Fireflies Game Notes April 18 at Charleston
April 18, 2024 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Charleston RiverDogs at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park tonight at 7:05 pm. RHP Emmanuel Reyes (1-0, 6.30 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Charleston counters with RHP Santiago Suarez (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
The Fireflies return home April 23 for a six-game set with the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park. Friday, April 26 will be the inaugural Carolina Grits game at Segra Park. We're celebrating with a Grits bobble spoon giveaway. Get your tickets at ColumbiaFireflies.com.
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BOSACKER QUALITY START NOT ENOUGH IN 3-2 LOSS: The Fireflies couldn't take advantage of the pitching staff's first quality start of the 2024 season as they fell 3-2 in walk-off fashion to the Charleston RiverDogs Wednesday Night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Nicholas Regalado (L, 1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth and fanned the first two Charleston hitters he faced in the ninth before the RiverDogs got started. Carlos Colmenarez and Narciso Polanco drew back-to-back two out walks before Odalys Peguero roped a base hit to right, plating Colmenarez and ending the ball game with a pair of outs in the home half of the ninth.
YOU CAN COUNT ON CHARLES: After a slow start to the 2024 season, Austin Charles has put himself right back on top with the rest of the Carolina League Leaders. The Fireflies third baseman is riding a six-game hitting streak that began April 10. During the run, he is 11-24 (.458) at the plate with one homer and an incredible 10 RBI. His streak has the fourth most RBI in the circuit this season, but Charles sits with 12, just two behind league leader Brandon Pimentel in Fredericksburg.
ONE RUN, NO FUN: After last night's 3-2 loss, the Fireflies have lost back-to-back games by one run and are 1-4 in one run games across their first 11 games of the season. In fact, Columbia has lost five games this year and none have been by more than two runs, which has helped lead to their +27 run differential, which is the second-best in the Carolina League, trailing only Fredericksburg, who has outscored opponents by 34.
QUALITY BOSACKER: Ethan Bosacker became the first Fireflies pitcher to notch a quality start during the 2024 season yesterday. The righty has gotten off to a great push this year. After five scoreless frames from the bullpen in his first appearance of the year at Segra Park, yesterday he went six innings, allowing a single hit (a homerun) while punching out seven. He's tied for the team lead with 12 punchouts and has a 0.81 ERA this year.
BLISTERING BULLPEN: Despite giving up the lead late yesterday afternoon, the Fireflies bullpen has been a walking highlight reel for the 2024 season so far. The pen is 3-3 through its first 49.1 innings of work and has 54 punchouts while spinning to the tune of a 2.37 ERA. To put that into perspective, as a whole, the Fireflies have a 3.40 ERA this season, which is good for the eighth-best Single-A ERA. The top mark in the Carolina League belongs to the Augusta GreenJackets, who as a team have a 2.56 ERA. In other words, if you can get the game to the Fireflies bullpen with the lead, you're in good hands this year.
GET HIM ON, MOVE HIM OVER, AND SCORE: Erick Torres has been incredible in the lead-off spot this season. The center fielder is tied for the second-most hits (14) and the 10th-most walks (9) in the Carolina League, which has allowed him to steal four bases and score the sixth-most runs (9) in the circuit this season.
WORK HORSE REYES: Last night, Emmanuel Reyes struggled out of the gate, allowing seven hits and four earned runs in the first two innings. After the second, he got back into cruise control and worked his second five inning start of the campaign. The righty is tied for the Carolina League lead with 10 innings of work. After striking out eight hitters Friday, he also is tied for eighth with five others who have recorded 10 strikeouts on the season.
Carolina League Stories from April 18, 2024
- Fayetteville Fans 16 FredNats in Second Shutout of Road Trip - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- FredNats Silenced in 4-0 Loss - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Fireflies Strike Late to Upend RiverDogs 7-3 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Pelicans Snap Losing Streak In Dramatic Fashion With 3-2 Win Over Cannon Ballers - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Baserunning Mistakes Cost GreenJackets in 4-3 Thursday Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Lose Third Straight Game to Wood Ducks - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Four-Run Eighth Propels Fireflies to Victory - Columbia Fireflies
- Mudcats Squash Augusta Rally to Take Series Lead - Carolina Mudcats
- Wood Ducks Score 8-2 Win Thursday - Down East Wood Ducks
- Fireflies Game Notes April 18 at Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- USA Baseball Returns to Segra Stadium for Two Games this Summer - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Pitching Walks 17, Pelicans Bounced 17-8 by Cannon Ballers - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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