Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 6.28 vs Augusta
June 28, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies open up a series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Steven Zobac (1-0, 1.43 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and RHP Jorge Bautista (4-4, 3.29 ERA) counters for Augusta.
Tonight is a Whiteclaw Wednesday and Trash the Poop Wag-Along Wednesday. Fans can bring their dogs with them to the game and those in attendance can enjoy some nice 16 oz cans of Whiteclaw Seltzers for just $5. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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GRAND SLAM SEALS DEAL FOR FIREFLIES: The Fireflies came back and won 7-6 behind a seventh inning Hayden Dunhurst grand slam with two outs Sunday night at Segra Park. Dunhurst entered the at-bat 0-10 in the Carolina League and was working against Holden Powell, who had retired the first 15 batters he faced in the Carolina League this season. He swung at the first pitch and sent a towering homer over the right field fence to give the Fireflies their first lead of the ball game. The seventh inning rally started with a Lizandro Rodriguez two out triple before Matt Merrill issued back-to-back walks to Erick Peña and Brennon McNair to create the jam. Cooper McKeehan (S, 8) shut the door in the ninth to earn his team-leading eighth save of the season. He followed up a 1-2-3 eighth inning from Samuel Valerio, who has three scoreless innings in his last two outings.
SHUTTING DOWN THE OPPONENT: The Fireflies have allowed seven earned runs in 27 innings of work in the second half so far, giving them a 2.33 ERA as a staff. The starters have led the way with a 2.25 ERA, paced by Frank Mozzicato spinning five shutout frames in the first game of the second-half Friday.
VIDEO GAME NUMBERS: Fireflies back-end of the bullpen reliever Cooper McKeehan continues to impress the league. Sunday he spun a scoreless ninth inning to earn his team-leading eighth save of the season. The southpaw also paces the Carolina League with seven wins this year. The BYU product has a 1.01 ERA and is on his second-longest scoreless stretch of the season. McKeehan has not allowed a run in his last seven appearances (beginning June 4). In that time, he has worked 11.2 innings, allowing five hits and two walks while punching out eight hitters. His longest span without allowing an earned run came April 22-May 20 where he went 13.1 scoreless in 10 appearances.
FIRST ONE IN THE BOOKS: After an 0-10 start at the plate in the Carolina League, 2022 sixth round pick Hayden Dunhurst came up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded Sunday. He cracked his first hit in the Carolina League and made it a grand slam to flip the script on Fredericksburg, turning a 6-3 deficit into a 7-6 lead. It was the Fireflies third grand slam of the season. Brennon McNair had one at Augusta and Roger Leyton hit one in Down East. Dunhurst was hitting .429 in three games in the Arizona Complex League last season before going 1-11 in the ACL to start this year before getting the call-up. Despite the low average, in six games this season, Dunhurst has seven RBI.
ZANY ZOBAC: The Fireflies righty is on another strong stretch as he has allowed only one earned run in his last five outings, spanning 20.2 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. Despite a tough series vs Fayetteville, where the team's ERA increased by nearly a quarter of a point, the Fireflies have maintained Minor League Baseball's best team ERA this season with a mark of 3.12. The second place team is the Down East Wood Ducks, who have a 3.20 ERA this season. Columbia also has the 12th-best team WHIP in Minor League Baseball at 1.29, trailing Down East, who paces the 120 team pack with a 1.20 WHIP.
Carolina League Stories from June 28, 2023
- Pelicans Rally Three Times, Beat RiverDogs 6-5 in 13-Inning Battle - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Defensive Miscues Cost Woodpeckers in Series Opener with Kannapolis - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- RiverDogs Walked off in Wild 13-Inning Affair - Charleston RiverDogs
- GreenJackets Arms Produce Pitching Clinic in Wednesday Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Walks Hurt Fredericksburg In 7-4 Loss - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Fireflies' Bats Shut Down in Opening Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Hillcats Blank Shorebirds - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Shorebirds Shut Out In Series Opener Against Hillcats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- RiverDogs Catcher Dominic Keegan Promoted - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 6.28 vs Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Smith Promoted; Rivero Added - Carolina Mudcats
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