By: RiverDogs Media
Columbia, SC – The Columbia Fireflies scored early and often in an 8-2 win over the Charleston RiverDogs on Saturday night at Segra Park in Columbia. The game ended the RiverDogs season-best eight-game winning streak. Charleston went 2-11 with runners on scoring position.
Columbia (18-16, 35-63) opened the scoring by putting a run on the board in the bottom of the first inning against Daiveyon Whittle. Jean Ramirez began the inning with a bunt single and advanced to third on Daniel Vazquez’s single. Darryl Collins pushed him in with a groundball to second. The lead doubled in the third inning when Javier Vaz reached on an error and later scored when the RiverDogs failed to execute a rundown near second base.
The RiverDogs (21-13, 67-33) missed out on chances to score in the second and third innings, but succeeded in the fourth. Kenny Piper worked a walk with one out and raced to third on an ensuing single from Nathan Perry. Daiwer Castellanos put the RiverDogs on the board and extended his hitting streak to eight games with an RBI single up the middle. The team left two on base in that frame and did not score again until the deficit was much larger.
The game shifted the way of the Fireflies in the middle innings. In the fifth, Vaz blasted a three-run home run with two outs to push the advantage to 5-1. The game was Vaz’s debut with the Fireflies. In the sixth, Juan Rivera walked or hit five consecutive batters to force in two more runs and increase the lead to 7-1. Collins added one more run in with an RBI single in the sixth. The RiverDogs final run came in the seventh when Shane Sasaki bounced into a double play with the bases loaded.
The RiverDogs finished with five hits. Columbia posted eight, led by three from Ramirez at the top of the order. Whittle took the loss after allowing five runs, four earned, in 4.0 innings. Rivera surrendered two runs in 0.1 innings. Brayden Theriot went 2.1 innings and surrendered one run. Aneudy Cortorreal was the final reliever to appear, working a dominant 1.1 innings.
The series will wrap up on Sunday evening with a 5:05 p.m. first pitch. LHP Brendan McKay will make his second MLB rehab appearance of the week as the RiverDogs starter in the series finale. Columbia will hand the ball to RHP Shane Panzini (0-2, 4.46) for his second start of the week.
Single-game tickets are available for all RiverDogs home games at riverdogs.com.
