Fireflies Come Up Short in Opener vs Charleston

COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies jumped out to a quick lead, but couldn’t hold on as the club fell to the Charleston RiverDogs 3-2 Tuesday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.

The Fireflies crossed the plate first in Tuesday’s showdown. In the top of the second, Drew Dowd hit Erick Pena with a pitch. Next, Jhonny Perdomo lined a single to center that moved Pena to third. After that, Lizandro Rodriguez grounded into a fielder’s choice that plated Pena and pushed Columbia to a 1-0 lead. After a stolen base and an Erick Torres single, Torres was caught stealing second, but the ensuing scramble allowed Rodriguez to score to put the visiting team up 2-0.

Blake Wolters continued to impress in his second start. The righty spun 4.2 innings while punching out a career-best five hitters. He allowed one, unearned run before exiting the game.

The RiverDogs completed their comeback against the Fireflies bullpen. In the sixth, Odalys Peguero singled to right to score Tre’ Morgan and tie the game 2-2. In the eighth, Adrian Santana, the Rays’ first pick in the 2023 draft, led-off the inning with a base knock against Jeremy Rosado (L, 0-1). He swiped his seventh bag of the season to put himself into scoring position with nobody out. After a groundout advanced Santana to third base, Rosado tossed a wild pitch that allowed him to advance home and give Charleston their first lead of the game.

Dalton Fowler (S, 1) issued a lead-off walk to Torres before shutting down the remainder of the Fireflies line-up to close out the game.

Columbia continues their series with the Charleston RiverDogs tomorrow night at 7:05 pm at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. The Fireflies trot RHP Ethan Bosacker (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the bump and Charleston counters with RHP Gary Gill Hill (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

The Fireflies return home April 23 for a six-game set with the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park. Friday, April 26 will be the inaugural Carolina Grits game at Segra Park. We’re celebrating with a Grits bobble spoon giveaway. Get your tickets at ColumbiaFireflies.com.