The Columbia Fireflies opened their 2024 season in Augusta this past weekend to take on the Green Jackets. After losing one-run games on Friday (1-2) and Saturday (4-5), explosive offense and dominating pitching led the way to a win on Sunday 4-1. Infielder Jhonny Perdomo provided Friday’s lone run, in a game where the pitching staff struck out 14. Friday’s debut for catcher Blake Mitchell saw him go down three times on strikeouts and was also awarded an error. However, he came out Saturday and showed the prospect potential.

Going 2-4 at the plate with one walk, one strikeout, and an RBI double, Mitchell also scored a run from the DH spot. Daniel Vazquez went a perfect 4-4 on Sunday. He’s now an impressive 7-12 in the early season. Felix Arronde and Hunter Patteson had control of the mound Sunday. In five innings of work, Arronde allowed two hits and one earned run. He sat down seven on strikeouts. Patteson came out of the pen in the sixth and picked up where his teammate left off. In all, he struck out five of the 12 hitters he faced without giving up a hit. Arronde (1-0) gets the win, Patteson the save, and manager Jesus Azuaje his first win at the helm in Columbia.

The opening homestand is this week for Columbia. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans come to town with a matching 1-2 record on the year after their opening series against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. 2023 draft pick Blake Wolters is scheduled to start Wednesday night. Wolters was a second-round pick out of Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, Illinois. The 6-4 right-hander will make his debut at age 19. This should be an exciting week in Columbia as we’ll get to see a full series with some young highly touted prospects from both sides.

Image credit: Columbia Fireflies