Fireflies Opening Day Game Notes: April 5 vs. Augusta (Game 1)
April 5, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies vs. Augusta GreenJackets
RHP Tony Dibrell vs. RHP Jason Bahr
Thursday, April 5, 2018 - Spirit Communications Park - First Pitch 7:05 p.m. - Game 1
LISTEN: Fox Sports Radio 1400 AM / ColumbiaFireflies.com / iHeartRadio App
WATCH: MiLB.TV
PROSPECTS IN COLUMBIA
Columbia's 2018 roster is filled with plenty of skilled Mets farmhands. Here's the breakdown:
METS PROSPECTS (according to MLB.com & Baseball America)
14. LHP Anthony Kay 22. Quinn Brodey
METS STERLING AWARD WINNERS
Nicolas Debora, RHP (2017 Brooklyn Cyclones, 2015 DSL Mets)
Rigoberto Terrazas, INF (2017 Kingsport Mets)
TOP 10-ROUND METS DRAFT PICKS:
Anthony Kay (UConn, 2016 - 1st round), Quinn Brodey (Stanford, 2017 - 3rd), Blake Tiberi (Louisville, 2016 - 3rd), Tony Dibrell (Kennesaw State, 2017 - 4th), Matt Winaker (Stanford, 2017 - 5th), Chris Viall (Stanford, 2016 - 6th), Marcel Renteria (New Mexico State, 2017 - 6th), Conner O'Neil (Cal. State Northridge, 2017 - 7th), Trey Cobb (Oklahoma State, 2017 - 8th), Cannon Chadwick (Arkansas, 2017 - 9th)
2017 SEASON RECAP
The 2017 season proved to be a banner year for the Columbia Fireflies at Spirit Communications Park. For a second straight season, Fireflies fans proved once again why they're the most valuable in all of Minor League Baseball. Spirit Communications Park hosted a new franchise-record 315,034 fans in 2017 - good for 4,773 per game.
The crowd of 8,412 that arrived for opening day on April 6 was immediately treated to quite the spectacle when former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow belted a two-run home run in his first professional at-bat. The left-fielder appeared in 64 games for the Fireflies before his promotion to the advanced-A St. Lucie Mets in June.
It was the first glimmer during a year that featured countless shining moments. Spirit Communications Park was home to the 58th-annual South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 20, a game in which 2017 Fireflies first baseman Dash Winningham was named Most Valuable Player. In all, six Fireflies were named to the All-Star Game in their home park: right-handed pitchers Merandy Gonzalez, Jordan Humphreys, Max Kuhns and Adonis Uceta and infielders Michael Paez and Winningham.
The culmination of one of the most highly-anticipated afternoons in the city of Columbia's history occurred at the park on August 21. A single-game record 9,629 fans attended Spirit Communications Park for 'Total Eclipse of the Park,' to watch the Fireflies battle the Rome Braves during a total solar eclipse.
The Fireflies experienced the success on the field as well during a first-half playoff race. At one point in June, Columbia won a franchise-record nine consecutive games (including a five-game sweep of the Charleston RiverDogs from June 9-12). The stretch helped the club finish the first half with a 40-28 mark, the best in the franchise's short two-year history.
Columbia's pitching staff was untouchable at times in 2017. The right-handed duo of Gonzalez and Humphreys tormented South Atlantic League batters. At one point in the season, the starters were the only pair of teammates in professional baseball - major and minor league - each with eight wins. Humphreys' sterling 2017 outing occurred on April 24 when the Floridian struck out a franchise-record 12 batters in just 6.2 innings. In September, Humphreys garnered the NYM Sterling Award, an honor given to the most outstanding player at every Mets minor league level.
Gonzalez, on the other hand (who has since been traded to the Miami Marlins organization), was just as filthy in 2017. The righty chased a league record his first five outings of the season: he hurled 28.2 consecutive scoreless innings (April 9-May 3), which ended up falling 11 scoreless innings shy of the SAL record (39.2).
The highlights were not just captured on the mound. A Spirit Communications Park fan favorite, Dash Winningham, had one of the richest days at the plate on May 29. His career day morphed into a franchise-record day against the Augusta GreenJackets when the first baseman became the first Firefly to whack two home runs in a game (a feat he accomplished again on June 8). He also drove in six runs and tallied 10 total bases, also single-game records.
An injury-plagued Fireflies team finished the 2017 season 68-70 overall.
South Atlantic League Stories from April 5, 2018
- Dibrell Leads Columbia to Opening Night Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Puckett Pitches Hoppers to Opening Night Win - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Power Silenced by Drive on Opening Night - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Matias Leads Legends to Opening Night Victory - Lexington Legends
- Suns Fall 5-2 in Season Opener on Thursday - Hagerstown Suns
- Drive Cruise Past Power in Season Opener - Greenville Drive
- Hess Homers, But Dogs Drop Opener in Lexington - Charleston RiverDogs
- Baumann, 'Birds Blank Tourists on Opening Night - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Three Run Third Gives Rome 5-2 Win - Rome Emperors
- Hoppers to Make First Marks on Clean Slate - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Santos with Strong Debut in Opening Day Defeat - Asheville Tourists
- BlueClaws Fall in Walk-Off Fashion 4-3 in Opener - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- West Virginia Power Game Notes (April 5, 2018) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Fireflies Opening Day Game Notes: April 5 vs. Augusta (Game 1) - Columbia Fireflies
- Fill the Frans on Opening Night - Hickory Crawdads
- Columbia Fireflies Homestand Highlights (April 5-11) - Columbia Fireflies
- Rome Braves Release Roster - Rome Emperors
- RiverDogs Game Notes: April 5, 2018 (Game 1) - Charleston RiverDogs
- Power Announce Prospect-Laden 2018 Opening Day Roster - Charleston Dirty Birds
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