Fireflies Outlast RiverDogs 2-1 on Wednesday
May 30, 2018 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
CHARLESTON, SC - For the seventh time in this season series, the Fireflies and RiverDogs played in a one-run game. Columbia snuck past Charleston 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Joe P. Riley Park. The Fireflies have won six of their previous seven games. At 28-22, Columbia sits six games above .500 for the first time this season.
Down 1-0 after five frames, the visitors responded with their two runs in the top of the sixth inning. Edgardo Fermin led off the stanza with a walk and then Blake Tiberi followed with a single. Fermin showed off his speed and went from first to third base on Tiberi's base hit. Matt Winaker drove in Fermin with an RBI groundout and tied the game. Columbia broke the tie when Jeremy Vasquez smashed an RBI triple (Winaker scored) that was fair ball by just a couple feet down the right-field line.
Tony Dibrell (W, 2-2) helped preserve the club's 2-1 advantage. The righty muscled through 6.1 innings on the mound in his ninth start of the season. Dibrell faced some adversity in the third and fourth frames. Charleston put its first two hitters on base in each of these innings, but the 22-year-old bounced back and retired the next three hitters on both occasions. In three starts now at Joe P. Riley Park, Dibrell has allowed only four earned runs over 18.2 innings.
Charleston threatened a couple of times in the late innings. The RiverDogs had runners at first and second with only one out in the bottom of the seventh. Fireflies manager Pedro Lopez made his first call to the bullpen and brought in Stephen Villines. Villines faced one batter in the seventh, Oswaldo Cabrera, and got the 19-year-old to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the ninth, Trey Cobb was summoned out of the bullpen for the Fireflies. The righty was tested from the start when Chris Hess led off with a double down the left-field line. Eduardo Navas executed a sacrifice bunt and moved the potential tying run, Hess, to third base. The next batter Cobb faced, Carlos Vidal, popped out to Fermin on the infield and this kept Hess at third base. Cobb responded again and punched out Wilkerman Garcia looking to end the game. It's the seventh save of the season for the Oklahoma native.
Raphael Gladu singled in the fifth inning on Wednesday and pushed his hitting streak to a franchise-best 15 games. Gladu is also on a 20-game on-base streak, which is the second-longest by a Firefly this season.
The Fireflies look for the sweep against the RiverDogs in the series finale on Thursday night at Joe P. Riley Park. RHP Joe Cavallaro (6-1, 2.12) is on the mound for Columbia and faces RHP Jio Orozco (0-1, 6.75). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and you can listen to the action live starting at 6:45 p.m. on FOX Sports Radio 1400 AM or online at columbiafireflies.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from May 30, 2018
- Campana Powers Drive to Doubleheader Split - Greenville Drive
- Slugging 'Birds Upended Late Again - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Suns Upended by Crawdads' Late Rally on Wednesday - Hagerstown Suns
- GreenJackets Split Doubleheader - Augusta GreenJackets
- Cabrera's Strong Start All for Naught - Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Hit Parade Continues, Rome Over Asheville 9-1 - Rome Emperors
- Summer Concert Series Kicks off June 16th in Biergargten - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Losing Streak Hits Five in 9-1 Defeat - Asheville Tourists
- RiverDogs Strand Tying Run on Third to Drop Second Straight to Columbia - Charleston RiverDogs
- Fireflies Outlast RiverDogs 2-1 on Wednesday - Columbia Fireflies
- Game Two Versus West Virginia Power Postponed Due to Weather - Lexington Legends
- Wednesday's Road Contest in Lexington Postponed - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Stewart Shines with Shutout; Claws Win Sixth Straight - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- West Virginia Power: Game Notes (May 30) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Mike Soroka to Pitch in Rome Friday - Rome Emperors
- Fireflies Game Notes: May 30 at Charleston (Game 50) - Columbia Fireflies
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