Columbia Fireflies Game Notes July 15 at Down East
July 15, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies continue their series with the Down East Wood Ducks tonight at 7 pm at Grainger Stadium. RHP Ben Kudrna (1-3, 2.25 ERA) takes the bump for Columbia and Down East counters with RHP Josh Stephan (3-2, 3.75 ERA).
Columbia heads home July 22-24 after the All-Star Break for a weekend series. The Fireflies will have a t-shirt giveaway, a fireworks show and will host Night Under the Big Top, bringing the circus lifestyle to Segra Park. Saturday's game caps off with the Fireflies shooting a man out of a cannon on the field prior to a Fireworks show! For tickets, visit FirefliesTickets.com.
----------
TOWN TIES FRANCHISE RECORD IN EXTRAS LOSS: The Fireflies stormed back, scoring four runs to take the lead in the ninth, before falling 5-4 in 10 innings to the Down East Wood Ducks Thursday night at Grainger Stadium. In the first inning, River Town drew a two-out walk in the first frame to extend his on-base streak to 28-games, tying Jeremy Vasquez for the longest streak in franchise history. Vasquez accomplished the feat April 5-May 6, 2018. Town has reached base safely 53 times since his streak began June 9. Another Fireflies (12-6) player who is red-hot is Luinder Avila. The righty spun five innings in his start, allowing only a pair of hits while striking out eight hitters. In Avila's last three starts, dating back to June 25, he has allowed only two earned runs in 17 innings (1.06 ERA) while fanning 15 hitters. After tying the game in the bottom of the ninth and holding Columbia scoreless in the 10th, Alejandro Osuna singled off Shane Connolly (L, 0-2) to score Abimelic Ortiz, who began the inning on second base, to win the game.
MAKING MY WAY DOWN TOWN: Fireflies outfielder River Town is on a roll. When he walked in the first inning of Wednesday's game, Town reached base safely in his 28th-consecutive game, which is the longest active streak in Class-A baseball. He owns the fifth-longest active streak in Minor League Baseball. Colson Montgomery has reached safely in 48 games dating back to April 24 and owns the longest streak. The longest on-base streak in A-ball this season belonged to Denzel Clarke of the Stockton Ports. The outfielder reached safely in 37 games from April 14-June 11. Town is now tied for the longest franchise on-base streak with Jeremy Vasquez who reached safely in 28-consecutive games from April 5-May 6, 2018.
AMAZING AVILA: Righty Luinder Avila is the only qualifying pitcher for the Columbia Fireflies this season. Last week, after working six innings without allowing an earned run and punching out nine GreenJackets hitters, he earned Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors. He continued his hot stretch yesterday, spinning five frames and allowing a single earned run. In Avila's last four starts, dating back to June 25, he has tallied 23 innings while only allowing three earned runs (1.17 ERA). During the run, he has punched out 23 hitters while walking only a pair.
STARTING STUDS: A big reason the Fireflies have had the success they have had in the second half is because the starting pitching has really stepped up their game. In the second half, starters have a 2.74 ERA across 75.2 innings. In the first half, the rotation surrendered a 4.85 ERA in 226 innings at the helm. The bullpen has a 5.97 ERA in the second half so far.
JENSEN'S JULY: No Fireflies hitter has been hotter than Carter Jensen during the month of July. The backstop has 15 hits in his last 37 at-bats, and he has walked an additional 12 times. He is slashing .405/.529/.676 during the 12-game stretch and has amassed four doubles and two homers to help him drive in 10 RBI for Columbia. He has also scored 12 runs in his last 12 games played.
NEW YEAR, NEW ME: The second half of the season started last Thursday, which reset each team's record to 0-0. The Fireflies finished the first half (66 games) 28 games back of Myrtle Beach, who had the best record in Minor League Baseball. After starting the second-half 12-6, the Fireflies are tied with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for first place and possess a magic number of 48 to clinch the first playoff berth in franchise history.
Carolina League Stories from July 15, 2022
- Augusta and Fredericksburg Split Friday's Doubleheader - Augusta GreenJackets
- 'Birds Ride Five-Run Second, Quality Start from Ryan Long, to 6-2 Win over Mudcats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Pelicans Shut Out Woodpeckers for Second Straight Win - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Fredericksburg and Augusta Split Friday Doubleheader - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Hillcats Take Third Straight over Charleston - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Town Sets Franchise Mark in Kinston - Columbia Fireflies
- Dogs Stumble 6-2, Suffer Third Straight Loss in Lynchburg - Charleston RiverDogs
- INF Alberis Ferrer Reinstated from Carolina IL - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes July 15 at Down East - Columbia Fireflies
- Bullpen, Paulino Help Win Low Scoring Affair - Salem Red Sox
- Avocados Walk-Off with a Win - Down East Wood Ducks
- Gallardo Fans 13, Pelicans Beat Woodpeckers 11-4 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Micro Brews Win 7-6 on Walk-Off Sac Fly - Carolina Mudcats
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.
