Fireflies Swept After 7-4 Sunday Loss
COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies rallied with a two out triple and hit by pitch to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth Sunday afternoon at Salem Memorial Ballpark, but were not able to bring home the victory as they fell 7-4 to the Salem Red Sox.
COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies rallied with a two out triple and hit by pitch to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth Sunday afternoon at Salem Memorial Ballpark, but were not able to bring home the victory as they fell 7-4 to the Salem Red Sox.
The bulk of Salem’s offense came in a three-run fourth and a three-run sixth. All six of those runs were charged to Wander Arias (L, 2-5), although only three were earned runs. In the sixth, Karson Simas broke things open with his team already leading 4-2. The center fielder reached on an error from Daniel Vazquez and then scored after an Arias wild pitch. With Salem leading 5-2 and Jose Garcia on first with a pair of outs, Eddison Paulino ripped his third homer of the season to draw the score to 7-2.
Juan Daniel Encarnacion (W, 5-3) earned his second win of the season with two perfect innings of relief work for Salem.
The Fireflies took their first lead of the game in the top of the third. Omar Florentino started the frame off with a double and scored on a River Town base knock to left that tied the game 1-1. The third batter of the inning, Daniel Vazquez, ripped a go-ahead two-bagger off Hunter Dobbins to make the score 2-1.
They were able to add another pair of runs in the seventh, capitalizing again on early offense. Omar Hernandez led the frame off lacing a double to left. The next hitter, Rubendy Jaquez, tripled to right and then came home on a sacrifice fly from Florentino to make the score 7-4.
Vazquez finished the game with a career-high three hits. The shortstop showed gap-to-gap power, popping a pair of doubles off the barrel.
After the off day, Columbia will start a six-game series with the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park. Both teams have yet to name their starters for the set.
Columbia returns home for a two-week homestand June 7-19 that includes two Budweiser Thirsty Thursdays, two Freebie Fridays, two firework shows and the return of Negro League Weekend! Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.