Columbia Fireflies Game Notes May 1 vs Myrtle Beach
May 1, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies close out their series at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Stadium at 6:05 pm tonight. RHP Matt Stil (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his first start of the 2022 campaign. Myrtle Beach sends RHP Walker Powell (3-0, 3.46 ERA) to the hill for the finale.
Columbia returns home to face the Delmarva Shorebirds for the first time since 2019 from May 3-8. The homestand includes some exciting promotions, including a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday, Budweiser Thirsty Thursday, Fireflies Games Night and a Star Wars themed fireworks show. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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BATS STIFLED IN 9-1 LOSS AT MYRTLE BEACH: The Columbia Fireflies bats were held in check for a second-consecutive evening in an 8-1 loss vs the Pelicans at TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Stadium Saturday evening The Fireflies (7-13) lone run came in the top of the seventh inning. Enrique Valdez doubled off the center field wall to score Guillermo Quintana and give Columbia a chunk of momentum, cutting the Pelicans lead to 6-1. A big part of Myrtle Beach's lead was the success of starting pitcher Luis Devers (W, 1-2). Devers went five innings, allowing only a pair of hits from Columbia's bats. Ben Hernandez (L, 0-1) struggled in his third start since last Tuesday. The righty worked a season-low 3.1 innings and allowed five runs (three earned) in the stretch. BJ Murray homered in the second to start the scoring, but Myrtle Beach added a pair in the third, and one in the fourth before the Chicago-native would leave the game.
TAKE MY HORSE TO THE OLD TOWN ROAD: Fireflies outfielder River Town has been on a tear the last two weeks. He joined catcher Carter Jensen as the two Fireflies who have homered in back-to-back games Thursday. He also became the first Fireflies player to have four hits in a game since Kale Emshoff, who did so July 31, 2021. Over the course of last series, Town was 9-15 (.600) with four doubles and three homers. He has scored seven runs and driven in five RBI in the four games he has played. That play was good enough for Town to be named the Carolina League Player of the Week. He's the first Fireflies player since Juan Carlos Negret to win a Player of the Week Award. Prior to this week, the Louisiana native was 0-12 in four games played. After Friday's contest, Town has scored a run in five consecutive games.
ROTATIONAL SHUFFLE: The Fireflies have shuffled their bullpen and rotation for this series. Samuel Valerio, Rylan Kaufman and Matt Stil are all making their first starts of the season this week in Myrtle Beach. Both Kaufman and Stil started in the majority of the games they pitched last season with the Fireflies. Wander Arias made his first appearance out of the bullpen Friday night and both Patrick Halligan and Chase Wallace have been promoted from the pitchign staff since the series vs Down East.
TEAM CLANK: Last night the Fireflies committed four errors at TicketReturn.com Field. Columbia leads Minor League Baseball with 43 errors in their first 20 games. The next closest teams is the Delmarva Shorebirds, who have committed 37 errors so far this season. Columbia also has the lowest fielding percentage in baseball, a mark of .942. Delmarva has the next lowest, a .947 clip.
SOMEBODY SAVE ME: Last night, Luis Barroso converted the first save opportunity of the season for the Columbia Fireflies. Barroso has also pitched the 10th inning in both extra innings games the Fireflies have been in this season.
CRAFTY CERANTOLA: Last night, the Fireflies starter, Eric Cerantola, continued his hot stretch, notching eight innings and 14 strikeouts while allowing just a pair of runs to score in his last two outings. The righty has seen his ERA decline from 10.80 to 4.76 during the stretch.
HOME COOKING: The Fireflies return home Tuesday to start a six-game series with the Delmarva Shorebirds.
Carolina League Stories from May 1, 2022
- Pelicans Throw Combined No-Hitter against Fireflies, Win 8-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- De La Rosa Goes Deep as FredNats Split with Charleston - Fredericksburg Nationals
- RiverDogs Close Two-Week Road Trip with 5-3 Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Mudcats Win in Extras - Down East Wood Ducks
- Garcia Leads Late Comeback in 6-4 Victory in Extras - Carolina Mudcats
- Augusta Takes Five of Six against Delmarva - Augusta GreenJackets
- Hillcats Drop Series Finale - Lynchburg Hillcats
- 'Birds Rally Falls Just Short in Ninth in 7-5 Loss to 'Jackets - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Augusta Secures Series Win Versus Delmarva - Augusta GreenJackets
- Big Second Inning Propels Augusta - Augusta GreenJackets
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes May 1 vs Myrtle Beach - Columbia Fireflies
- Benches Clear Once Again in Kinston - Down East Wood Ducks
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