Columbia Strands 11 in 3-2 Loss

COLUMBIA, SC – The Columbia Fireflies wrapped up their two-week homestand with a 3-2 loss with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Sunday night at Segra Park. The game began in a 35 minute rain delay, but both pitching staffs came out of the gates ready to blow past opposing hitters.

After breezing through the first two frames, Adrian Alcantara (L, 4-6) struggled when he started the third inning, giving up a pair of solo homers to Justin Williams and Adonis Giron, allowing Fayetteville to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

The Fireflies tried to respond in the home half of the inning. Gage Hughes laced a double to the right field corner on the first pitch of the frame before advancing on a wild pitch from Jayson Schroeder. The Fireflies would draw three walks in the remainder of the inning, but due to a double play on an attempted bunt, were unable to score.

The Fireflies offense got going in the home half of the fifth. With two outs, Tyler Tolbert and Darryl Collins were able to extend the frame with back-to-back singles to place runners on the corners for Juan Carlos Negret. The right fielder stepped into the box and slapped a double off the left field wall to score both Tolbert and Collins while drawing the Fireflies within a single score.

Alcantara allowed an insurance run to score in the top of the fifth. After walking the lead-off hitter Williams, Nathan Perry smashed a double into the right-center alley to score Williams and push the Woodpeckers’ lead to 3-0.

Following the off-day tomorrow, the Columbia Fireflies will head to Charleston to face the RiverDogs in a six-game series. Starter have yet to be announced. Columbia only has two more homestands the remainder of the season. The next one begins Tuesday, August 31. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.