Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Down East
April 19, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies open up a fresh series with the Down East Wood Ducks tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. It will be the first time the two franchises meet. RHP Ben Hernandez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and RHP Gavin Collyer (0-1, 12.46 ERA) counters for the Wood Ducks.
Tonight is a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday where all hot dogs, pop corn, soda and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite are available for just $2. It is also Autism Awareness Night. The speaker volume will be lower, the scoreboard will be dimmed and there will be no flashing lights to help provide a more welcoming environment to all those who are on the spectrum who wish to visit Segra Park tonight. Gates open at 6 pm and tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES OFFENSE STYMIED IN 6-3 LOSS TO RIVERDOGS: The Columbia Fireflies scored a run in the ninth, but were unable to muster a rally against the RiverDogs pitching staff as they fell 6-3 in the series finale Sunday at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. The Fireflies bullpen, which had been stellar for the first five games of the series vs the RiverDogs, had some trouble in the series finale Sunday. Luis Barroso gave up a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the fifth before being lifted after recording only a pair of outs. The two runs gave Charleston a 5-2 lead, which they held onto for the remainder of the game. Southpaw Rylan Kaufman closed out the game with 3.1 innings without allowing an earned run. He fanned a handful of hitters to keep the Fireflies within striking distance. After Charleston opened up the scoring in the home half of the first inning, the Fireflies roared right back with a solo homer from Erick Peña in the top of the second. Peña's second homer of the season was enough to tie the game 1-1.
NEW YEAR, NEW HERNANDEZ: Last year, Ben Hernandez was a 19-year-old pitcher that every Royals' fan had their eyes on. Selected in the second round of the 2020 abbreviated draft, the Chicago native was hailed for his change-up and mid-90s heater. In his 12 starts, Hernandez lived up to the hype, but struggled in certain situations, particularly, on the road, where the righty had a 7.30 ERA in four starts and againt the RiverDogs, where in a pair of outings, Hernandez's ERA sat at 7.11. He put both of those two burdens to rest last night, when he started a stellar game on the road against the Charleston RiverDogs, shoving for four scoreless innings and only allowing a single hit and walk in the process. Between Hernandez and reliever Heribert Garcia, the RiverDogs only reached base seven times the entire game. To add to the magic, they only allowed a single walk! Prior to last night's game, the Fireflies paced the league with 36 free passes in as many innings.
KC SLAMMER DOWNS DOGS: We got to see our first taste of catching prospect Carter Jensen in last week's series against the Charleston RiverDogs, and he did not disappoint. Jensen, who got hits in each of his five games of the season, was able to find the long ball three times in Charleston, including in Sunday's game. He leads the team with those three homers and is tied with Fayetteville's Logan Cerny and Fredericksburg's Sammy Infante for the most long balls in the Carolina League.
CRAFTY CERANTOLA: Last night, the Fireflies starter, Eric Cerantola, pitched a season-high five innings for a Columbia starting pitcher. In addition to that, Cerantola became the first Fireflies pitcher to notch double-digit strikeouts since Dedniel Nunez did so April 8, 2019.
NOAH KNOWS: After struggling in his first professional ining, where Noah Cameron allowed two runs on Opening Day vs the Augusta GreenJackets, the Fireflies southpaw has locked things down. Cameron has allowed only a pair of runs in his six innings of work since then, dropping his ERA from 18.00 to 5.14 in the process. If that weren't enough, he's tallied 11 strikeouts in that time (16.5/nine innings).
THE WHAMMER WORKS: Reliever John McMillon became the first Fireflies reliever to appear in multiple games when he pitched a scoreless ninth Tuesday. The Texas Tech product has not allowed a hit or a run in his first three appearances, all of which have lasted one inning.
Carolina League Stories from April 19, 2022
- De La Rosa Goes Deep in Kannapolis Opener - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Mendez Homers as Mudcats Rout Hillcats 10-1 - Carolina Mudcats
- RiverDogs Blast Way to 11-2 Victory in First Road Game of Season - Charleston RiverDogs
- Fireflies Give up Early Lead in 6-4 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Seven-Run First Fuels 'Birds 8-3 Win over Pelicans - Delmarva Shorebirds
- RHP Jolon Zhao Added to Carolina - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Down East - Columbia Fireflies
- Salinas Dominates in the Early Season - Augusta GreenJackets
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