Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston
July 11, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies close out their series at Segra Park versus the Charleston RiverDogs today at 5:05 pm. Gates open at 4 pm for the homestand finale. RHP Cruz Noriega (3-1, 3.92 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Charleston sends RHP Taj Bradley (6-3, 2.42 ERA) to the bump.
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FIREFLIES RUN AWAY FROM RIVERDOGS WITH TWO HOMER NIGHT: The Columbia Fireflies needed a blast from Maikel Garcia to tie the game, but Kale Emshoff obliterated a baseball to push the Fireflies ahead in the fifth in an 8-4 win over the Fireflies Saturday evening at Segra Park. Emshoff put the exclamation point on the Columbia Fireflies fifth inning with a two-run bomb, his fifth of the season, that scored Juan Carlos Negret to push the Fireflies (29-26) in front 7-4 over Charleston (39-18). Negret singled to get aboard to score Darryl Collins from second to break a 4-4 tie. Columbia's backstop, Emshoff, also had a two-RBI single in the first to tie the game, which totaled up his first four-RBI game of his young career. The RiverDogs DH Michael Bergland hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to give Charleston a two-run lead, but it was immediately matched by Maikel Garcia who pushed a two-run blast off Seth Johnson (L, 3-3) to score Rubendy Jaquez and tie the game.
MAKING A STATEMENT: This week, slugger Juan Carlos Negret has the most RBI of anyone in the Low-A East League, with 11 RBI in 23 at-bats. The outfileder has hit a league-most four homers and is hitting .304 against the first-place RiverDogs in this series, serving as a primary advocate for the Fireflies offense. Negret has scored seven runs in five games and owns a .360 on-base percentage since Tuesday.
WILLIS RESURGENCE: After lefty Marlin Willis had a rough May, where the reliever had a 8.31 ERA across six outings, he has found his way for the Fireflies. In Willis's last five outings he has spun 10 innings, punching out 18 batters while only allowing a single run. A big part of what Willis has done well in the last few weeks has been decreasing his walk rate as the season has progressed. In his first eight innings, of the season, he walked 13 batters and hit another pair, but in his last 7.1 innings, he has walked only three batters while striking out 16. Opponents are averaging .080 against Willis in that time.
WEBB GEM ON THE BUMP: Nathan Webb dominated out of the pen Friday. The righty grinded through 3.1 innings where he inherited six runners. Three came from Luis De Avila, who left the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth, and three more from the runner placed on second in each of the 10th, 11th and 12th innings. Webb pulled a Houdini act, keeping each of those runners from scoring and giving the Fireflies bats a chance to win the game in front of the fans at Segra Park.
GONZALEZ'S KRYPTONITE: It's been hard to find a weakness for Columbia's switch-hitting middle infielder this season, but if anyone knows what it might be, it's probably the Charleston RiverDogs pitching staff. After an 0-6 effort at the dish with a pair of strikeouts, Herard Gonzalez is now hitting 3-39 (.077) with 24 strikeouts against the division rival this season. Against the rest of the league, Gonzalez is 28-96 (.292) with only 39 strikeouts. His strikeout rate against Charleston is 21% higher (62:41) than against the rest of the league.
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.
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Carolina League Stories from July 11, 2021
- FredNats End First Half with 6-3 Loss - Fredericksburg Nationals
- RiverDogs Close Successful Road Trip with 7-1 Win over Fireflies - Charleston RiverDogs
- Pitching Struggles, Birds Fall in Series Finale to GreenJackets - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Gordon Great Again in 11-0 Drubbing - Augusta GreenJackets
- Fireflies Drop Series Finale 7-1 to Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- 'Birds Fall in Series Final to Red Sox - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Eight-Run Fourth Inning Helps Lock Series Win for Woodpeckers - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Down East Loses Slugfest to Fayetteville in Finale - Down East Wood Ducks
- Carolina Falls 2-1 in Rain-Shortened Loss - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes - at Fayetteville - Down East Wood Ducks
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