Charleston Takes Series Finale, Splits with Fireflies

CHARLESTON, SC - An opposite field solo home run from third baseman Dermis Garcia was the difference-maker as the Charleston RiverDogs took the Sunday finale from the Columbia Fireflies, 2-1, in front of 6,129 fans at Joe Riley Park.
Columbia (22-20) starting pitcher David Peterson (1-2) served up a 1-1 pitch that the right-handed hitter turned around for his first home run of the season.
The former first round pick gave up both Charleston (19-23) runs, with the other coming on a booted ball by third baseman Rigoberto Terrazas. With runners at the corners and one out in the sixth inning, Terrazas mishandled an Oswaldo Cabrera slow roller, allowing first baseman Dalton Blaser to score, tying the game at 1-1.

Center fielder Pablo Olivares had a pair of hits in the victory, giving him back-to-back multi-hit games to end the short homestand.
Right-hander Rony Garcia got the nod from manager Julio Mosquera on Sunday. The 20-year-old went five innings, giving up the lone Columbia run on three hits while striking out seven Fireflies to tie a career-high.
Garcia was followed by righty Austin DeCarr (1-0), who recorded the win in his home debut with the Holy City. The 2014 third round pick dealt a pair of hitless frames with two punch outs. DeCarr made two relief appearances in Charleston's previous road trip when he joined the club.
Braden Bristo shut the door for the Dogs with a two-inning save. Bristo allowed one hit while striking out three, lowering his ERA to 1.06 and picking up his first save.
With the 2-1 final, Charleston played its South Atlantic League-leading 20th one-run contest of the season. Eight of those games finished with a 2-1 score and the Dogs are 4-4 in such games.
In their season series with Columbia, which the Dogs lead 5-3, five of the eight meetings have been separated by just a run, and seven of eight by two tallies or less.
Ballpark Fun
The Dogs opened the gates to all baseball fans and stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herders for "Star Wars Night" presented by MUSC and CCPRC in conjunction with Y 102.5 and CW 2. The game was preceded by a softball game between the City of Charleston Softball Game between the Charleston firefighter and police departments (the police staved off a late firefighter rally in a 13-10 thriller). Additionally, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg was in the house for the series finale as part of a group of nearly 1,000 city employees.
Upcoming

The RiverDogs begin an eight-game road stint, beginning with their first trip to brand-new SRP Park on Monday night against the Augusta Greenjackets at 7:05 p.m. Charleston will send lefty Dalton Lehnen (2-3, 3.03) to face Giants prospect and right-hander Jose Marte (4-1, 2.60). Monday's game will be broadcast on 1250 WTMA in the tri-county area. There will be online streaming audio also available worldwide on riverdogs.com, and through the RiverDogs TuneIn radio app.
RiverDogs single-game tickets, including options to the Riley Park Club, are now available for the 2018 campaign, the club's 25^th season as the RiverDogs and their "175^th season in dog years." Ticket information can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com/tickets.
--RIVERDOGS--