Columbia Fireflies Game Notes June 15 vs Carolina
June 15, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies continue their series with the Carolina Mudcats at 12:05 pm at Segra Park. RHP Ben Kudrna (0-2, 0.66 ERA) toes the rubber for the Fireflies and Carolina counters with RHP Israel Puello (3-6, 6.53 ERA).
Today, the Fireflies will host a business day special at Segra Park. If fans order tickets prior to 9 am, they can buy two Palmetto Citizens FCU All-Star tickets, get two hot dogs and their choice of two 24 oz fountain sodas or two 16 oz draft domestic beers all for $24. It's also a Whiteclaw Wednesday. All 16 oz cans of Whiteclaw are available for just $5. Tickets are still available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FOUR-RUN EIGHTH THE DIFFERENCE IN 7-3 WIN: The Columbia Fireflies were able to charge ahead, scoring four runs in the eighth to upset the Carolina Mudcats 7-3 at Segra Park Tuesday evening. Carter Jensen sparked the rally in the eighth. After drilling a two out single up the middle and moving to second on a Gary Camarillo walk, Columbia's (17-41) backstop tried to steal third. A fielding error on the throw down from third baseman Jheremy Vargas didn't allow the ball to leave the infield. Despite that, Jensen charged home and was able to score without a throw to give Columbia a 4-3 lead. After that, the flood gates opened. Erick Peña drew a walk and then Dayton Dooney flew a triple to the center field wall to score Camarillo and Peña. The icing on the cake was Dooney scoring on a Michele Vassalotti wild pitch to put the Fireflies in front 7-3. Then Marlin Willis (W, 1-1) closed out the night, spinning three, one-hit frames, allowing a single hit and fanning a trio of Mudcats (30-28).
DUCKS AREN'T IN A ROW: After yesterday's 7-3 victory over the Carolina Mudcats,The Fireflies won back-to-back games for the first time since they beat Charleston April 12 and 13 at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark for the fourth and fifth games of the season. The streak lasted 54 games. Today, Columbia has a chance to win three consecutive games for the first time this year.
JENSEN'S CATCHING ON: Columbia's catcher did more than just have a walk-off single against the Augusta GreenJackets. In five games last week, Jensen had six hits in 18 tries, four of which were four extra bases (two doubles and two homers). The Kansas City native slashed .333/.429/.778 during the week and only struck out twice while also drawing a pair of walks. Columbia's backstop kept it going in the opener vs Carolina, delivering a 1-for-4 effort and scoring the game-winning run on an error.
WILY WILLIS: In his 37th appearance in the neon and navy, Marlin Willis earned his first win. He is now 1-2 in his career with the Fireflies across 60.2 innings of work. In his second season in the Soda City, the southpaw has a 4.07 ERA in 14 appearances, fanning 33 in 24.1 innings and holding opponents to a .189 average. Columbia's reliever has been on a tear since the end of April though. After recording an 8.53 ERA in the first month of the season, Willis continues to perform better as time passes. He went 0-1 with a 2.92 ERA in six games spanning 12.1 innings in May and is 1-0 in his first four games of June with a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings.
K IS FOR KUDRNA: Today's starting pitcher hasn't been phased by the jump to full-season bsaeball early on. After allowing a single run in his debut across 3.2 innings, the Kansas native has tallied three more starts. He spun a four inning scoreless outing at Lynchburg and a three inning scoreless outing at Salem before returning home to Columbia. In his most recent start, Kudrna allowed a pair of unearned runs in three innings before being lifted. That means that Kudrna has not allowed an earned run in his last 10 innings of work. In that time, the righty has struck out 13 opposing hitters while allowing just seven hits.
A HANDFUL OF DUBS: Tuesday night, Heribert Garcia spun five innings in relief of Shane Panzini, earning his team-best fifth win of the season. Columbia's reliever has three wins in his last five relief appearances and has overtaken tonight's starter, Luinder Avila, fort the most wins on the roster this season.
Carolina League Stories from June 15, 2022
- Delmarva Stops Red Sox' Home Win Streak at Nine - Salem Red Sox
- Pelicans Record Second Straight Shutout, Beat Nationals 1-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- 'Birds Snap Four-Game Skid with Wednesday Night Win - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Lara Shines in FredNat Loss to Pelicans - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Quero Homers as Mudcats Drop Fifth Straight - Carolina Mudcats
- Augusta Blanks Charleston with Pitching Clinic - Augusta GreenJackets
- RiverDogs Held off Scoreboard in Quickest Game of Season - Charleston RiverDogs
- Dooney Powers Fireflies over Mudcats in 2-1 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes June 15 vs Carolina - Columbia Fireflies
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