Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7-2 at Augusta
July 2, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia continues their series against Augusta at SRP Park tonight at 7:05 pm. RHP Anderson Paulino (3-2, 4.37 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Augusta opts to send righty Chad Bryant (0-1, 6.00 ERA) to the bump.
The Fireflies return home to Segra Park Tuesday for a six-game set against the first-place Charleston Riverdogs. That first night will be a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday where all hot dogs, popcorn, fountain soda and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite will cost only $2. Fans can purchase tickets at FirefliesTickets.com.
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GONZALEZ HOMER MARKS DIFFERENCE IN 3-1 WIN AT AUGUSTA: A Herard Gonzalez two-run blast in the third made the difference in the Fireflies 3-1 victory over Augusta at SRP Park Thursday evening. The Fireflies' (26-21) second baseman came up while Columbia was trailing 1-0 with one out and Maikel Garcia on third after a pair of wild pitches from Jared Johnson (L, 0-3) when he launched his fourth homer of the season to push the Fireflies in front. Columbia received some insurance in the fifth when Augusta (22-28) reliever Kenny Wells tossed a wild pitch with the bases loaded to allow Gage Hughes to scamper home to make the score 3-1. After allowing a lead-off homer to Cade Bunnell, the first lead-off knock against Columbia since Nick Schnell hit one May 13 for the Charleston RiverDogs, Fireflies starter Matt Stil cruised through the game. The righty allowed just two more hits while striking out four in as many innings before handing the ball to the bullpen.
STARTERS STRIKING: Despite the Fireflies overall struggles since June 26, the team is 2-3, the starting pitching has performed the best it has all season. Since June 26, the rotation has allowed only four runs in 20.1 innings. Last night, Matt Stil kept that stretch alive. After allowing a lead-off homer from Cade Bunnell, the third that the Fireflies have allowed this season, the righty shut down Augusta, finishing four innings allowing the lone run. He also only allowed a pair of hits following the lead-off smash. After his performance, the Fireflies starting rotation has held a 1.77 ERA in their last five contests.
GONZALEZ LIKES GREENJACKETS: Last night, second baseman Herard Gonzalez launched his fourth homer of the season in the third inning to give the Fireflies a 2-1 lead over Augusta. It just so happened to be his fourth homer against the GreenJackets this season. He is hitting .300 in 13 games against Augusta this season.
EL DURO SHOWING HIS STUFF: After a slow start to the season, Juan Carlos Negret has found his stride in the month of June. The slugger has cracked six homers last month, which tied Kannapolis's Bryan Ramos and Carolina's Zavier Warren for the most homers in June. The slugger is hitting just .181 last month, but when he made contact, he made it count. Negret had 11 hits last month, eight of which went for extra bases. He had two doubles to go along with his six homers in June.
YOU WANNA SEE SOME REAL SPEED?: The Fireflies saw Tyler Tolbert climb his way a position higher on the all-time team leaderboard. Tolbert stole a Fireflies-best three bases in Friday night's game to give him 21 on the season. That tied him for second-most in a single season for a Fireflies player with Hansel Moreno, who accomplished the feat in 2018. He's chasing Jacob Zanon, who stole 28 bags in 2017. Tolbert stole a base again Tuesday to increase his total to 25 this year.
SAVING THE OPPORTUNITY: Last night, Walter Pennington earned his team-leading third save of the year. The southpaw has earned all three of his saves at home and has now punched out 18 hitters in 11.2 innings at Segra Park this year. Despite allowing an earned run last night, the Coloradoan still has a 1.54 ERA at home and has maintained a 0.77 ERA at the friendly confines in 2021.
Carolina League Stories from July 2, 2021
- Heavyweight Fight Goes to GreenJackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- Six-Run Rally Surges Woodpeckers to Fifth Straight Win - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Howard Collects Four Hits, Pelicans Roll to 7-2 Win over Wood Ducks - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- FredNats Walk It off in Wild 12-11 Win - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Weaver's Four RBIs Not Enough in Loss to RiverDogs Friday - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Late Rally Falls Short as Mudcats Lose Seventh Straight - Carolina Mudcats
- RiverDogs Extend Winning Streak to Seven with 11-5 Triumph in Kannapolis - Charleston RiverDogs
- Negret's Two Blast Night Not Enough to Beat Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Untimely Walks Contribute to Wood Ducks Loss Again - Down East Wood Ducks
- 'Birds Win Eighth Straight, Claim Series from 'Cats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Edward Ureña Joins FredNats - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Bradley Named Low-A East Pitcher of the Month - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7-2 at Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Felix Valerio Named Low-A East Player of the Month - Carolina Mudcats
- Playoffs Announced for 2021 Minor League Baseball Season - Down East Wood Ducks
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes - at Myrtle Beach - Down East Wood Ducks
- Jerson Ramirez Earns Promotion to Lake County - Lynchburg Hillcats
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