'Dads Extinguish Fireflies Bats in Win

Hickory, NC- The Crawdads won their third straight home game on Thursday night, defeating the Columbia Fireflies 5-2. The 'Dads will go for the series sweep of Columbia tomorrow night.

Crawdads second baseman Kole Enright started the evening's scoring with a solo homerun to right field in the third. Centerfielder Bubba Thompson added a shot of his own in the bottom of the sixth that increase the 'Dads lead to two runs. The homerun was Thompson's first as a Crawdad.
The Fireflies cut the deficit to one in the top of the seventh on a double to left that brought the score to 2-1. The 'Dads quickly got the run back as Thompson doubled in catcher Sam Huff in the bottom half of the inning.
Huff gave the Crawdads a four-run lead going into the ninth with a two-run homerun to right field.
Crawdads starter Alex Eubanks was dominant on the hill, completing seven innings. He finished the night with one earned run with 8 strikeouts and no walks. Hard-throwing right hander Alex Speas took the 'Dads the rest of the way, getting the final six outs but allowing a run.
Enright, Thompson and leftfielder Austin O'Banion each finished the night with two hits. Thompson's average is currently sitting at .444 through his first two games while O'Banion is hitting .429.
The homestand will continue tomorrow night as the team kicks off Crawmoms weekend. The Crawdads will be taking on a new identity throughout the weekend, playing as the Hickory Crawmoms and wearing specialty hats and jerseys throughout the weekend. Tomorrow night's game will conclude with a firework show.