Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.20 vs Myrtle Beach
Published on August 20, 2023 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies close out their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at Segra Park at 5:05 pm. The Fireflies toss RHP Mauricio Veliz (3-6, 5.40 ERA) on the hill and Myrtle Beach counters with righty Marino Santy (2-1, 3.18 ERA).
Tonight is a Sunday Funday where we'll host a pre-game autograph session and after the game kids can run the bases courtesy of Bang Back Pinball Lounge. It's also Women in Sports Night where we'll honor women who help bring our favorite game to us around the world. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
-----------------------------------------
DICKEY DOMINATES IN 7-1 WIN OVER MYRTLE BEACH: Jared Dickey's three RBI performance and a stellar night from the pitching staff led the Fireflies to a 7-1 win over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Saturday night at Segra Park. Oscar Rayo was fantastic Saturday evening. The lefty spun 6.2 innings, allowing six hits and just one run to score. Rayo started off on an absolute tear, retiring the Pelicans in order in the first three innings, using 22 pitches, 19 of which were in the strike zone. The bullpen didn't allow a hit in 2.1 innnings of work. Mack Anglin (H, 5) closed out the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth before Nicholas Regalado closed things out with three flyouts in the ninth.
HOT START: Carson Roccaforte's eight-game hitting streak to start his Carolina League career ended after an 0-1 outing Friday night vs Myrtle Beach, but in the contest he drew three walks, meaning that Roccaforte has reached base safely in each of his first 10 games in full-season baseball. All-in-all, he is 12-38 with a double, two triples and five RBI.
PROFESSIONAL HITTER JARED DICKEY: Fireflies outfielder Jared Dickey is on a tear. Last night, he notched his first career three hit and three RBI game. The former Tennessee Volunteer is riding a team-best seven-game hitting streak entering today's game. Dickey is 12-26 (.462) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI during the run. He's been even better against the Pelicans this year. In four games this week, Dickey is 8-16 (.500) with six RBI.
CAREER MILESTONES FOR RAYO: Last night, Oscar Rayo notched another quality start. The lefty is 21 years old and already in his third season in professional ball. Across those three seasons, the southpaw has now thrown 125 innings. In 125 frames he is 7-3 with a 2.95 ERA. He has held opponents to a respectable .241 average while keeping his walk rate low to earn an elite 1.10 WHIP. If that weren't enough, he also has 136 punchouts or 9.79 per nine innings pitched.
MOVING ON UP: Ben Sears now has three saves in his last seven appearances, giving him nine saves on the season. That ties him with 2021 Columbia Fireflies reliever Luis Barroso for sixth all-time amongst Columbia Fireflies players. He's two away from tying current Quad Cities River Bandits reliever Cooper McKeehan for second on the Fireflies all-time leaderboard.
ROUGH SAILING: The Fireflies pitching staff has had some trouble in their last 11 games, allowing 62 earned runs in their last 99 innings of work. In that time, Columbia has allowed 104 hits and walked 43 hitters or a 1.63 WHIP as a staff to pair with a 5.64 ERA. The Fireflies second-half ERA has climbed to 4.50 during the stretch, which is nearly 1.5 runs per nine innings higher than the clubs' first-half ERA.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Tonight, Columbia is playing their 113th game of the 131 games they have scheduled to play. The club has two road trips remaining, with six games against Carolina and six against Myrtle Beach remaining. They will also play eight more games remaining at Segra Park this year. They'll close out this series tonight and tomorrow with the Pelicans and they'll play six games against the Delmarva Shorebirds from August 29-September 3 to close out their home schedule. With 18 games remaining, the Fireflies trail the Charleston RiverDogs by nine games in the South Division second-half standings.
Carolina League Stories from August 20, 2023
- Week Ends With 16-3 Loss to Fireflies - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- RiverDogs Surrender Final Eight Runs in Sunday Loss to Down East - Charleston RiverDogs
- Fireflies Slug their Way to 16-3 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Shorebirds Haunted by 7-Run Sixth Inning in Sunday Defeat - Delmarva Shorebirds
- FredNats Strike out 16, Defeat Augusta 7-0 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Ballers Ride Late Offense to Swipe Sunday's Game and Series against Mudcats - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Carolina Collapses Late in 8-6 Finale Loss - Carolina Mudcats
- Surging FredNats Swamp Slumping Jackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.20 vs Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
