Fireflies Blanked 4-0 in Opener in Charleston  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Columbia Fireflies bats were silenced for a second-consecutive game as they fell to the Charleston RiverDogs 4-0 Tuesday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park.

Charleston got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. The RiverDogs scored a pair of unearned runs after a walk and an error set the table with two outs. After that, Angel Mateo and Ricardo Gonzalez slapped back-to-back singles to score a pair of runs prior to the end of the first.

Fireflies starter Tanner Jones (L, 2-2) shut things down after that. The righty finished the day with three innings of work and he didn’t allow an earned run before getting the ball to the bullpen.

Elvis Novas allowed another pair of runs to score in the second of his two innings in relief to put the RiverDogs in front 4-0.

Columbia closed out the game using Ismael Michel, Nick Conte and Dennis Colleran to rip off three scoreless innings.

The RiverDogs got five strong innings from starter Jayden Voelker (W, 1-2) before Jacob Kmatz spun three innings and Dominic Niman worked a hitless ninth to complete the shutout of the Fireflies.

The Fireflies bats have now been held scoreless for 18.1-consecutive innings, dating back to Ramon Ramirez scoring on a balk with two outs in the fifth inning of a 10-0 win in a rain-shortened game vs Hickory Saturday.

Columbia continues their series with the Charleston RiverDogs tomorrow night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark at 7:05 pm. RHP Blake Wolters (2-1, 5.06 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia and Charleston counters with RHP Trevor Harrison (2-2, 5.40 ERA).

The Fireflies return home May 13 to kick-off a six-game set with the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park. The week will include Dino Night with an appearance from Ed’s Dinosaurs, A Starry Night and Teacher Appreciation Night. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.