Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 6.16 at Fayetteville
June 16, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies close out the work week with a 7:05 tilt with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers tonight at Segra Stadium. RHP Shane Panzini (1-4, 3.10 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia and Fayetteville counters with southpaw Luis Angel Rodriguez (0-0, 4.50 ERA).
The Fireflies will return home to Segra Park June 20 and they'll stay home through July 3 as the Fireflies battle the Fredericksburg Nationals and the Augusta GreenJackets. The homestand will house our Negro League Celebration Weekend where we'll have a special appearance from Larry Doby Jr. amongst others and will conclude with our Independence Day Celebration with a massive fireworks show. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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LATE RALLY FALLS SHORT IN FAYETTEVILLE: The Fireflies added two in the eighth, but couldn't bring the tying run home as they fell 4-3 to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Segra Stadium Thursday night. With Myrtle Beach's win over Fredericksburg, the Fireflies are now three games behind the Myrtle Beach Pelicans with six games left to play. Omar Hernandez kicked off the rally in the eighth, smashing his second homer of the season beyond the left field fence to make the score 4-2. Next, the Fireflies loaded the bases before Lizandro Rodriguez grounded into a fielder's choice to score Daniel Vazquez to make it a one-run game. After that, Kasey Ford (S, 3) was able to set aside the Fireflies and earn his third save for Fayetteville this season. The Fireflies had trouble with starter Trey Dombroski, who spun a quality start, allowing just a single run in six innings while fanning nine Fireflies in his second win of the year.
ZANY ZOBAC: The Fireflies righty is on another strong stretch as he has allowed only one earned run in his last four outings, spanning 17.2 innings. Zobac set a career-high, spinning 5.0 innings Tuesday in a 4-3 win over the Fayetteville Woodpeckers to set the tone for the last road trip of the first half for Columbia. Zobac now has a 1.56 ERA across his first 10 outings and he has punched out 39 hitters in 34.2 innings.
PINNACLE PITCHERS: The Fireflies arms have been hot this year. After allowing only two earned runs across their last 39 innings, the Fireflies pitching staff now has the second-best ERA of all 120 teams in Minor League Baseball, a 3.05 mark that is .01 behind the Down East Wood Ducks. The Fireflies have had had a top-5 team ERA all season long, but really pushed over the top this last weekend where David Sandlin and Mauricio Veliz didn't allow an earned run to score in 12 innings to pace the club.
SUPER SANDLIN: David Sandlin has been on a roll his last few outings. He has worked back-to-back quality starts and has allowed three runs in his last 13 innings (2.08 ERA). During that stretch, Sandlin also has 19 punchouts, which has allowed him to climb back to the top of the League's strikeout leaderboard. The Fireflies are also 8-3 in his 11 starts this season. He added another feather to his cap Monday when he earned his first Carolina League Pitcher of the Week Award after his seven scoreless innings of work Friday.
WILY WALLACE: Last night, Chase Wallace gave up his first run of the season. Columbia's reliever has been on fire across his first five outings this year though, maintaining a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings while fanning six opposing hitters.
THE ROAD IS LONG: After Columbia's loss to the Salem Red Sox last Wednesday, the team fell out of first place for the first time in 33 games--the longest stretch the Fireflies have been in possession of first place in franchise history. The last time the Fireflies weren't in first place was April 29.
THE SCOOP: Last night the Fireflies lost 4-3 to the Woodpeckers and Myrtle Beach took home another victory against Fredericksburgto increase their lead to three games with six games remaining in the first half. This week, the Fireflies head to Fayetteville to play the 24-33 Woodpeckers and Myrtle Beach has a tilt at home vs Fredericksburg.
POWER OUTAGE: The Fireflies went 1-12 with RISP last night and are hitting .125 (4-32) on the series.
Carolina League Stories from June 16, 2023
- Woodpeckers Stave off Ninth-Inning Rally to Win Third Straight Over Fireflies - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- RiverDogs Hold off Hillcats for 8-7 Win Friday - Charleston RiverDogs
- Bats Fall Silent, Pelicans Shutout 2-0 by Nationals - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- No Lane for Victory in Columbia's 4-3 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Freddies Blank Pelicans 2-0 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Pitching Woes Continue as Mudcats Hammer Jackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- RiverDogs Drop Hillcats 8-7 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 6.16 at Fayetteville - Columbia Fireflies
- Red Sox Tie Series in Gritty Game Four Win - Salem Red Sox
- Down East Splits Doubleheader - Down East Wood Ducks
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