RiverDogs starter Jose Urbina extended his scoreless innings streak to 26 with seven shutout frames, leading Charleston to a 3-0 victory over Columbia in the final game before the All-Star Break on Sunday afternoon in front of 3,217 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
With the win, the ‘Dogs take the series from the first-half champion Fireflies, three games to two. The RiverDogs enter the break with a 45-40 record, 10-9 in the second half.
The first few innings went smoothly for both pitching staffs.
The RiverDogs had opportunities with men on base in the first and third frames, but Ricardo Gonzalez rolled into two double plays to end those innings.
Urbina let up a single in the first but proceeded to retire eleven consecutive batters.
Columbia starter Jordan Woods got through three scoreless innings, giving up three hits while striking out two.
The RiverDogs took advantage of the Fireflies bullpen and got on the board in the fourth inning.
With two outs, Larry Martinez roped a single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Yirer Garcia floated an RBI-single to score Martinez and put Charleston in front 1-0.
In the sixth, Asbel Gonzalez cracked a two-out double in the gap, but the Fireflies were unable to capitalize on their first runner in scoring position of the entire game.
Charleston added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth.
After two singles from Gillen and Martinez, a wild pitch bounced off the glove of catcher Gabriel Silva, and he lost the ball while simultaneously injuring himself. His slow reaction time allowed Gillen to reach home all the way from second. A Garcia walk was followed by a fielder's choice by Jose Contreras, in which reliever Jose Gutierrez sailed a throw to second base, scoring Martinez from second and pushing the lead to 3-0.
Urbina finished his outing with seven innings for the first time as a pro, striking out three while walking just one.
Jadon Bercovich struck out the side on just 10 pitches in the eighth inning and Dalton Fowler worked around a single to earn his second save of the season in the ninth.
Ballpark Fun: Today was the first 2:05 pm start time of the season, and the promo team found a way to get fans out of the summer heat. Today was deemed “The Joe Goes Deep Sea”, which served to be a celebration of Shark Week and all things oceanic. To start the day, a mermaid performed the national anthem. A foam party was held outside of the front gates, allowing children to play and cool off in the mountain of bubbles. Various sea-themed games and activities were present all over the concourse, such as one where participants tried to hit water balloons with a baseball bat.
The RiverDogs return to action following the All-Star Break with a nine-game road trip, starting with three games in Hickory July 18-20. The team returns to the Joe for a six game homestand against Myrtle Beach July 29-August 3.