Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston June 24
June 24, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies kick-off the second half of the season tonight at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Shane Panzini (0-1, 3.52 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia and RHP Christian Fernandez (5-1, 2.64 ERA) goes for the RiverDogs.
Independence Day is right around the corner! Have a blast at Segra Park the whole weekend with two of the largest fireworks displays in the history of Segra Park being blasted off! We'll start the weekend with Fireworks with the Phil, presented by Prisma Health July 2 and we'll keep the party going as the Fireflies take on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans July 4. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES GIVE UP THREE IN THE NINTH IN WALK-OFF LOSS: After holding Charleston in check for the first eight inning, the Fireflies finally succumbed to the RiverDogs, giving up three runs with two outs in the ninth, as they fell in the first-half finale 3-2 Thursday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Luis Barroso (BS, 2; L 1-3) only threw one pitch. It ended up leading to a walk-off two-run blast from Luis Leon that just cleared the right field fence. It scored inherited runner Shane Sasaki, who extended the inning with a two out single that scored Bobby Seymour, cutting the Fireflies' lead to 2-1 at the time. Fireflies (18-48) starter Ben Hernandez was on a mission Thursday night. The righty spun five scoreless frames, fanning seven batters without walking any RiverDogs. His excellent start translated through to the bullpen, as Tim Holdgrafer (H, 1) retired the first eight batters he faced before being pulled with two outs in the ninth.
NEW YEAR, NEW ME: The second half of the season starts today, which in the Carolina League means that each team 's record resets for the remainder of the year. The Fireflies finished the first half (66 games) 28 games back of Myrtle Beach, who had the best record in Minor League Baseball. As it currently stands though, the Fireflies are in a six-way tie for first place prior to their game with the RiverDogs at 7:05 pm at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.
AT THE BUZZER: Two Fireflies hitters have been going back-and-forth for the homer and runs batted in lead for Columbia, and after game two of yesterday's doubleheader, both Carter Jensen and River Town are tied atop the leaderboard again with eight homers. In Sunday's game, Town drove home two RBI, giving him the current edge with 25 RBI to Jensen's 24.
SINGING THE BLUES: The Fireflies have struggled in their navy jerseys this season, owning a 4-19 record when they don the blues through the first 65 games of the 2022 campaign.
THE FOURTH WARNING SIGN: The Fireflies are struggling in the fourth inning of games across the 2022 season. After being outscored by the RiverDogs 5-0 Tuesday night, they are being outscored 70-22 in the fourth inning of games this season.
POSTING NEGATIVE SPLITS: The Fireflies have had trouble throughout this season, as they are 27 games behind the first-place Pelicans 64 games throughout the season. Columbia has gotten worse as the season has progressed though. In April, Columbia went 7-13, in May, the team went 7-19 and through the first 19 games of June, they are 4-15. Those are winning percentages of .368 in April, .269 in May and .211 in June.
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.
Carolina League Stories from June 24, 2022
- Palma's Go-Ahead Blast Leads Woodpeckers to Win over GreenJackets - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Spikes' Two Home Runs Not Enough; RiverDogs Lose to Fireflies 7-4 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Birds Start Second Half with 10-4 Victory over Cannon Ballers - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Mudcats Drop Fourth Straight at Down East - Carolina Mudcats
- Kjerstad Hits First Career Homer; 'Birds' Late Rally Falls Just Short in Loss to Hillcats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- FredNats Bounce Back With 9-5 Win vs. Red Sox - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Pair of Unearned Runs Haunt Augusta in Defeat - Augusta GreenJackets
- Columbia Starts the Second Half Off on the Right Foot - Columbia Fireflies
- White Sox Promote No. 1 Prospect Colson Montgomery from Cannon Ballers - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston June 24 - Columbia Fireflies
- Abimelec Ortiz Walks It Off - Down East Wood Ducks
- Become the Top Karaoke Singer in the Midlands Today - Columbia Fireflies
- Ballers Drop Wild Extra Innings Showdown Thursday Night with Myrtle Beach 8-7 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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