4/10/17

Columbia Fireflies (4-0) vs. Hickory Crawdads (1-3)


Columbia Fireflies (4-0) vs. Hickory Crawdads (1-3)

RHP Colin Holderman (1-0, 3.86 - Kingsport) vs. RHP Argenis Rodriguez (4-3, 4.76 - AZL)

Monday, April 10, 2017 — Spirit Communications Park — First Pitch 7:05 p.m. — Game 5

LISTEN: ESPN Columbia 94.9 FM & 1230 AM / ColumbiaFireflies.com / TuneIn Radio App
WATCH: MiLB.TV

--By Sam Hyman

HOT START: The Fireflies aim for their fifth straight win against the Hickory Crawdads. With a win tonight, it would match the club’s longest winning steak from the 2016 inaugural season (8/19/16-8/23/16). During this four-game stretch to start this year, Columbia outscored Augusta 36-12 in the series. 23 of these runs came in the first four innings. It took Columbia the first nine games  of 2016 to reach at least 36 runs.

ABOUT LAST GAME: Columbia logged its second shutout win of the early season, 6-0, over Augusta. Fireflies starter Merandy Gonzalez (1-0) went six innings and OF Tim Tebow clubbed a three-run homer.

CREATING HAVOC: Columbia carries an on-base percentage of .446, which leads the South Atlantic League through four games. The next highest OBP, .397, is Greensboro. The Fireflies have the most walks (32) and steals (12) in the league.

BASEMENT PRODUCTION: The 7-8-9 hitters for Columbia had 14 hits and scored 12 runs in the four-game series against Augusta.

TIP OF THE CAP: Northern Ireland native and former Firefly P.J. Conlon earned a win in his first start with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A) on April 8. He went five innings and recorded five strikeouts. At one point during the outing, he retired 10 of 11 straight batters he faced.

GLOWING REINFORCEMENTS: The bullpen tossed 13.1 innings and sported a 2.74 ERA (four earned runs) in the first four contests.

FRONT-RUNNER: The club has yet to trail in a game this season (36 innings).

No comments: