflies will head on the road for back-to-back weeks. They will not return home until they play the Charleston RiverDogs May 23.
NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS, KID: Although the Fireflies' six-game winning streak ended Friday night, the club has won 16 of their first 25 games this season. The Fireflies have never finished above .500 in a campaign and last season, Columbia finished the first half 18-48.
Carolina League Stories from May 6, 2023
- Shorebirds Take Game Five from Mudcats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Clutch Pitching, Timely Hitting Leads Fayetteville to Third Straight Win - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Early Runs Not Enough in 5-2 Loss - Carolina Mudcats
- Woodpeckers Win Third Straight over Red Sox - Salem Red Sox
- Birds Beat Fireflies 3-2 in 11 Innings - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- GreenJackets Win Streak Snapped on Saturday Night - Augusta GreenJackets
- RiverDogs Struggle Down the Stretch in 8-2 Defeat - Charleston RiverDogs
- Freddies Fall Behind Early and Drop Game Five - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Falls 3-2 in 11 Innings Saturday - Columbia Fireflies
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.6 vs Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
- Six-Run Inning from GreenJackets Overloads Q's in 6-5 Loss Friday - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- First Place Mudcats Win Second Straight - Carolina Mudcats
- Cole Blasts Pair of Home Runs in Woodpeckers' Win Over Red Sox - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
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