Despite five strong innings from Janzen Keisel in his professional debut, the RiverDogs fell to the Columbia Fireflies 4-1 in their first road contest of the season on Tuesday night at Segra Park in Columbia. The RiverDogs were held to just two hits in the contest.
Keisel, the Rays’ sixth-round draft pick in 2024, allowed just one run in his five-inning professional debut, working around four walks.
Fireflies' starter Blake Wolters also delivered a strong performance in his season debut, keeping the RiverDogs out of the hit column until the fifth inning, punching out five in five innings of work.
After scoring in the third inning against Keisel, Columbia was kept off the board until the seventh, when Hyungchan Um delivered a two-RBI single to make it 3-0 Fireflies.
In the eighth, Derlin Figueroa reached on an error and later scored on a sacrifice fly to scratch across an unearned run to push the deficit to 4-0 Columbia.
The RiverDogs bats came to life in the top of the ninth to avert a shutout. Connor Hujsak reached on an error, and Brady Marget followed with a double to put runners on second and third with one out. Angel Mateo collected an RBI groundout to get Charleston on the board, but the rally attempt was halted there.
With the defeat, the RiverDogs fall to 0-4 to open the 2025 campaign.
Charleston will seek its first win of the season tomorrow evening against Columbia, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05. The RiverDogs return home to Riley Park on April 15 to begin a six-game homestand. Tickets are available on RiverDogs.com.