Jaraba and Castillo Homer in Tense 8-7 Victory

Columbia 7 @ Carolina 8
September 03, 2022 | Venue : Five County Stadium | First pitch : 5:00 PM | Att : 2,639 | T : 2:42
COL: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 7 11 0
CAR: 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 0 x 8 10 0
WP: Jeferson Figueroa (1 - 7) LP: Shane Panzini (0 - 4) SV: Leoni De La Cruz (3)

ZEBULON – Branlyn Jaraba and Luis Castillo both homered in the second, Hedbert Perez had a RBI double in the seventh, Jeferson Figueroa earned his first career victory and Leoni De La Cruz earned his third save as the Carolina Mudcats survived a late rally from the Columbia Fireflies while taking their penultimate home game of the season 8-7 on Saturday night at Five County Stadium.

The Mudcats (32-27, 66-59) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second with a two-run home run from Jaraba and a three-run home run from Castillo. Both homers came with two outs in the second and both were hit off starter Shane Panzini. That 5-0 lead would hold from the second through the sixth before Carolina rallied for three more runs in the seventh with a Jace Avina RBI single, an Eduarqui Fernandez sacrifice fly and a double from Hedbert Perez.

Panzini (0-4) took the loss after allowing the five early runs over two innings pitched. Oscar Rayo followed in relief and would Carolina scoreless through the next four innings. Brandon Johnson followed and went on to allow Carolina’s three runs in the seventh while working one inning. Marlin Willis later worked a scoreless ninth with a hit and a strikeout.

Carolina’s three-run seventh put them up 8-0, but the Fireflies (33-25, 51-73) went on to rally for six runs in the sixth against Figueroa (1-7) and reliever Trevor Tietz. Down 8-6, Columbia went on to score once more in the ninth, but would end up leaving two men on as De La Cruz (S, 3) finished the game with a check swing strikeout of Dayton Dooney.

Figueroa gave up the bulk of the damage in the eighth but did so after previously turning in three scoreless frames with five strikeouts. He went on to record one out in the eighth and ended up going three and 1/3 overall with six runs, five hits and three walks while earning the win. Figueroa left the eighth with bases loaded, but two of those runners scored as the Fireflies kept their rally going against Tietz.

That six-run rally included an Omar Hernandez RBI double, a Guillermo Quintana RBI single, a two-run single from Daniel Vazquez, a David Hollie sac fly and a Cayden Wallace pinch-hit RBI ground rule double. The Columbia ninth included a two-out RBI double from Quintana, but De La Cruz would go on to finish the game with his strikeout of Dooney to end the game.

Cameron Wagoner started for Carolina and worked through four scoreless innings with a walk, four hits and three strikeouts.

Despite the victory, Carolina’s elimination number fell to three with only seven games remaining.

HOME RUNS:
Carolina: Jaraba (3, 2nd inning off Panzini, 1 on, 2 out); Castillo (3, 2nd inning off Panzini, 2 on, 2 out).

TOP PERFORMERS - BATTERS:
Castillo, RF (Carolina): 1-for-3, 2 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Jaraba, 1B (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Avina, LF (Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI
Perez, DH (Carolina): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Quintana, 1B (Columbia): 3-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI
Cross, CF (Columbia): 2-for-4, 2 R
Hernandez, O, C (Columbia): 1-for-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Vazquez, SS (Columbia): 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI

TOP PERFORMERS - PITCHERS:
Wagoner (Carolina): 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
Tietz (H, 2) (Carolina): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO
De La Cruz (S, 3) (Carolina): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO

SCORING:
Mudcats 2nd (Mudcats 5, Fireflies 0) -- Eduarqui Fernandez strikes out swinging. Hedbert Perez walks. Hedbert Perez advances to 2nd on a balk. Jadher Areinamo flies out to Gavin Cross, Hedbert Perez to 3rd. Branlyn Jaraba hits a home run to left field on a 0-0 pitch, Hedbert Perez scores. Jose Sibrian singles to right field. Robert Moore walks, Jose Sibrian to 2nd. Luis Castillo hits a home run to right field on a 0-1 pitch, Jose Sibrian scores; Robert Moore scores. Eric Brown Jr. grounds out, Guillermo Quintana to Shane Panzini.
(5 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors, 0 LOB)

Mudcats 7th (Mudcats 8, Fireflies 0) -- Pitcher Change: Brandon Johnson replaces Oscar Rayo. Robert Moore flies out to David Hollie in foul territory. Luis Castillo walks. Eric Brown Jr. singles up the middle, Luis Castillo to 2nd. Jace Avina singles to center field, Luis Castillo scores; Eric Brown Jr. to 3rd. Eduarqui Fernandez out on a sacrifice fly to Javier Vaz, Eric Brown Jr. scores. Hedbert Perez doubles to right-center field, Jace Avina scores. Jadher Areinamo grounds out, Daniel Vazquez to Guillermo Quintana.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors, 1 LOB)

Fireflies 8th (Mudcats 8, Fireflies 6) -- Yeudi Advincola pops out to Eric Brown Jr. Javier Vaz walks. Omar Hernandez doubles to left-center field, Javier Vaz scores. Gavin Cross singles to right field, Omar Hernandez to 3rd. Carter Jensen walks, Gavin Cross to 2nd. Guillermo Quintana singles to center field, Omar Hernandez scores; Gavin Cross to 3rd; Carter Jensen to 2nd. Daniel Vazquez singles up the middle, Gavin Cross scores; Carter Jensen scores; Guillermo Quintana to 2nd. Dayton Dooney walks, Guillermo Quintana to 3rd; Daniel Vazquez to 2nd. Pitcher Change: Trevor Tietz replaces Jeferson Figueroa. David Hollie out on a sacrifice fly to Eduarqui Fernandez, Guillermo Quintana scores. Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Cayden Wallace replaces Yeudi Advincola. Cayden Wallace hits a ground rule double to right field, Daniel Vazquez scores; Dayton Dooney to 3rd. Javier Vaz strikes out swinging.
(6 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB)

Fireflies 9th (Mudcats 8, Fireflies 7) -- Pitcher Change: Leoni De La Cruz replaces Trevor Tietz. Omar Hernandez grounds out, Jadher Areinamo to Branlyn Jaraba. Gavin Cross walks. Carter Jensen grounds out, Jadher Areinamo to Branlyn Jaraba, Gavin Cross to 2nd. Guillermo Quintana singles to center field, Gavin Cross scores. Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Levi Usher replaces Guillermo Quintana. Daniel Vazquez walks, Levi Usher to 2nd. Dayton Dooney strikes out swinging.
(1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors, 2 LOB)