The Charleston RiverDogs worked 11 walks on Friday night at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park, allowing them to earn a 7-1 win over the Columbia Fireflies. The RiverDogs mustered just four hits but scored the final seven runs of the contest. The win guaranteed the team at least a series split against the Fireflies. A crowd of 3,864 took in the contest.
Columbia (10-8, 45-37) struck first, scoring a run against Chris Villaman in the top of the fourth. Blake Mitchell opened the inning with a base hit but was erased immediately when Hyungchan Um bounced into a double play. Austin Charles reignited the frame with a single of his own and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jhonny Perdomo drove a ground rule double over the wall in left field to give the Fireflies a 1-0 lead.
From that point forward, the pitching staff held Columbia off the board. Villaman struck out a career-high nine batters over 5.2 innings to earn the win. He walked one and scattered four hits. Samuel Mejia followed with 1.1 scoreless innings. Finally, Adam Boucher closed the game with 2.0 scoreless frames, striking out four.
The RiverDogs (13-6, 40-44) took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Narciso Polanco opened the inning with a double and advanced to third base on a passed ball charged to Um behind the plate. Jhon Diaz walked and stole second base to put a pair in scoring position. Two runs then scored on a Raudelis Martinez fielder’s choice groundout up the middle.
The lead grew to 3-1 in the very next frame. Ricardo Gonzalez walked and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw by reliever Henson Leal. Adrian Santana drove him in with a double toward right field.
A safety squeeze bunt from Carlos Colmenarez increased the margin to 4-1 and began a three-run inning. Enzo Paulino added another tally with a sacrifice fly and Gonzalez tacked on an RBI double later in the frame. The final run scored on a bases loaded walk drawn by Odalys Peguero in the seventh.
The RiverDogs stole five bases in the contest, raising their season total to 231. That number is second in all of Minor League Baseball. Perdomo was the only player with multiple hits for either team.
Ballpark Fun
The RiverDogs celebrated another Friday night victory with a post-game fireworks show presented by REV Federal Credit Union. The victory was the team’s fifth on a Friday night at The Joe and the eighth Friday night win overall.
The penultimate game before the all-star break is set for Saturday night at 6:05 p.m. RHP Trevor Harrison (0-0, 4.91) will make his second start with the RiverDogs. Columbia will turn to RHP Mauricio Veliz (0-1, 4.09). The team will celebrate the life of Jimmy Buffet on Margaritaville night with special parrot-themed uniforms.
The RiverDogs continue their hunt for a fourth-consecutive Carolina League championship in 2024. The full schedule of games is available here.
Charleston 7, Columbia 1
July 12, 2024
Click here for the box score
Columbia (R-H-E): 1-5-1
Charleston (R-H-E): 7-4-0
Win: Villaman (6-1)
Loss: Reyes (4-3)
Save:
HR: Columbia: None
HR: Charleston: None
