Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.9 vs Salem
May 9, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Salem Red Sox tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Ethan Bosacker (2-1, 1.09 ERA) takes the bump for Columbia and Salem counters with RHP Jedixson Paez (1-1, 2.37 ERA).
It's WIS Night, and you can meet your favorite news team in the Midlands. WIS will be live on site, recording throughout the day to keep you up to date on our third-annual Human Cannonball night. We'll shoot David The Bullet Smith Jr. out of a cannon across the field after the game. If that weren't enough, we'll also have our Budweiser Thirsty Thursday specials where fans can enjoy $1 fountain sodas, $2 domestic drafts and $3 craft drafts and house cocktails during the game. Buy your tickets now at ColumbiaFireflies.com.
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FIGUEROA BLAST LEADS FIREFLIES TO 2-1 VICTORY: The Fireflies rallied to win their own low-scoring game behind a Derlin Figueroa blast, as they beat the Salem Red Sox 2-1 Wednesday night at Segra Park. The Fireflies bats came to life in the fourth inning. After Salem starter Luis Cohen retired the first nine Fireflies in order, Erick Torres led the fourth off with a single. He swiped second on a wild pitch before Blake Mitchell served a single to right. Torres tried to score on the play, but was gunned down at the plate by Andy Lugo to maintain Salem's one-run lead. Later in the inning, Derlin Figueroa golfed his third homer of the season beyond the right field fence to score Mitchell and flip the score, giving Columbia a 2-1 lead.
LEADING FROM THE PEN: The Fireflies have played back-to-back one-run games heading into today and a big part of that has been the success of the bullpen. So far this week, five pitchers have combined to spin eight scoreless innings in relief against Salem. Last night, Luis Polanco became the first Fireflies pitcher to notch two saves this season as he punched out a trio of Red Sox in two scoreless innings.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Yesterday, left-handed hitter Derlin Figueroa mashed his third homer of the season. It was a two-run blast that produced the only runs of the day for Columbia. All three of the infielders homers have come at Segra Park this year and all three of them have gone out to the right field lawn area.
MOVING ON UP: Today's starter, Ethan Bosacker, has the second-best ERA in the Carolina League, a 1.09 mark that is just two tenths of a point behind League leader Matt Wilkinson. Lynchburg's starter last pitched May 7 and allowed multiple runs in an outing for the first time on the year. Bosacker is also third in opposing average (.151) and second in WHIP (0.77) in the Carolina League.
IT'S ALL ROSES HERE: Jarold Rosado has been great out of the bullpen this season. He has a 1.93 ERA after allowing a 10.38 ERA in 2023. His success continued in his three appearances (5 IP, 9 K) since the start of last week. On the season, the young pitcher has worked 14 innings in nine games. He has allowed three earned runs and punched out 19. The real secret to his success this year is that his walk rate is down from 16.7% in 2023 to only 5.4% 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).
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