Columbia Fireflies: Game Notes at Augusta
Published on September 7, 2021 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies open up their series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at SRP Park at 7:05 pm. LHP Rylan Kaufman (2-4, 5.19 ERA) gets the ball for Columbia and righty Royber Salinas will make his Low-A East debut for the GreenJackets.
Columbia has one homestand remaining in the 2021 campaign from August 14-19. There's plenty of fun in store, including a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday, White Claw Wednesday Day and Bud Light Thirsty Thursday. In addition to the drink specials, the Fireflies will pull out all the stops for their promotions, hosting Grateful Dead Night Friday and Wands and Wizards Night Saturday. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES DROP THE FINALE IN EXTRAS TO CHARLESTON: The Charleston RiverDogs scored a pair of runs in the top of the 10th to clinch a series sweep and a playoff berth against the Columbia Fireflies. The Fireflies dropped the contest 7-6 Sunday night. In the bottom of the 10th, Darryl Collins led off the frame with an RBI single to right-center that scored Herard Gonzalez and cut the RiverDogs (77-31) lead to just one, but after Juan Carlos Negret grounded into a double play, Saul Garza flew out to the track in right field to close out the game. The RiverDogs kept the two out magic alive, scoring a pair from a two out single off the bat of Tanner Murray in the top of the 10th that decided the game. Matt Dyer tied the game with a two out solo homer off AJ Franklin (BS, 1) in the ninth inning. It was Herard Gonzalez who broke the stalemate in the fifth. The switch hitter hit his first homer of the season from the right-hand side, pulling it to the Bojangle's Berm to put Columbia in front 5-4.
KIPP, KIPP HOORAY!: To close out the series against the RiverDogs, Brooks Conrad went to righty reliever Kipp Rollings first out of the pen. The South Carolina-native came in with a runner on first and one out, and induced an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play against the first batter he faced. Rollings would go on to work three more innings in relief, not allowing a run and inducing one more double play. The key to the reliever's success was pushing soft contact from hitters. Rollings forced 7 groundouts and allowed no air outs in his 3.2 innings of relief work. The outing lowered the righty's ERA to 4.73 while in Columbia and provided the longest scoreless inning stretch from the bullpen in the series against Charleston.
CHALLENGING LEAGUE TOP MARKS: Fireflies outfielder Juan Carlos Negret has established himself as an all-or-nothing hitter during the 2021 campaign. The slugger leads the Low-A East League with 22 homers, which is the most in a single season in Fireflies history. He trails just Dash Winningham, who hit 25 homers between the 2016 and 2017 campaigns for the most all-time homers in Fireflies history. Negret has also done an excellent job at producing RBI this season. Despite having a sub-.200 batting average, Negret has driven in 74 RBI, which is good for the second-best in the league in the 2021 campaign. He only trails Charleston's Diego Infante, who has sent home 77 RBI for the RiverDogs this season.
OUCH TOWN AT SEGRA PARK: Last series didn't exactly go the Fireflies way. Columbia has been outscored 8-1, 19-10, 15-2, 11-1, 7-4 and 7-6 in the six games against the RiverDogs. In each of the middle two ballgames, Columbia trailed 14-0 before scoring their first run against Charleston. All-in-all it's been a tough effort for Columbia, who has nine errors in the series to pair with an 7.85 ERA. Despite one 10-run performance, the bats aren't doing well either. The Fireflies are 37-194 this series (.191). Saturday, they went 1-5 with runners in scoring position to bring their series total to 5-30 (.167). Heading into the weekend, the Fireflies had been outscored 53-14.
GOOD START FROM GUERRERO: Starting pitchers have been abused by the RiverDogs in this series, but in his Low-A East debut, Tyson Guerrero was able to work through 2.2 scoreless innings. While Columbia wasn't able to win the game, the start was enough to allow the Fireflies to jump out to a 3-0 lead, which amounted to their first lead of the series.
Carolina League Stories from September 7, 2021
- Myrtle Beach Grand Slam Proves Too Much to Overcome in 8-6 Loss - Charleston RiverDogs
- Pelicans Hang on to Win Series Opener over Charleston - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- 'Birds Rue Missed Chances in Loss to FredNats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Wood Ducks Run Away with 12-Run Win over Carolina - Down East Wood Ducks
- FredNats Snap Skid with Ninth-Inning Rally - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Jackets Jolted by Carter Grand Slam, Win 7-1 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Fireflies Avoid No-No with 7th Inning Single - Columbia Fireflies
- Kirian, Lara, Williams Join FredNats; Chu Promoted - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Down East Wood Ducks Roster Move & Game Notes - at Carolina - Down East Wood Ducks
- Columbia Fireflies: Game Notes at Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
- 2021 Dugout Theater Movie Experience Announced - Augusta GreenJackets
- Cannon Baller Chronicle: Week 18 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Woodpeckers Transform Ballpark to 'The Links at Segra Stadium' - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Infielder Eduardo García Added to Carolina - Carolina Mudcats
- Nick Krauth Earns Second-Straight Low-A East Pitcher of the Week - Down East Wood Ducks
- Salem Sweeps Saturday's Doubleheader to Win Six Straight for the First Time in 2021 - Salem Red Sox
- Salem Rings in September with First Sweep of the Season - Salem Red Sox
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