CarL Columbia Fireflies

Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.23 at Carolina

August 23, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


The Fireflies continue their series with the Carolina Mudcats tonight at 7 pm at Five County Stadium. RHP Ben Hernandez (1-2, 2.79 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Carolina counters with RHP Jesus Rivero (1-2, 281 ERA).

The Fireflies will come home for one last homestand at Segra Park in 2023 as they face the Delmarva Shorebirds August 29-September 3. We'll host Retro Video Game Night, a Budweiser Thirsty Thursday and will wrap up the season with a Sunday Funday. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.

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WERNER SMASHES PAIR OF HOMERS IN 8-5 WIN: Trevor Werner kick-started the Fireflies with two homers and four RBI in the first three innings, as Columbia scored seven in the first to win 8-5 over Carolina Tuesday night at Five County Stadium. The Fireflies (24-25) jumped out with a reckless abandon in the first inning. Daniel Vazquez, Carson Roccaforte and Spencer Nivens drew walks to lead-off the game and then Brett Squires was plunked to break the scoreless tie. They set the table for Lizandro Rodriguez to lace a two RBI double to right-center to push Columbia's lead to 3-0. Next, Omar Hernandez hit an RBI single to send up Trevor Werner. Werner dealt the knock-out punch, belting his first homer of the season off the scoreboard in left, scoring three and leaving Columbia with a 7-0 lead by the end of the first inning.

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 12 games in full-season baseball. All-in-all, he is 13-45 with two doubles, two triples and seven RBI.

PROFESSIONAL HITTER JARED DICKEY: Fireflies outfielder Jared Dickey is on a tear. Last night, he singled in the first to extend his hitting streak. The former Tennessee Volunteer is riding a team-best eight-game hitting streak entering today's game. Dickey is 15-34 (.441) with two doubles, a triple and eight RBI during the run. He's been even better against the Pelicans this year. In five games last week, Dickey was 10-20 (.500) with seven 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.

ROUGH SAILING: The Fireflies pitching staff has had some trouble in their last 12 games, allowing 67 earned runs in their last 108 innings of work. In that time, Columbia has allowed 115 hits and walked 47 hitters or a 1.50 WHIP as a staff to pair with a 5.58 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 115th game of the 131 games they have scheduled to play. The club has two road trips remaining, with five games against Carolina and six against Myrtle Beach remaining. They will also play six more games remaining at Segra Park this year. They'll play six games against the Delmarva Shorebirds from August 29-September 3 to close out their home schedule. With 17 games remaining, the Fireflies trail the Charleston RiverDogs by eight games in the South Division second-half standings.

ON A ROLL: The Fireflies offense has been on a tear during their three-game winning streak. After last night's eight-run performance, the club has plated 31 in their last three games.

Check out the Columbia Fireflies Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 23, 2023


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