Fourth Inning Rally Holds Up for Columbus in 3-2 Win Over Pensacola

Clingstones back strong start from Ian Mejia in another nail-biting victory over the Blue Wahoos

Hayden Harris turned in another scoreless outing for a six-out save on Wednesday night. (Olivia Crew)

By Jack Johnson

June 4, 2025

PENSACOLA, FL., — A three-run fourth inning for the Columbus Clingstones (23-26) held up as the difference despite a late push from the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (25-28) in another nail-biting 3-2 win for the Clingstones on Wednesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Decisive Plays: After three scoreless frames, the Clingstones

Decisive Plays: After three scoreless frames, the Clingstones broke the ice with an RBI single from Geraldo Quintero to lead 1-0 in the fourth inning. One batter later, Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. drove in a pair of runs to extend the lead to 3-0. After six scoreless innings from Mejia (W, 5-0), Kemp Alderman put Pensacola on the board with a solo home run to lead off the seventh. The next batter, Nathan Martorella, doubled down the right field line and scored on an RBI triple from Mark Coley II to make it 3-2. Jose Cuas got the Clingstones out of a jam to hold the slim lead into the eighth inning. Hayden Harris (S, 3) collected a six-out save to close out the Columbus win.

Key Contributors: Kilpatrick Jr. (1-for-3, 2 RBI, SB) picked up his 2nd and 3rd RBIs of the series while Quintero (1-for-4, RBI) drove in the Clingstones' other run. Mejia (6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 SO) and Harris (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO) performed admirably for the Clingstones pitching staff. For Pensacola, Alderman (1-for-4, HR, RBI) and Coley II (1-for-4, 3B, RBI) provided the offense in the seventh inning.

Noteworthy: Columbus improves to 7-8 in 1-run games, and 2-2 in 1-run games against Pensacola. For Harris, 15 of his 17 appearances this season have been scoreless outings. The Clingstones yielded just two walks on the night after entering the game with the second-best BB/9.0 IP ratio (2.45) in Double-A.

Next Game (Thursday, June 5): Columbus at Pensacola, 7:05 pm ET at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM. RHP Lucas Braun (3-1, 4.08 ERA) will start for Columbus opposed by RHP Evan Fitterer (2-4, 3.40 ERA) for Pensacola.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, June 10): Columbus vs. Knoxville, 7:05 pm ET at Synovus Park. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM.