Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Augusta
May 7, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
After last night's doubleheader split, the Fireflies will play the GreenJackets at SRP Park at 7:05 pm. The Kansas City Royals' 15th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, RHP Ben Hernandez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) gets the ball for Columbia and RHP Chad Bryant (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts for the GreenJackets.
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PITCHING NAME OF THE GAME IN DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT: The Fireflies rode strong pitching to a doubleheader split against the Augusta GreenJackets at SRP Park Thursday night. Columbia allowed just one run over 14 innings, lowering their staff's ERA to 3.27 in 2021. Columbia (1-2) dropped a tough one to start off the night, 1-0. Both starters dueled it out for four scoreless frames before handing the game to their respective bullpens. Anderson Paulino allowed just a pair of hits in his Low-A East debut for the Fireflies. Lefty A.J. Block led the way in game two, offering four, one-hit innings while fanning eight GreenJackets batters to pave Columbia to a 5-0 win at SRP Park.
SCORELESS STRETCH SNAPPED: After scoring in the first inning of the first game of the season, it took awhile for the bats to get going again for Columbia. It took Columbia until the third frame of the second game of last night's doubleheader to mark the scoreboard again, a stretch of 17 innings. Through the first three games of the season, the Fireflies have the Low-A East's lowest batting average, a .157 mark, despite getting nine hits in the second game of the double header. Part of the problem could be that Columbia's bats have been stifled with runners in scoring position so far. The Fireflies are just 3-for-22 (.136) with runners threatening in the young season.
ARMS FLEXIN' ON GREENJACKETS: Despite allowing eight runs, seven of which were earned, in the series opener, the Fireflies pitching staff has been on a tear. In the first game of the season, they fanned a franchise-record 18 hitters, and in the doubleheader yesterday, they allowed only one run in 13.2 innings of work. A.J. Block wrung up a Fireflies-most eight hitters in just four innings in game two. So far this season, the Fireflies have 36 strikeouts in 21.2 innings, which is good for the 5th-most strikeouts in the League despite pitching the fewest innings.
PANDEMIC CREATES HISTORIC STOPPAGE: For the first time since Minor League Baseball was founded in 1901, there was no Minor League Baseball in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today will mark the first Columbia Fireflies game since they played Augusta Monday, September 2, 2019, which was 607 days ago. When the Fireflies return home May 11 to play the Charleston RiverDogs, it will be their first home game in 611 days, or since they capped off the season with a Fireworks Night after playing the Hickory Crawdads August 29, 2019.
DYNAMIC TRIO TO LEAD 2021 SQUAD: The Columbia Fireflies have three top-30 prospects from the Royals' farm according to MLB.com. The are RHP Ben Hernandez, SS Brady McConnell and OF Darryl Collins. Hernandez was picked in the second round of the 2020 draft out of De La Salle Institute. The 18-year-old managed to wring up 67 batters in just 45 innings while maintaining a 1.80 ERA in his final year at De La Salle. He brings a mid-90's fastball to the table and pairs it with one of the top change-ups in the 2020 draft class. Those familiar with SEC baseball will remember McConnell. The former Florida Gator terrorized SEC pitching in 2019, hitting .332 and knocking 15 homers, the most for any shortstop in program history. He also drove in 48 RBI. Collins was named after famed Mets outfielder Darryl Strawberry, and his game certainly mirrors the way he plays. As a 15-year-old in his hometown Spijkenisse, Netherlands, Collins had a .418/.510/.532 slash in the country's top professional league. After being signed by Kansas City, he went state-side in 2017 and reached base safely in his first 24 games, rocking a very similar slash in the Arizona Rookie League, .398/.472/.548.
Carolina League Stories from May 7, 2021
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- RiverDogs Lose Early Lead, Fall 6-4 to Myrtle Beach - Charleston RiverDogs
- Cannon Ballers Squander Opportunities in 4-2 Loss - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Columbia Runs Away with 12-2 Victory - Augusta GreenJackets
- Eight Run Fourth Propels Fireflies to Big Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Parker Impresses in Pro Debut, But FredNats Drop Fourth Straight - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Wood Ducks Keep Rolling Winning Fourth Straight - Down East Wood Ducks
- 'Birds and Red Sox Postponed - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- Hillcats Squash Nationals - Lynchburg Hillcats
- RiverDogs Hold off Myrtle Beach, Improve to 3-0 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Struggles Continue for the Ballers as They Fall 6-1 to the Woodies - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Carolina Wins Third Straight with 12-2 Walloping of Woodpeckers - Carolina Mudcats
- Long Ball Powers 'Birds Past Red Sox - Delmarva Shorebirds
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