Fireflies Game Notes: June 22 vs. Lakewood (Game 69)
Published on June 22, 2018 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies (0-1, 34-34) vs. Lakewood BlueClaws (1-0, 42-28)
RHP Tony Dibrell (2-3, 3.67) vs. RHP Spencer Howard (3-6, 5.25)
Fri., June 22, 2018 - Spirit Communications Park - First Pitch 7:05 p.m. - Game 69
LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1400 AM / ColumbiaFireflies.com / iHeartRadio App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
ABOUT LAST GAME: Columbia dropped the series opener to Lakewood, 8-1, on Thursday night. Edgardo Fermin (3-for-4, double) and Matt Winaker (2-for-3, RBI) tallied multi-hit games for the Fireflies.
#3: Two-time MVP and seven-time Atlanta Braves All-Star Dale Murphy will throw out the first pitch at Friday's game against Lakewood at Spirit Communications Park. Murphy played 18 seasons in the major leagues including 15 with Atlanta (1976-1990). The fifth overall draft choice in the 1974 MLB Draft actually played one season of Minor League Baseball in Greenwood, South Carolina (Greenwood Braves), in 1975 (Greenwood is approximately an hour and 45 minutes west of Columbia).
FIREFLIES ALL-STAR RECAP: The Southern Division All-Stars defeated the Northern Division 9-5 in Greensboro on Tuesday.
- For the third straight year (P.J. Conlon - 2016, Merandy Gonzalez - 2017), a Firefly was on the mound to start the South Atlantic League All-Star Game. Joe Cavallaro represented the South Division and tossed the first inning of the game.
- Jeremy Vasquez also inked his name among the star-studded field. The 21-year-old added an insurance run with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
- Stephen Villines and Trey Cobb were impressive out of the bullpen. Villines entered the game with two outs in the seventh inning and struck out the only batter he faced in his outing. Cobb closed the door, recording the final two outs of the game.
FIRST HALF LEADERS: A handful of Fireflies finished the first half at the top of many statistical categories:
- Joe Cavallaro - 1st in SAL in wins (7)...9th in ERA (2.06)...4th in BAA (.199)
- Blake Tiberi - 1st in SAL in BBs (44)
- Jeremy Vasquez - 3rd in SAL in OBP (.387)...2nd in BBs (36)
- Stephen Villines - 3rd in SAL in K Rate (14.8 per 9 IP)...4th in GP (23)
RAPH-TACULAR: OF Raphael Gladu is hitting .330 over his last 30 games (since May 9). He's hit safely in 27 of those 30 games.
REINFORCEMENTS: Columbia's bullpen has been extremely reliable over the last 11 games
- 34.0 IP, 30 H, 7 ER, 9 BB, 34 K ... *1.85 ERA*
NOTABLE FIRST HALF MOMENTS
April 18 - W, 8-4 @ Greenville
- OF Quinn Brodey becomes third Firefly in team history to homer twice in one game.
April 24 - L, 2-1 @ Charleston
- RHP Chris Viall ties a single-game franchise record with 12 strikeouts.
May 3 & 4 - W, 4-3 vs. Lexington (10) & W, 2-1 vs. Lakewood
- Fireflies win in walk-off fashion back-to-back nights (first time in franchise history).
May 5 - W, 9-7 vs. Lakewood
- Gio Alfonzo becomes first Firefly to hit a grand slam at Spirit Communications Park.
May 6 - W, 10-7 vs. Lakewood
- Columbia scores six runs on a team-record eight hits in one inning. Two of these hits were home runs from Edgardo Fermin and Quinn Brodey.
June 9 - W, 2-1 vs. Augusta (10)
- LHP David Peterson tosses a career-high eight innings and records 10 strikeouts. The 2017 Mets first round pick threw 95 pitches (70 strikes).
South Atlantic League Stories from June 22, 2018
- Tourists Even Series with 6-2 Win over Drive - Greenville Drive
- Tourists All Business in 6-2 Victory - Asheville Tourists
- Manea Whacks Four Hits, Leads Columbia to Blowout Victory - Columbia Fireflies
- Shorebirds' Rally Snuffed out in Ninth - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Olivares Goes Yard Twice, Dogs Club Season-High Five Home Runs in Rout of Lexington - Charleston RiverDogs
- GreenJackets Suffer Loss in Game Two - Augusta GreenJackets
- Four-Run Second, Robles Guide Power to 6-4 Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- MJ Melendez's Grand Slam Not Enough as Legends Fall to RiverDogs in Game Two - Lexington Legends
- Fireflies Top BlueClaws 9-1 on Friday Night in Columbia - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Dorow Homers in Crawdads Loss to Power - Hickory Crawdads
- Fireflies Game Notes: June 22 vs. Lakewood (Game 69) - Columbia Fireflies
- Preview: Beggs Back on the Bump - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Nyden Selected as 2018 Wall of Fame Inductee - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Suns-Grasshoppers Rained out Friday - Hagerstown Suns
- West Virginia Power: Game Notes (June 22) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- RiverDogs Pack XL Sized Promotions into Three-Day Homestand - Charleston RiverDogs
- Hickory Crawdads Weekly Recap - Hickory Crawdads
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