Tuesday’s 15-strikeout performance
The Fireflies took four of six against the Pelicans in Myrtle Beach this past week behind some great pitching. Tuesday Josh Hansell went 5 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs in the bottom of the 4th, while striking out eight. Nicholas Regalado would come on for two innings allowing two hits with two strikeouts before handing the ball over to Henson Ronier Neal for two innings as the Fireflies secured a 5-3 victory. Tuesday night’s trio would combine for 15 strikeouts and only 3 walks. Erick Torres provided 2 runs, one in the top of the 3rd on a homer to left, his fourth of the year, and another in the top of the 9th on a line-drive single.
Wednesday’s 9-0 shutout
On Wednesday, Blake Mitchell showed up early with a first inning “Blake Bomb” to right for his 16th home run of the year. In the second, Brennon McNair would double to plate Hyungchan Um and Colton Becker. Um would later homer to left center in the top of the sixth, his third of the year. Shortly after, Colton Becker added an RBI double. In the 7th, Daniel Vazquez scored on a walk, before Becker would drive in another two runs in the inning. The Fireflies went on to earn a 9-0 victory behind 7 scoreless innings from Jonatan Bernal (1-3).
The offense hits a wall on Thursday and Friday
The Pelicans jumped out to an early 5-run lead in the 2nd inning on Thursday and never looked back. The Fireflies struggled to get the bats going, only managing 3 hits, and fell 8-0. Columbia jumped out to another 1st inning lead on Friday on anther ‘Blake Bomb’, his 17th of the year. Unfortunately, that would be the only run for the neon and navy as they fell 2-1. Felix Arronde was credited with the loss despite a good outing. Over 6 innings, Arronde allowed two runs, striking out 7 while only giving up 3 hits.
The bats heat back up over the weekend
Columbia would bounce back Saturday to secure a 5-1 victory behind a 5-inning relief outing from Logan Martin. Martin (3-3) took over in the 4th and held the Pelicans scoreless over 5 innings until his departure after the 8th for Elvis Novas. A 6-4 victory on Sunday would cap off the road trip for the Fireflies. Erick Torres scored on an Austin Charles single in the first, but Myrtle Beach tied it up in the 2nd. However, a few throwing errors helped put up 3 runs in the 6th inning and 2 runs in the 7th for the Fireflies. Hiro Wyatt took the ball for the first 3 innings of the contest and allowed 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 5. Hansell would earn the win for his work in the 5th and 6th.
Next up
Sunday would mark win number 61 for the Fireflies who now sit in 1st place in the Carolin League South. With his 16th and 17th home runs of the year, Mitchell is on 20/20 watch, having already tallied 23 stolen bases on the year. He and the Fireflies look to stay hot as they head home to host the Fredericksburg Nationals from August 20th-25th.
Image credit: Columbia Fireflies