Fireflies Game Notes: May 25 at Charleston (Game 49)
May 25, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies (19-29) vs. Charleston RiverDogs (25-23)
RHP Colin Holderman (3-0, 2.29) vs. RHP Roansy Contreras (3-2, 5.03)
Sat., May 25, 2019 - Joe Riley Park (Charleston, SC) - First Pitch 6:05 p.m. - Game 49
LISTEN: FirefliesLiveStream.com / ColumbiaFireflies.com / TuneIn App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
LAST TIME OUT: Columbia split the four-game series against Greenville with a 6-2 victory on Friday night at Segra Park. Willy Taveras was sturdy as a rock on the slope and picked up his first win since April 15. The right-hander struck out a season-high eight over six innings. Three Fireflies - Mark Vientos, Brian Sharp and Shervyen Newton - all went yard in the win.
POWER SURGE: Friday was the first three-homer game of the season for Columbia. The Fireflies belted a season-best seven extra-base hits as well (in fact, Columbia has done that twice this week - May 19 @ Rome). Ronny Mauricio, Hansel Moreno, Vientos and Newton (four of the first five hitters in the order on Friday), all wound up with a pair of hits in the win.
KEEP THE STREAK: Fireflies third baseman Mark Vientos extended his hit streak to 10 games on Friday, the longest streak for any Firefly hitter this season. During the streak, the Floridian is hitting .366 (15-for-41) with two doubles, three homers and eight RBIs.
BATTING FOURTH...: Columbia's cleanup hitter, Chase Chambers, is also making an impact in the starting lineup. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native is hitting .306 (15-for-49) over his last 14 games. The first baseman has rebounded nicely after missing much of April with a hand injury.
WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN...OVER THE WALL: The homer on Friday was Shervyen Newton's first of the season and seventh of his career (185 GP). The switch-hitter has tallied five hits over his last three games and has reached safely in six straight.
THE RACE: While the Fireflies are 10 games under .500, the club still sits just six games out of first place in the division. Columbia trails division-leader Charleston with a four-game series against the RiverDogs beginning Saturday.
SOUTHERN DIVISION FIRST HALF PLAYOFF RACE UPDATE
Team Record PCT GB Last 10 STRK
Charleston 25-23 .521 - 4-6 L1
Rome 24-24 .500 1.0 7-3 W2
Augusta 23-24 .489 1.5 4-6 L2
Lexington 23-24 .489 1.5 6-4 L1
Asheville 19-28 .404 5.5 5-5 W1
Greenville 19-28 .404 5.5 5-5 L1
Columbia 19-29 .396 6.0 6-4 W1
FOLLOW THE LAW: Keith Law, senior baseball writer at ESPN, ranked Columbia's roster as the 7th-most "Loaded Roster" in all of Minor League Baseball. Law recognized the fact Columbia's roster includes the Mets' third, fourth and fifth-rated prospects (infielders Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos and Shervyen Newton, respectively), New York's past two second-round draft choices (RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson, Vientos) and the system's ninth-rated prospect, left-hander Thomas Szapucki (drafted in the fifth round in 2015). The roster also features 26th (Baseball America) and 27th-rated prospects Chris Viall and Christian James. The prospect rankings are according to MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 25, 2019
- Greenville Wins Both Games of Doubleheader - Augusta GreenJackets
- Aparicio Homers Twice in 'Dads Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Suns Bats Flatline in 4-0 Loss to 'Birds - Hagerstown Suns
- 'Birds One-Hit Suns, Win Fourth Straight - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Contreras Goes Seven Strong in Win over Fireflies - Charleston RiverDogs
- Rome wins game on error in the 9th inning - Rome Emperors
- Vientos Stretches Hit Streak to 11 on Saturday in Charleston - Columbia Fireflies
- Inman Pair of Homers Lift Power to 4 1 Win - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Mistakes Once Again Cost Tourists in Close Loss - Asheville Tourists
- Fireflies Game Notes: May 25 at Charleston (Game 49) - Columbia Fireflies
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- Florentino, Moritz Activated - Rome Emperors
- Game Notes (May 25) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Rome Slams Augusta 9-4 in Series Finale - Rome Emperors
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