Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Augusta
Published on June 18, 2021 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies continue their six-game series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at 7:05 pm at Segra Park. RHP Ben Hernandez (0-2, 5.01 ERA) gets the start for Columbia and Augusta counters with righty Jared Johnson (0-1, 10.13 ERA).
Tonight the Fireflies will be giving away a Fun-For-All t-shirt to the first 1,000 fans through the gates, which open at 6 pm. Segra Park will also host their second series of vaccination administration in conjunction with Prisma Health tonight beginning at 6 pm at the Crescent Patio. Fans can receive their first or second dose, and fans who get vaccinated will receive a free Columbia Fireflies hat. Those who receive their first dose will also receive vouchers to attend a game on July 18-19 to receive their second vaccination.
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FOUR-RUN THIRD LEADS COLUMBIA TO VICTORY: The Fireflies utilized a four-run third inning where 10 Columbia hitters stepped up to the plate to beat the Augusta GreenJackets 5-4 Thursday evening at Segra Park. The Fireflies (21-15) broke through in the third inning. Tyler Tolbert led off the frame with a two-bagger that set the tone for 10 Columbia batters to step up to the dish. Next, Felix Familia was hit by a pitch to put two aboard with no outs for Gage Hughes, who was in his first plate appearance as a Fireflies hitter. Hughes pushed a bunt back to the mound and GreenJackets (18-21) starter Tanner Gordon (L, 0-2). The righty launched the ball wide of first and Tolbert and Familia scampered home to put Columbia in front 2-1. The party didn't stop there. Diego Hernandez lifted a single to left to plate Hughes and advanced into scoring position with his eighth stolen bag of the season. That brought Darryl Collins to the plate where the outfield laced an RBI single to left. The hit was the first of three in the game for the lefty. Collins now has eight multi-hit games this season.The outfielder came to the plate again in the fifth and launched his third homer of the season over the right field wall to give Columbia a 5-1 lead.
CLOSE SHAVE: After last night's 5-4 win vs Augusta, the Fireflies now have a 4-3 record in one-run games this season. They have won two of the three games in this current series by a single score.
HERO HERARD: When infielder Herard Gonzalez blasted a three-run homer in the ninth last night, he became the second Fireflies hitter to homer in back-to-back games in 2021, following Jake Means, who accomplished the task May 27-28. The switch hitter is hitting .295 with three blasts against righties this season, compared to .059 against lefties.
COLLINS CAPABILITY: Outfielder Darryl Collins went 3-4 at the plate last night, to record his eighth multi-hit game this season. That's the second-highest total on the Fireflies roster, as Maikel Garcia has tallied 11 such games in 2021. After the contest, Collins now has the highest batting average of any player on the active roster, a .305 mark. The lefty also hit his third homer this season to right field. In 10 games where the Netherland's-native hits third in the Fireflies lineup this year he has compiled a .381/.435/.595 slash line with two of his three homers and 12 of his 16 RBI. His OPS when batting third is 1.030.
KAUFMAN TURNS KORNER: After giving up eight runs without recording an out in his first start in Augusta May 8, Rylan Kaufman has been electric. In six outings, four of which have been starts, the southpaw has worked 23.2 innings and has allowed three runs. During that time, the Texas-native has punched out 30 batters while allowing only 13 hits in that span. The stretch included a 9.2 inning scoreless streak from May 20-June 8 where Kaufman wrung up 13 hitters.
EVERYONE WANTS TO BE APART OF A TURNAROUND: After giving up a run in two innings of relief work at Augusta May 8, it looked like righty Nathan Webb would have another season similar to his previous four years in Minor League Baseball. The Missouri-native has a 5.86 career ERA. Since then, the righty has spun 10 scoreless innings and has fanned 20 batters while allowing only three hits. His opposing batting average has dropped from .231 to .149 and his season WHIP is now an incredible 0.93.
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