KANNAPOLIS, NC - Sunday evening belonged to Columbia's starting pitcher Harol Gonzalez . The righty dazzled through a career-long nine innings and racked up seven strikeouts. The Fireflies managed just three hits and still took down the Intimidators, 3-1. The club has won four of the first five games on
KANNAPOLIS, NC - Sunday evening belonged to Columbia's starting pitcher Harol Gonzalez . The righty dazzled through a career-long nine innings and racked up seven strikeouts. The Fireflies managed just three hits and still took down the Intimidators, 3-1. The club has won four of the first five games on this road trip.
Gonzalez (W, 7-7) finished with 105 pitches and threw 72 strikes. The 22-year-old completed 8.1 scoreless frames and then Kannapolis's (11-19, 50-48) Luis Gonzalez ended the shut-out bid with a solo homer. Harol escaped more trouble and induced a double play with one out in the ninth, ending the contest. This is the second complete-game nine-inning performance by a Firefly in 2017. Gabriel Llanes accomplished this feat on May 10 against Delmarva.
The visitors scored first in the third inning. Colby Woodmansee led off with a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball. Columbia's (13-16, 53-44) nine hitter, Vinny Siena , smashed a triple to the left-field wall to score Woodmansee. Andrés Giménez was the next batter and he executed an RBI groundout, plating Siena. The Fireflies led 2-0 after three frames.
White Sox prospect Dylan Cease (L, 0-2) finished with 4.2 innings and had seven strikeouts in his second start with the Intimidators. Cease was traded from the Cubs to the White Sox on July 15. Columbia has tagged the 21-year-old for two losses since being assigned to Low-A Kannapolis.
Jacob Zanon provided insurance for the Fireflies in the eighth stanza. Zanon started the frame with a walk and then stole second base. It was the 22-year-old's third steal of the game - tying Ian Strom's game-high set on July 9, 2017. Dash Winningham singled home Zanon and Columbia scored its third run of the contest.
The Fireflies are back in action against the Kannapolis Intimidators on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Intimidators Stadium. Righty Chase Ingram (1-0, 1.80) is scheduled to make his third start for Columbia. Right-hander Luis Martinez (3-1, 3.64) is on the mound for Kannapolis.
You can listen to the action on ESPN Columbia 94.9 FM and 1230 AM, ColumbiaFireflies.com and the TuneIn Radio app starting at 6:45 p.m.
