Fireflies Game Notes: April 13 at Asheville (Game 9)
Published on April 13, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies (5-3) @ Asheville Tourists (1-7)
LHP Jake Simon (0-1, 1.50) vs. RHP Garrett Schilling (0-0, 6.75)
Fri., April 13, 2018 - McCormick Field - First Pitch 7:05 p.m. - Game 9
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ABOUT LAST GAME: Columbia played in - and won - its first extra-inning game of the season on Thursday. The Fireflies defeated the Tourists, 7-5, in 10 innings. The club tallied 11 walks and 12 hits, the biggest being Edgardo Fermin's RBI double in the 10th that put the visitors ahead for good.
LATE-INNING HERO: Fermin, the 19-year-old Venezuelan, not only delivered with the double in extras. He also ripped a bases-clearing triple in the 2nd. Fermin's four RBIs are a single-game best in 2018.
DEJA VU: Thursday was the second straight night a Fireflies hitter capitalized with the bases loaded. Before Fermin, Walter Rasquin blasted a bases-clearing triple as well on Wednesday against Hagerstown. Ironically, Columbia twice left the bases full in Asheville on Thursday in the eighth and ninth innings.
EXTRA INNINGS 2.0: Columbia got its first taste of the new MiLB extra-inning rule on Thursday. In 2018, a runner will be placed at second base to begin every fresh half inning in extras. The runner on Thursday was Gio Alfonzo (who Fermin drove in). Reliever Stephen Villines then retired all three hitters he faced in the bottom of the tenth with a runner in scoring position the entire frame.
SIDE-ARMER SIZZLES: Villines turned in arguably the best relief appearance in Fireflies history on Thursday (pitching the 8th, 9th and 10th innings of a tied game). He retired all nine hitters he faced over three IP and struck out five.
WALK THIS WAY: Columbia drew a franchise-record 11 walks on Thursday. Jeremy Vasquez tied a single-game mark with four on his own (tying Gene Cone who did the same on April 6, 2017).
CAN'T MISS: Pedro Lopez has one of the most balanced batting orders in the South Atlantic League with production coming from every spot in the lineup. Ten - yes, 10 - different Fireflies have driven in multiple runs in just eight games.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 13, 2018
- Crawdads Drop Game 2 against Power 6-4 - Hickory Crawdads
- Wallace, Cruz Pace West Virginia in 6-4 Win on Friday - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Drive Done in by Big Inning on Friday Night - Greenville Drive
- Nelson's Career Night, Sensley's Solo Shot Lift Dogs over Intimidators - Charleston RiverDogs
- Kannapolis Surrenders More Late Inning Runs to Charleston, Falls 2-1 - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- 'Birds Rebound Behind Dominant Dietz - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Schilling and Gilbreath Pitch Tourists to 5-1 Win - Asheville Tourists
- Legends Fall to GreenJackets in Game Two - Lexington Legends
- Soto Homers as Suns Lose Third Straight - Hagerstown Suns
- GreenJackets Get First Win at SRP Park - Augusta GreenJackets
- Columbia Pitchers Strike out Season-Best 12 on Friday - Columbia Fireflies
- Fireflies Game Notes: April 13 at Asheville (Game 9) - Columbia Fireflies
- West Virginia Power: Game Notes (April 13) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Hoppers Earn First Extra-Inning Win Under New Rules - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- GreenJackets Drop Home Opener - Augusta GreenJackets
- Legends Spoil Inaugural Game for GreenJackets at SRP Park with Victory - Lexington Legends
- Suns Fall in Extras 10-9 on Thursday's Home Opener - Hagerstown Suns
- Fermin Delivers Game-Winner in Extras - Columbia Fireflies
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