Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston
May 14, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Charleston RiverDogs tonight at 7:05 pm at Segra Park. The gates will open at 5:30 and fans who attend the game will receive a free 2021 Magnet Schedule. The Fireflies will toss LHP Emilio Marquez (0-0, 3.60 ERA) and Charleston will go with RHP Seth Johnson (0-1, 3.00 ERA).
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FIREFLIES BATS SILENCED IN 2-0 LOSS TO CHARLESTON: The Columbia Fireflies bats were shutout for the second time this season in a 2-0 loss to the Charleston RiverDogs (5-4)Thursday night at Segra Park. The scoring started quickly for Charleston, the second batter of the game, Johann Lopez, drew a walk and two hitters later. Heriberto Hernandez hit a double in the right-center alley to score Lopez from first. In the sixth, it was Hernandez who drew the walk and came around to score. He advanced to second on a balk from Christian Cosby, who offered three, one-run innings in relief for the Fireflies (5-4) and then scored off a base-knock for Diego Infante that put Charleston up 2-0. The Fireflies bats mustered just five hits, but the pitching staff was on a roll throughout the game. The pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts, including five from Nathan Webb, who worked the final pair of frames.
BULLISH ON OUR PEN: The Fireflies pitching staff has a 4.22 ERA as a whole, which is good for the seventh lowest in the Low-A East League. The bullpen has been shouldering the load and executing perfectly though. Columbia's relievers have worked 48 of the 74.2 innings the pitching staff has put together in 2021. They've rocked a 2.44 ERA, which would be the second-best team mark in the league. Down East paces the league with a 2.42 ERA. The Fireflies bullpen has also notched 73 strikeouts in 48 innings.
I THINK WE'RE CATCHING ON: Columbia has primarily utilized two catchers this season so far, Kale Emshoff and Omar Hernandez. Through the first nine games, the two have had vastly different fortune handling the pitching staff. With Emshoff behind the dish, Columbia is 3-1 and pitchers have a 2.12 ERA in 34 innings, meanwhile, when Hernandez lines up 60'6" away from the arms on the bump, the team is 1-3 and has spun an 6.54 ERA through 22.2 innings.
NO NEGRETS HERE: After starting the season 0-17 with 10 strikeouts, outfielder Juan Carlos Negret broke out in a big way Wednesday night. The outfielder smacked two three-run homers, one in the third frame, the other in the eighth. The two homers were the first for a Fireflies hitter since Matt Winaker and Jose Brizuela both had a pair of blasts August 5, 2018 at Asheville. The slugger's six RBI on the evening also matched a club single-game record, which was set by catcher Scott Manea July 2, 2018.
FEAST OR FAMINE IN 2021: The Fireflies bats have been rather inconsistent this season through the first nine games. They have notched more than nine runs three times this season, scoring 12 a pair of times, but have also scratched the scorecard two times or less four times through the first week-and-a-half of the season.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Not only has the offense been inconsistent, but they have consistently started games slow. Thus far, the Fireflies have been outscored 16-1 in the first frame this year. The second inning has been similar, with the opposing team outscoring the Fireflies 4-1. Columbia's best inning in terms of run-differential is the fifth where they outscore their opponents 10-2 in the first nine games. The offense and pitching staff is on the same page last in games though. The Fireflies have outscored their opponents 11-2 in the 7-9 innings this year.
Carolina League Stories from May 14, 2021
- FredNats' Bats Quiet as Winless Streak Reaches Ten - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Early Outburst Helps Columbia Take Down RiverDogs 9-4 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Five-Run First Pushes Fireflies to 9-4 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Bullock Racks up Career High 12 Ks in 8-2 Carolina Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- Shorebirds Capture Fourth Straight Win - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Wood Ducks Score Two in the Eighth But Deficit Too Big to Overcome - Down East Wood Ducks
- FredNats Add De La Rosa, Peña, Emiliani to Roster - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- Jhonkensy Noel Named Low-A East Player of the Week - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Another Eighth Inning Rally Makes It Two-Straight Wins for the Pelicans - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Big Eighth-Inning Lifts Pelicans Past Jackets Again - Augusta GreenJackets
- FredNats Fan 19 in Defeat to Delmarva - Fredericksburg Nationals
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