Newton's Four-Hit Night Flusters Hickory
July 6, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Hickory, NC - For Columbia infielder Shervyen Newton, Friday night's game against Hickory was an opportunity for revenge. The 20-year-old struck out four times in four plate appearances in Thursday night's win. A day later, he flipped that script completely. Newton notched a season-high four hits in five trips on Friday. He also knocked in four runs, tying a single game-high by a Fireflies player this year. The stellar performance led his team to an 11-7 victory over the Crawdads.
The win for Columbia (9-7, 33-49) is its third straight, tying a season-high in consecutive victories. It is also the first time the Fireflies have recorded back-to-back wins against Hickory (10-6, 51-31) in 2019.
Columbia tallied nine unanswered runs over the first five innings to jump out to a comfortable lead. Five of those runs came with two outs in the first. Mark Vientos began the rally with a solo homer ( 7) to left. Chase Chambers and Wagner Lagrange followed with back-to-back singles. Newton added another base hit behind those two, scoring Chambers from second. Hayden Senger capped the scoring spree with a three-run bomb (4).
The Fireflies struck again two innings later. Vientos was struck in the helmet with an errant fastball from Hans Crouse (L, 2-1). He exited the game and was replaced by pinch-runner Taylor Lane. Two batters later, Lagrange slapped his second base hit of the night. Newton followed with another single of his own, scoring Lane and advancing Lagrange to third. Lagrange crossed home later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Columbia added another pair of runs in the fifth. Newton singled for the third time in as many at-bats to start the frame. He would score on a two-out, two-run homer off the bat of Gerson Molina (4).
Fireflies starter Willy Taveras (W, 5-7) held the Crawdads scoreless until the bottom of the fifth. Hickory plated a run on an RBI groundout from Miguel Aparicio. Taveras worked through the inning after the fact without allowing any further damage. He surrendered just the lone run, as well as four hits on the night.
The bottom of the fifth was the first in a string of five consecutive innings that saw the Crawdads put a run on the board.
In the sixth, Hickory left fielder Kole Enright singled with two outs. Ryan Anderson homered (1) a batter later to cut Columbia's lead to six. Matt Whatley reached on a single following Anderson's blast. Whatley later scored on a throwing error from Juan Uriarte.
The Crawdads were the beneficiary of another Fireflies error in the seventh. Jax Biggers and Tyreque Reed both singled to put runners at the corners with one out. Sherten Apostel then hit a grounder to the right side that looked like a potential inning-ending double play. Walter Rasquin threw to second for the force play and Newton made the turn towards first. The shortstop's throw would have beaten Apostel, but Chambers couldn't secure the ball at the bag. Biggers was rounding third at the time and crossed home easily with the ball rolling towards the dugout.
Hickory loaded the bases in the eighth with one away. Pedro Gonzalez entered the game as a pinch-hitter against new relief man Alan Winans (S, 3). Gonzalez pulled a single through the left side, bringing Whatley home from third. The RBI base hit made the score 9-6 in Columbia's favor. Winans retired the next two batters he faced to leave the bases loaded and end the inning.
The Fireflies received some much-needed insurance in the ninth. With one out and two men on, Newton slapped a two-run double for his fourth hit of the night. Winans remained in the game for the ninth to seal the deal. The California native allowed a solo homer to Anderson (2) with two outs, but was untouched otherwise.
Columbia continues its series against Hickory on Saturday. Jose Butto (3-7, 3.84) and Ronny Henriquez (3-4, 3.50) will start for their respective teams. First pitch is at 7:00 ET, with coverage beginning at 6:40 ET at FirefliesLiveStream.com.
South Atlantic League Stories from July 6, 2019
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- Newton's Four-Hit Night Flusters Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
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