Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston
July 6, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies begin a series with the first-place Charleston RiverDogs today at 7 pm at Segra Park. RHP Cruz Noriega (3-1, 4.21 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia. Charleston will send RHP Taj Bradley (5-3, 2.50 ERA).
Tonight is a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday at Segra Park. All hot dogs, popcorn, fountain sodas and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite will be just $2 at the game tonight.
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LATE RALLY CUT SHORT IN 3-1 SERIES FINALE LOSS: The Columbia Fireflies put together a rally in the seventh for a second consecutive night, but this one fell short as the Fireflies left the tying run on the base paths in a 3-1 loss to Augusta Sunday evening at SRP Park. Augusta (24-29) grabbed the lead early, scratching a pair of runs in the second off Adrian Alcantara (L, 2-4). Ricardo Rodriguez singled to plate Stephen Paolini and then a Tyler Tolbert error allowed Rodriguez to come around and score later in the inning. The GreenJackets added a run in the third off Landon Stephens fifth homer of the season. Columbia (27-23) got a strong outing from Luis De Avila in the pen. The lefty spun four innings and fanned half a dozen batters while allowing just a single walk and one hit to keep Augusta at bay.
CHASING HISTORY: Sunday, Tyler Tolbert stole his 27th base of the season, which is good for the second most in the Low-A East League this season. He trails Jayce Easley of the Down East Wood Ducks, who has 30 stolen bases this season. While chasing the top dogs of the Low-A East League, Tolbert is also on the verge of making Fireflies history. He's second overall on the Columbia leaderboard. He's chasing Jacob Zanon, who stole 28 bags in 2017.
STAYING HOT IN THE TOP SPOT: Shortstop Maikel Garcia has paced the Columbia roster in 2021 for top batting average this season. While on the road playing Augusta, he was able to get the average back over .300 to .304 through a 10-26 (.385) effort at SRP Park. The shortstop is hitting .311 in 25 games where he leads off this season. In that role he has scored 22 runs while driving in an additional 10 RBI. He has only 16 strikeouts from the lead-off spot in 2021.
BOUNCE BACK WITH DE AVILA: Fireflies reliever Luis De Avila had by far his best outing of the season July 4. The southpaw worked four scoreless frames, while punching out half a dozen hitters. His ERA dropped from 7.84-to-6.57 during the game, and it helped him to rebound from a June where he held an 8.31 ERA across five outings.
CATCHING THE RIVERDOGS: After losing their second series of 2021, the Fireflies now trail the RiverDogs by eight games for the top spot in the division with 69 games remaining this season. The two teams still will play 26 more games prior to the end of the season, including 14 times before the August 2 off-day. For the Fireflies to be successful, they'll hace to up their team batting average against the RiverDogs. In the first 10 games these two teams have played, the Fireflies have recorded just a .208 mark. Maikel Garcia is the only hitter with above a .300 average, hitting .321 in eight games played against the Tampa Bay-affiliate. Both Kale Emshoff and Darryl Collins are hitting .273 against Charleston this season, but no other hitter has above a .240 average.
WELCOME TO COLUMBIA: Outfielder Burle Dixon was added to Columbia's roster July 1 and after going 0-for-4 in his debut, has collected a hit in each of the three games he has played. Although his average sits at only .188 in his first 16 at-bats, he's been able to score two runs and keep the order moving early in his Fireflies career.
SAVING JUNE: Walter Pennington was an extremely bright spot for the Fireflies in the month of June. The Southpaw entered six games for Columbia, working 11.2 frames where he fanned 12 batters and allowed just two to score. He finished the month with a 1-0 record and a save to pair with a 1.54 ERA.
Carolina League Stories from July 6, 2021
- Strohschein's Walk-Off Grand Slam Wins It for FredNats - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Zavier Warren Hits Walk-Off in Zebulon - Carolina Mudcats
- Fireflies Unseated by Five-Run Sixth from RiverDogs - Columbia Fireflies
- Gordon Sets Tone for 3-1 Jackets Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Moss and Acuña Power Wood Ducks to Victory - Down East Wood Ducks
- RiverDogs Take Opener from Fireflies 6-3 - Charleston RiverDogs
- 'Birds Edged by Red Sox to Open Homestand - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Tuesday Night Speed Round Favors GreenJackets - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- 2021 Border Bash Back at SRP Park - Augusta GreenJackets
- Romero, Cluff, Doolittle Join FredNats - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Rays Promote RiverDogs Standout Curtis Mead - Charleston RiverDogs
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes - at Fayetteville - Down East Wood Ducks
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- Ballers Bats Give Pitchers Insurance to Spoil RiverDogs Sweep on 4th of JulyÃâà- Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Cannon Baller Chronicle: Week Nine - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Estes Named Low-A East Pitcher of the Week - Augusta GreenJackets
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