Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston
July 8, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies hope to rebound tonight against the Charleston RiverDogs at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Anderson Paulino (3-2, 4.85 ERA) climbs the hill for Columbia and Charleston sends lefty Jose Lopez (3-3, 6.06 ERA) to the mound.
Tonight is a Budweiser Thirsty Thursday at the yard. All fans can enjoy half-priced draft beer and fountain sodas while at Segra Park and there will be $2 pints of Bud Light available at the Budweiser Bow Tie Bar during the game. Gates open at 6 pm so you can start enjoying the drink specials early!
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FIREFLIES DROP GAME, ALLOWING A PAIR IN THE NINTH IN 3-2 LOSS: The Columbia Fireflies had allowed only a single hit prior to the eighth inning, but the Charleston RiverDogs rallied to take Wednesday night's game 3-2 at Segra Park. Nathan Webb (BS, 2; L, 0-2) came into the ninth trying to protect a Fireflies (27-25) 2-1 lead. After inducing a pop-out to start the inning, the righty allowed back-to-back singles to place runners on the corners for Charleston (38-16). Heriberto Hernandez stepped to the dish and tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center that plated Garrett Hiott. Then, with Jonathan Embry at the dish, webb tried to pick-off Nick Schnell at first and was called for a balk. That balk scored the go-ahead run from third to flip the score to 3-2 in favor of Charleston. Alexander Ovalles hit a homer in the eighth to start the rally for the RiverDogs.
CHASING HISTORY: Tuesday, Tyler Tolbert stole his 28th base of the season, which is tied for the 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 has tied the Fireflies single-season steals record that Jacob Zanon set in 2017. Zanon played in 50 games for the Fireflies during the 2017 campaign en route to 28 steals in 31 attempts. Tolbert has been perfect in 2021 so far, with 28 steals and 0 caught stealing.
BLASTING STANDARDS: Outfielder Juan Carlos Negret has only 26 hits in 43 games this year, but when the slugger makes contact with the ball, he makes it count. Of those 26 hits, 15 are for extra bases, including a team-high 11 homers. His 11 blasts are good for second-most in the Low-A East League, trailing only Joe Gray Jr. who has 12. Negret has been swinging out of his shoes since June 1, he has nine of his 11 homers in the last 36 calendar days, which is tied for the most in all Low-A baseball. If that weren't enough, he finds himself just a pair of homers shy of Brandon Brosher, Matt Winaker and Dash Winningham, who all hit 13 homers for Columbia in 2017, for most homeruns for a Fireflies player in a single season. Winningham is the Fireflies all-time homer leader, he hit 25 blasts in the 2016 and 2017 campaigns for the Fireflies.
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 .297 (33-111) in 27 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 17 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.
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 8, 2021
- RiverDogs Have Night to Forget in 20-1 Loss at Columbia - Charleston RiverDogs
- Negret Leads the Way in Historic 20-1 Victory - Columbia Fireflies
- FredNats, Cannon Ballers Suspended in Second - Fredericksburg Nationals
- First July Homestand Features Military Appreciation Night and National Baseball Day Celebration - Charleston RiverDogs
- Tonight's Shorebirds Game, July 8, Postponed - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Mudcats and Hillcats Postponed in Zebulon - Carolina Mudcats
- 'Birds and Red Sox Postponed - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Wood Ducks and Woodpeckers Postponed Due to Hurricane Elsa - Down East Wood Ducks
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
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