Columbia 9 - Greenville 2

Press Release:

COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies won their fourth straight over the Drive on Saturday night in front of 4,553 fans at Spirit Communications Park. The club flew past Greenville 9-2 in game two of this series and is 5-0 against its fellow South Division rival this season.

Anthony Kay (W, 2-2) mastered a career-high seven innings on the mound for the home team. The 2016 Mets first round pick also recorded a career-best eight strikeouts, only allowed one walk, and yielded just one run. Kay threw 96 pitches in his eighth start of the season.

Shortly after a brief 20-minute rain delay in the second inning, Columbia’s offense exploded and scored a combined seven runs in the third and fourth frames.

Raphael Gladu walked with one out in the third and then stole second – his team-leading eighth steal this season – while Blake Tiberi was at the dish. After Tiberi struck out, Ali Sanchez reached base on a fielding error from Greenville’s third baseman Frankie Rios. Moments later, Gladu scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch (Sanchez also moved up to second on the play). Jeremy Vasquez smacked a single into center field and knocked in Sanchez. The next batter, Wuilmer Becerra, extended frame and legged out an infield single. The four-run third inning was capped off by Matt Winaker’s two-run triple down the right-field line.

The Fireflies piled up three more runs in the fourth. Tiberi hit a ground ball towards Greenville’s shortstop Ricardo Cubillan, who only had time to get a force out at second base. This allowed Rigoberto Terrazas to score. The inning lengthened even more when Vasquez reached on a throwing error from Greenville’s second baseman Tanner Nishioka. Even with the wide throw, first baseman Michael Osinski still had a chance to get Vasquez out, but the 21-year-old dodged the tag. Tiberi scored on the play. Lastly, Sanchez tallied the third run of the frame on a balk. Columbia held a convincing 7-0 lead after four stanzas.

The offense put the icing on the cake with a pair of runs in the eighth. Scott Manea’s sharp single into left field kicked off the frame. In his final plate appearance of the game, Gladu smashed a single into right field and the Fireflies had runners at first and second. This hit extended Gladu’s hitting steak to 12 games – the longest in franchise history. The 22-year-old passed Terrazas and 2016 Firefly David Thompson who each had 11-game hitting streaks at one point. Tiberi brought in Manea with a single and on the same play, Gladu came across home plate on a throwing error from right-fielder Marino Campana.