Fireflies Match Two Franchise Records in 16-8 Win

Press Release:

North Augusta, SC – The Fireflies matched a couple of franchise records with their offensive explosion on Monday night at SRP Park. Columbia tied a club record with 16 runs and, individually, Scott Manea became just the second Firefly to drive in six runs in one game (Dash Winningham, May 29, 2017). The squad defeated the GreenJackets in a slugfest, 16-8, in the third game of this series.

Columbia’s offense pounced on the home team right from the beginning with six runs in the first inning. Jeremy Vasquez drove in the first two runs with a single and two hitters later Quinn Brodey blasted a grand slam. The six runs that score were the first six batters that came to the plate. The Fireflies only tallied three hits in this wild frame, but were aided by three hit-by-pitches from Augusta’s starter Garrett Cave.

The second massive run-scoring stanza was the top of the fourth. Manea smashed a three-run home run and then Dionis Paulino followed that up with a solo shot of his own. Paulino continues to surge with now seven hits and two homers in this series. After a four-run fourth, the visitors led 11-1.

The Fireflies put an exclamation point to Monday’s victory with five more runs in the seventh inning. Paulino registered a two-bagger and Raphael Gladu singled to begin the frame. Edgardo Fermin knocked in Paulino with a sacrifice fly. The next batter, Blake Tiberi, singled on the first pitch of his at-bat and then following Matt Winaker’s hit-by-pitch, the bases were loaded. Vasquez drew a walk and plated the second run. The final three runs of the stanza came when Manea crushed a three-run double. At this point, Columbia led 16-6.

Here’s a couple wild nuggets form this game:

1. Columbia batted around twice (first and seventh innings).
2. There were a combined six hit-by-pitches (one shy of tying a South Atlantic League record).
3. This contest was played in three hours and 51 minutes (longest nine-inning game in Fireflies franchise history).