Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.26 at Carolina
August 26, 2023 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia kicks-off their weekend with a 5 pm tilt vs the Carolina Mudcats at Five County Stadium. LHP Oscar Rayo (4-2, 3.13 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Carolina trots out RHP Logan Henderson (3-3, 2.82 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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FIREFLIES ROUT MUDCATS 12-4 FRIDAY NIGHT: The Fireflies used a quality start from Emmanuel Reyes and 17 hits and seven walks to win 12-4 over the Mudcats Friday night at Five County Stadium. The Fireflies' big break came in the seventh inning. The team sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored five runs. Lizandro Rodriguez set the tone, leading off the inning with a base knock and coming around on a Brett Squires single to tie the game 2-2. Next, Jared Dickey put the Fireflies in front, ripping a single to left to score Carson Roccaforte and Brett Squires and give the Fireflies their first lead of the game, 4-2. Much-needed insurance came around for the Fireflies later in the inning. Hayden Dunhurst reached on a fielding error from left fielder Tayden Hall allowing Dickey to come around and push Columbia's lead to 5-2 and then Roger Leyton laced a single to right, scoring Salon and moving the lead to 6-2 heading to the stretch.
HOT START: Carson Roccaforte started his Carolina League career on an eight-game hitting streak. Even though the hitting streak ended last Friday against Myrtle Beach, Roccaforte has reached base safely in each of his first 14 games in the circuit. The lefty is 15-51 with 14 walks and has put together a .448 on-base percentage while swiping eight bases and driving in nine 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.
THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: Tonight, Columbia is playing their 118th game of the 131 games they have scheduled to play. The club has two road trips remaining, with two 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 14 games remaining, the Fireflies trail the Charleston RiverDogs by eight games in the South Division second-half standings.
WERNING OPPONENTS: Trevor Werner has demolished the baseball in the first four games against Carolina. Wednesday in the second, Werner hit his third homer of the series and he has gone 8-15 with three blasts and a double so far this week. It's hard to believe the hot stretch actually started well before this series began, Werner is riding an eigt-game hitting streak right now. On the run, Werner is 14-35 (.400) with three homers and 13 RBI in just nine games dating back to August 14. His streak is tied with Jared Dickey and Omar Hernandez's nine-game hitting streaks, which are the two longest hitting streaks a Fireflies player has had this season. Hot on his heels, Daniel Vazquez is also riding a seven-game hitting streak, which is the 19-year-old's longest hitting streak of the season and his second streak of six or more games.
PUSHING IT TOGETHER: Last night the Fireflies boasted a season-best 17 hits on their way to their second 10-run game in the last week. Prior to that, you had to go back to May for the last time the Fireflies scored 10 in a contest.
Carolina League Stories from August 26, 2023
- Hillcats Downed by Shorebirds, 4-3 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Red Sox Smother FredNats 5-0 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- RiverDogs Bend But Don't Break in 8-7 Thriller with Augusta - Charleston RiverDogs
- 'Jackets Score Six Unanswered But Fall Just Short - Augusta GreenJackets
- Areinamo Homers in 9-5 Carolina Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- Espinosa Fans Career-High Ten as Woodpeckers Defeat Down East - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Pelicans and Cannon Ballers Suspended on Saturday Night - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Fireflies Drop Back-And-Forth Game 9-5 - Columbia Fireflies
- Ducks Win High Scoring Contest - Down East Wood Ducks
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.26 at Carolina - Columbia Fireflies
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