Charleston 6 - Columbia 5

Press Release:

COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies mashed a season-high three home runs on Wednesday but came up one run short against Charleston. The RiverDogs claimed the middle game of the series with a 6-5 victory. Nine of the 13 games Columbia and Charleston have played this year have been decided by a single run.

Ali Sanchez, Scott Manea and Quinn Brodey all vaulted baseballs out of the yard at Spirit Communications Park on Wednesday. Sanchez and Manea both blasted solo home runs in the fourth inning (the third multi-homer inning of the season for the Fireflies). Columbia (28-28) had entered the inning trailing 1-0 and then exited leading by a run.

Matt McPhearson tied the score, though, in the top of the fifth with an RBI double. Charleston (28-29) later pulled ahead with a four-run seventh. Five straight RiverDogs batters recorded hits at one point in the half inning and Oswaldo Cabrera did the most damage with a two-run single that put the visiting club ahead, 6-2.

Columbia kept fighting. After Menea beat out a double-play ball in the home half of the seventh, Brodey crushed his team-leading sixth homer of the season over the right-center field wall. The Fireflies had sliced the deficit in half.

And that wasn’t all. In the following frame, Sanchez doubled. Two batters later, it was Matt Winaker with a chance to drive in a run. His single into centerfield plated Sanchez and the Fireflies were back within one. Columbia could not rally any further, though.

Sanchez, Winaker and Manea all finished with a pair of hits. Raphael Gladu finished with a base hit as well and extended his franchise-record hit streak to 20 straight games. Mind you, the outfielder is also on a 25-game on-base streak (four away from tying the franchise record).

Greg Weissert (W, 2-2) claimed the win for Charleston and Darwin Ramos (L, 0-2) was handed the loss. Tony Dibrell started for the Fireflies and performed well. The righty struck out seven over six innings.

On Thursday, Columbia and Charleston conclude their three-game series. South Atlantic League all-star Joe Cavallaro (6-1, 2.22) makes the start for the Fireflies and toes the rubber against RiverDogs right-hander Jio Orozco (0-1, 5.14).