Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Fayetteville 8.3
August 3, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Segra Stadium at 7:05 pm tonight. RHP Felix Arronde (4-6, 3.40 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Fayetteville counters with RHP Juan Nunez (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
Columbia returns home August 6 for a six-game set with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers highlighted by Nickelodeon's PAW Patrol Night Saturday, August 10 and Cane's Night presented by Nucor Friday, August 9 with a Carolina Hurricane's replica jersey giveaway. Buy your tickets now at ColumbiaFireflies.com.
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ROLLERCOASTER GAME ENDS IN 8-7 WALK-OFF LOSS: The Fireflies and Woodpeckers feasted on starting pitching, scoring 13 runs in the first three innings before each team scoring one run in the final six frames resulted in an 8-7 Fireflies' loss to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Friday night at Segra Stadium. Columbia's bullpen hunkered down after Veliz left the game. Ismael Michel worked three scoreless innings to allow Columbia to tie the game 7-7. Next, Doug Kirkland worked a pair of scoreless innings before Elvis Novas (L, 0-2) entered. Novas navigated a scoreless eighth inning, but allowed three-consecutive hits to start off the bottom of the ninth, including a Waner Luciano double that scored Aleberto Hernandez to win the game 8-7 for the Woodpeckers.
BULLPEN MANIA: The Fireflies bullpen has been the highlight of the team all season. After six innings of one-run baseball Friday, Columbia's bullpen now has a 3.03 ERA this season, which is good for the third-best mark in all of full-season baseball. It trails the Midland Rockhounds (3.01 ERA) and the Harrisburg Senators (2.77 ERA). One arm the Fireflies may miss is righty Jarold Rosado. He had a 1.85 ERA across nearly 40 innings and was traded for Paul DeJong at the trade deadline.
TUMULTUOUS TORRES: Erick Torres has had a week to remember, beginning with a walk-off double Saturday to score Diego Guzman in the 11th to beat Lynchburg. The Fireflies center fielder has kept the ball rolling on the road vs Fayetteville. After a 1-2 outing with a homer and two walks Friday, Torres has collected hits in seven-consecutive games. It's the fourth time this season that Torres has had a hitting streak of at-least six games. This one began July 26 and he is 8-28 (.286) on the run with two homers and five RBI. It's tied for the second-longest hitting streak in the Carolina League, trailing Kannapolis's Ryan Burrowes, who is riding an 11-game hitting streak.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: Last night Fayetteville and Columbia combined to score 13 runs in the first three innings of their game. The game ended in an 8-7 loss and is the first time that there were at least a combined 15 runs in a Fireflies game since they beat the Charleston RiverDogs 11-6 July 11.
FIGUEROA FIGURING IT OUT: Derlin Figueroa mashed out of the gates this year, hitting .274 with six homers and 30 RBI in his first 45 games in April and May. Then, from June 1-July 25, the super utility player hit .163 with two homers and nine RBI. It appears he's snapping out of his funk though. Figueroa has an extra-base hit in four-consecutive games as the calendar turns to the month of August.
THIS IS 45: Wednesday night, Austin Charles drove in an RBI, giving him 47 on the young season. In 2023 only one Fireflies hitter finished the season with 45 or more RBI: Brett Squires, who had 69 RBI. The Fireflies single-season RBI record belongs to Juan Carlos Negret, who drove in 76 runs in a shortened 2021 season thanks in part to a franchise record 23 homers in a single season.
BUYING HANSELL STOCK: Josh Hansell had an up and down start to his Fireflies' tenure, but the 6'6" righty has rounded into form the last few weeks. In Thursday's game, he worked three scoreless frames while allowing only one hit. That means over his last five appearances, Hansell has allowed only two earned runs over 17.1 innings (1.04 ERA).
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- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Fayetteville 8.3 - Columbia Fireflies
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