Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Myrtle Beach
August 29, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies close out their series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at 6:05 pm at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Stadium. RHP Heribert Garcia (0-1, 3.18 ERA) gets the nod for the Fireflies and Myrtle Beach counters with righty Daniel Palencia (0-2, 6.12 ERA).
The Fireflies return home to Segra Park for a six-game homestand with the Charleston RiverDogs August 31. It all starts with a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday where hot dogs, popcorn, fountain soda and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite are all only $2. You can purchase tickets at FirefliesTickets.com.
---
COLUMBIA DROPS 6-2 CONTEST ON THE COAST SATURDAY: The Columbia Fireflies fell 6-2 behind a pair of three-run innings to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans Saturday evening at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Stadium.Both teams received great starts from their pitching staffs. The Pelicans sent DJ Herz (W, 3-4) to the bump and he responded allowing just one run in 5.1 innings. On the other hand, after three scoreless frames, Fireflies starter Luinder Avila (L, 2-1) couldn't make it out of the fourth. He left the game having allowed one run, but left the bases loaded. Caden Monke entered the game and walked a pair of batters that were charged to Avila, who lost his first game in the Low-A East and allowed his first earned run to score in his third start. After the Pelicans (51-50) gained that three-run lead, the Fireflies battled back as Diego Hernandez scored in the top of the sixth from a Darryl Collins base knock. The next batter, Juan Carlos Negret drew a walk, but the Fireflies (46-55) left the tying run on the basepaths.
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 21 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 68 RBI, which is good for the second most in the league in the 2021 campaign. He trails only Charleston's Diego Infante, who has sent home 69 RBI for the 67-29 RiverDogs this season.
HEROIC HERNANDEZ: Diego Hernandez has started three games this series and played in four. In that time, he is 4-13 with a triple, two stolen bases and his first homer of the season. The outfielder has also scored five runs and driven in four. He has a 1.092 OPS in what has been his best series of the season so far.
WILY WALLACE: Righty reliever Chase Wallace has turned around his season in the month of August. After recording a season-worst 10.24 ERA throughout 9.2 innings in July, the Tennessee-native has already worked 12 innings in August and has allowed only a pair of earned runs. Limiting opponents to a .196 average, Wallace has maintained a 1.50 ERA in the month of August.
HEY, IT'S FRANKLIN: A.J. Franklin spun three scoreless frames Friday, bringing his tally to 8.2 scoreless innings while donning a Fireflies uniform. It hasn't always been clean for the Vanderbilt-product, who has a 1.50 WHIP with the Fireflies so far. He has walked 10 batters and allowed three hits in his four outings with Columbia, but he has been able to work around trouble to keep runs from scoring in each of his outings so far. Franklin's four consecutive games without allowing a run are the most in his career.
SUNDAY SCARIES: The Columbia Fireflies are 5-8 on Sundays this season. The .385 winning percentage is by far the worst mark for the Fireflies on any day of the week. Columbia is actually above .500 on Tuesdays and Thursdays this season. The team holds a 7-6 record on Tuesdays and a 10-8 record on Thursdays this season. Columbia would have to win each of their remaining Sunday games to finish the year with a .500 record to start the week.
Carolina League Stories from August 29, 2021
- Walks Haunt Pelicans Pitchers, Fireflies Take Series Finale - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Mudcats Snap Losing Streak with 3-1 Finale Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- FredNats' Streak Squashed in Loss to Mudcats - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Fireflies Blow out Pelicans 13-4 in Finale - Columbia Fireflies
- RiverDogs Claim South Division Title with 8-5 Win over Augusta - Charleston RiverDogs
- RiverDogs Romp in Series Finale Win over Jackets - Augusta GreenJackets
- 'Birds Split Series with Red Sox - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Wood Ducks Fall in Finale with Fayetteville - Down East Wood Ducks
- Jhoan Cruz Returns from IL; Juan Geraldo Placed on IL - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
- Ballers Come up Short to Hillcats Saturday Night 6-1 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Saturday's Back and Forth Contest Falls in the Hands of Delmarva - Salem Red Sox
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes - vs. Fayetteville - Down East Wood Ducks
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.
