Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Charleston
June 8, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies begin a six-game series with the Charleston RiverDogs tonight at 7:05 pm at Joseph P. Riley Ballpark. Southpaw Rylan Kaufman (1-1, 6.60) climbs the hill for Columbia, while Charleston counters with lefty Jose Lopez (2-2, 7.45 ERA).
---
FIREFLIES SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER TO GUARANTEE SERIES SPLIT: Game 1: For a second consecutive game, the Columbia Fireflies were shutout, this time 4-0 in seven innings. They lost their previous game 1-0 to Myrtle Beach. The last time Columbia was one-hit in back-to-back games was August 26-27, 2018 when the Fireflies lost 9-0 to Asheville and 4-0 to Charleston. Columbia was almost the first opponent that Myrtle Beach had ever no-hit. Although the road team drew five walks, it took until the final inning for Felix Familia to lace a double to left to put Columbia on the board with their first knock. Matt Stil (L, 2-1) got the loss after giving up three runs to Myrtle Beach in the first and an extra in the third to give the Pelicans a 4-0 lead halfway through the first game. Gabriel Jaramillo (W, 1-0) tossed two hitless innings of relief to earn the win after Sam Thoreson started the game with four hitless innings and six strikeouts. Game 2: After not scoring in back-to-back games spanning three days, the Fireflies jumped out quickly in the second game of the twin bill. Herard Gonzalez and Darryl Collins jumped out of the gate with back-to-back base knocks to start the game before Maikel Garcia popped a sacrifice fly to center to plate Gonzalez. Later, Omar Hernandez slapped one up the middle to score Collins and put Columbia in front 2-0 before Myrtle Beach could step up to the dish. The Pelicans countered with a pair in the bottom of the first to tie the game, but the Fireflies bats supported Ben Hernandez in the third when Juan Carlos Negret gapped a double to left to score Maikel Garcia and then Omar Hernandez legged out a three-bagger to plate Negret and push the Fireflies in front 4-2. Ben Hernandez cruised through the remainder of the first four innings to protect the lead before handing the ball to Walter Pennington (W, 2-1). The southpaw worked two scoreless innings to set-up a 5-2 game heading to the bottom of the seventh when Nathan Webb (S, 2) slammed the door shut for Columbia.
MAGIC NUMBER: The offense has come in spurts for the Columbia Fireflies in 2021, but the magic number for the team is four. When the Fireflies score four runs in a game, they are 18-2 this season. When Columbia scores three or less in a game, they are 0-9.
SCHMIDT'S STRIKEOUTS: Matt Schnmidt is going through a tough stretch at the plate, the first baseman is in an 0-21 skid and has 11 strikeouts in his last 11 at-bats dating back to May 29 vs Augusta.
EVERYONE WANTS TO BE APART OF A TURNAROUND: After giving up a run in two innings of relief work at Augusta May 8, it looked like righty Nathan Webb would have another season similar to his previous four years in Minor League Baseball. The Missouri-native has a 5.86 career ERA. Since then, the righty has spun nine scoreless innings and has fanned 19 batters while allowing only three hit. His opposing batting average has dropped from .231 to .159 and his season WHIP is now an incredible 1.00.
PARITY OF DIVISION: Just .207 separates the first place Columbia Fireflies and the last place Augusta GreenJackets winning percentage this season. Through the first 29 contests, that represents six games. While that may seem like a lot, in the North division, Fredericksburg trails leader Delmarva by 13.5 games and in the Central Division, Kannapolis trails first-place Carolina by 14 games. The Fireflies are 5-1 when they play games outside of the division this season and 13-10 in the South Division.
Carolina League Stories from June 8, 2021
- RiverDogs Hold Columbia to Two Hits in 3-1 Series-Opening Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Red Sox Rally in Seventh to Top FredNats - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Gray Triples Twice as Mudcats Take Opener 8-3 in Kannapolis - Carolina Mudcats
- Missed Opportunities Hurt Kannapolis in 8-3 Loss to Mudcats - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Gomez, Reina, and Melendez Shutout Down East in Series Opener - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Columbia Offense Stifled in 3-1 Series Opening Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Down East Shutout by Fayetteville - Down East Wood Ducks
- 'Birds Mow Down 'Cats to Open Series - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Tuesday Night Postponed, Doubleheader on Thursday, June 10th - Augusta GreenJackets
- Vines Takes Home Low-A East Pitcher of the Week - Augusta GreenJackets
- Bullock Promoted to Wisconsin; Warren Activated from IL - Carolina Mudcats
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes 06/08 at Fayetteville - Down East Wood Ducks
- Cannon Baller Chronicle: Week FiveÃâà- Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Charleston - 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.
