Paolini Powers Stones to Fourth-Straight Win With Eighth Inning Homer
COLUMBUS, GA., — The Columbus Clingstones (13-17) led early, saw the lead slip away late, and jumped in front of the Birmingham Barons (14-16) for good thanks to a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning from Stephen Paolini that gave Columbus the decisive lead in a 4-2 win
COLUMBUS, GA., — The Columbus Clingstones (13-17) led early, saw the lead slip away late, and jumped in front of the Birmingham Barons (14-16) for good thanks to a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning from Stephen Paolini that gave Columbus the decisive lead in a 4-2 win on Friday night at Synovus Park.
Decisive Plays: Columbus struck early with three hits in the first inning, including an RBI double from Ethan Workinger and an RBI single from David McCabe to bring the lead to. 2-0. Birmingham got a run back in the fourth, but Landon Harper struck out Adam Hackenberg to deny the Barons any further scoring. An RBI single from Rikuu Nishida tied the game in the seventh. Paolini slashed a solo home run (1) the opposite way to put the Stones ahead for good in the eighth.
Key Contributors: Paolini, Workinger, McCabe, and Drew Compton collected the RBIs for Columbus while Harper (3.1, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO) was sensational in relief. For Birmingham, Nishida (3-for-5, RBI) and Ryan Galanie (3-for-3, 2B) accounted for two-thirds of the Barons' hits.
Noteworthy: Columbus extended its winning streak to a club record of four games. The Clingstones also secured their first series victory since winning 4-2 against Biloxi April 8-13. Columbus turned three double plays on Friday, a new single-game club record.
Next Game (Saturday May 10): Columbus vs. Birmingham, 6:05 pm ET at Synovus Park. Radio Broadcast: 5:50 pm ET on Sports Visions 92.1 FM. RHP Didier Fuentes (0-2, 9.39 ERA) will start for Columbus opposed by LHP Hagen Smith (2-0, 2.28 ERA) for Birmingham.