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6/9/18

Columbia 4 - Augusta 1



Press Release:

COLUMBIA, SC – Fireflies catcher Ali Sanchez went on a rampage on Friday. The 21-year-old belted his third homer of the season, drove in three runs and led Columbia to a 4-1 victory over the Augusta GreenJackets. The club snapped its seven-game losing streak and is back to .500 on the year.

Columbia (29-29) trailed 1-0 entering the bottom of the sixth. Raphael Gladu singled, stole second and scurried to third base on a wild pitch. It was then that Sanchez launched a fly ball to deep left field. Gladu tagged and scored on the sacrifice fly and the Fireflies evened the score.

The home team took a lead for good with a seventh-inning score. Matt Winaker led off with a base hit and later scored on Edgardo Fermin’s RBI double. Augusta (35-24) reliever John Russell (L, 5-2) would later allow the two-run home run to Sanchez in the bottom of the eighth. It was the catcher’s third of the season.

Sanchez also doubled in his first at-bat, giving the Venezuelan a pair of extra-base hits on the night.

Columbia’s pitchers were impressive on Friday. It started with Anthony Kay: the lefty grinded through 6.2 innings, scattering five hits and striking out seven. Carlos Hernandez (W, 1-1) picked up the win after 1.1 scoreless frames and Stephen Villines (S, 6) then tossed a one-two-three top of the ninth to close out the game.

STREAK ALERT: Raphael Gladu extended his franchise-record hit streak to 22 straight games with a pair of singles on Friday. Gladu  is hitting .370 during the stretch.

SATURDAY’S PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP David Peterson (1-4, 1.93) for Columbia … RHP Jose Marte (6-1, 2.82) for Augusta

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