Columbia Fireflies Game Notes July 16 vs Down East
July 16, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies kick-off their weekend in Kinston, at Grainger Stadium with a 5 pm contest with the Down East Wood Ducks. LHP Frank Mozzicato (0-3, 5.52 ERA) takes the bump for Columbia and Down East counters with southpaw Mitch Bratt (3-2, 1.84 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.
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TOWN SETS FRANCHISE MARK IN KINSTON: River Town set a Fireflies franchise record Friday night, but it wasn't enough to propel the Fireflies to victory, as they fell 6-3 to the Down East Wood Ducks at Grainger Stadium. It didn't take long for outfielder River Town to extend his on-base streak to a franchise-record 29 games. The Louisiana native singled up the middle in the first inning to pass Jeremy Vasquez for the longest streak the Fireflies have had. Vasquez's stretch ran 28 games from April 5-May 6, 2018. The next inning, Columbia (12-7) jumped in front behind solo homers from Enrique Valdez and Kyle Hayes. The lead didn't last long though, as Down East (11-7) countered with three runs off starter Ben Kudrna (L, 1-4) in the home half of the second.
MAKING MY WAY DOWN TOWN: Fireflies outfielder River Town is on a roll. When he singled in the first inning of Wednesday's game, Town reached base safely in his 29th-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 now owns the Fireflies franchise record on-base streak. He passed Jeremy Vasquez who had a 28-game mark in 2018.
HEADING TO THE BREAK: This year, Major League Baseball has synced their All-Star break with each Minor Leagues' breaks. As a result, Fireflies fans will be able to watch former Fireflies shortstop Andres Gimenez play in the All-Star game. Gimenez is the first former Fireflies player to earn the honor. In 78 games this season, the 23-year-old is hitting .299 with a career-high 10 homers in his third year in the big league circuit. Gimenez was traded from the Mets to the Guardians for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco in 2021. Coming up, the Venezuelan was a top-100 prospect and finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year voting in the 2020 campaign.
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.
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 40 at-bats, and he has walked an additional 12 times. He is slashing .375/.509/.625 during the 13-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 13 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 12-7, the Fireflies are tied with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers for first place and possess a magic number of 47 to clinch the first playoff berth in franchise history.
Carolina League Stories from July 16, 2022
- Pelicans Strike out 19, Beat Woodpeckers 7-2 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Hillcats Fall to RiverDogs - Lynchburg Hillcats
- RiverDogs Hold on for 6-3 Win to Snap Skid - Charleston RiverDogs
- Los Pescados Rally for Six in the Eighth in 10-2 Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- Augusta Secures Series Win against Fredericksburg - Augusta GreenJackets
- Augusta Takes Down Fredericksburg on Saturday Night - Fredericksburg Nationals
- 'Birds See Close Game Slip Away Late in 10-2 Loss to Mudcats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Fireflies Drop Third Straight to Down East - Columbia Fireflies
- Villarroel's Big Night Boosts Avocados - Down East Wood Ducks
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes July 16 vs Down East - Columbia Fireflies
- Mudcats Unable to Overcome Early Deficit in 6-2 Loss - Carolina Mudcats
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