Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston
September 3, 2021 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies will try to rebound against the Charleston RiverDogs tonight at 7:05 pm at Segra Park. RHP Luinder Avila (2-1, 2.03 ERA) toes the rubber for the Fireflies and Charleston counters with RHP Seth Johnson (3-6, 3.20 ERA).
Tonight is College Colors Night Presented by the COMET at Segra Park! Come out and support your favorite school as we salute the kick-off of the college football season at the ballpark. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a free t-shirt beginning at 6 pm. Tickets are still available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES STRUGGLE AGAIN, LOSE 15-2: The Fireflies haven't been able to figure out the Charleston RiverDogs line-up this week. After falling 15-2 at Segra Park Thursday evening, Columbia has been outscored 42-13 in the three games of this series. Charleston (74-31) dealt their big blow in the second inning. Already leading 1-0, with runners on the corners, Diego Infante smashed his 13th homer of the season beyond the right field fence to put the RiverDogs in front 4-0. Things didn't get much better for starter Adrian Alcantara (L, 5-8) in the third. After Jonathan Embry slashed an RBI triple, Garrett Hiott roped a two-run homer to the berm in right to put Charleston in front 7-0. Alcantara left following the third, allowing seven earned runs off of six hits and a walk. Things didn't get much better after that as Chase Wallace was tagged for five unearned runs in 1.2 innings and Patrick Halligan allowed three runs in 2.1 innings in his Fireflies debut. The Fireflies were trailing 15-0 before they put two on the board.
CHALLENGING LEAGUE TOP MARKS: Fireflies outfielder Juan Carlos Negret has established himself as an all-or-nothing hitter during the 2021 campaign. The slugger leads the Low-A East League with 22 homers, which is the most in a single season in Fireflies history. He trails just Dash Winningham, who hit 25 homers between the 2016 and 2017 campaigns for the most all-time homers in Fireflies history. Negret has also done an excellent job at producing RBI this season. Despite having a sub-.200 batting average, Negret has driven in 73 RBI, which is good for the second-best in the league in the 2021 campaign. He only trails Charleston's Diego Infante, who has sent home 75 RBI for the RiverDogs this season.
HEROIC HERNANDEZ: Diego Hernandez is riding a six-game hitting streak, dating back to August 24. During that stretch, he is hitting .304, has a homer and four RBI. The speedster has also swiped three bags during the streak.
THE TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGING: This week the Fireflies have said hello to six new faces. Peyton Wilson, Luca Tresh and Dillan Shrum were all added to the roster Tuesday and made their Fireflies debut Wednesday evening. Each of the three were able to get a hit in their first game. Wilson also played Thursday evening and hit the Fireflies' lone extra-base hit. A double off the wall in cavernous center field at Segra Park. Thursday, Columbia added three new pitchers. Patrick Halligan, Anthony Simonelli and Tyson Guerrero became the latest roster additions. Halligan and Simonelli made their debuts Thursday night. Halligan struggled, allowing three runs in 2.1 innings, but Simonelli turned into a bright spot in a 15-2 loss, retiring each of the six batters he faced to close out the ball game. Guerrero is slated to start Saturday's game.
OUCH TOWN AT SEGRA PARK: This series hasn't exactly gone the Fireflies way. Columbia has been outscored 8-1, 19-10 and 15-2 in the first three games against the RiverDogs. In each of the latter two ballgames, Columbia trailed 14-0 before scoring their first run against Charleston. All-in-all it's been a tough effort for Columbia, who has seven errors in the series to pair with an 8.33 ERA in these first three games. Despite one 10-run performance, the bats aren't doing well either. The Fireflies are 19-96 this series (.196). Last night, they went 0-7 with runners in scoring position to bring their series total to 4-18 (.222). At the mid-point of the series, the Fireflies have been outscored 42-13 and will start three pitchers who have been on the roster for less than a month to close the series.
Carolina League Stories from September 3, 2021
- Mudcats Drop Second Straight 10-5 to Delmarva - Carolina Mudcats
- Stevens' Go-Ahead Triple Leads Woodpeckers to Third Win over GreenJackets - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Hitting Falls Flat in 4-1 Loss to Hillcats - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- RiverDogs Win Sixth Straight, Move Closer to Securing Postseason Berth - Charleston RiverDogs
- Rehabbing Read Homers in 10-5 Loss - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Coby Mayo Drives in Five as 'Birds Best 'Cats - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Same Story, New Game as Fireflies Lose 11-1 - Columbia Fireflies
- Wood Ducks Walk off Cannon Ballers - Down East Wood Ducks
- Antoine Kelly and Alex Hall Transferred to High-A - Carolina Mudcats
- Down East Wood Ducks Game Notes - vs. Kannapolis - Down East Wood Ducks
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- Salem Sweeps Series Opening DH in Walk-Off Fashion - Salem Red Sox
- Jean Pinto Tabbed Low-A East League Pitcher of the Month - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Back in Action, FredNats Swept in Doubleheader - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Late Error Proves Costly in 9-7 Loss - Carolina Mudcats
- Errors Down Pelicans, Hillcats Take Game Three - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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