Mudcats Claim Opener from Fireflies

ZEBULON, NC - The Carolina Mudcats collected 11 hits as they captured the series lidlifter from the Columbia Fireflies 8-3 on Tuesday night at Five County Stadium in Zebulon.

Carolina (16-6) jumped out early as Daniel Guilarte tripled to open the bottom of the first and scored one batter later to open the scoring. The lead grew to 3-0 in the third thanks to RBI hits from Cooper Pratt and Juan Baez.

That would be more than enough for Manuel Rodriguez (W, 1-2) who worked a season-high 5.2 innings and matched his season best with seven strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.

The Mudcat offense added more insurance in the fifth and forced Columbia starter, Emmanuel Reyes (L, 1-1) from the game. The Mudcats collected runs on a sacrifice fly from Tayden Hall and an RBI double from Baez which increased the lead to 5-0.

Columbia (12-9) got on the board in the sixth as Blake Mitchell socked his third home run of the season over the wall in right to chase Rodriguez from the game.

The Fireflies would pull as close as three after a pair of runs in the seventh before the Mudcats tacked on insurance runs in their final two at bats.

Harrison Durow (S, 4) worked the final two innings to earn the save and secure the victory for Carolina.

The Mudcats and Fireflies continue their series on Wednesday night at Five County Stadium with first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. It will be a Dollar Dog Wednesday and tickets are available at CarolinaMudcats.com or by calling 919-269-2287.

Single-game tickets, season ticket packages, mini plans, group options, as well as luxury suite packages and DRB Homes Sky Lounge reservations in the US Foods Club Level are also still available now by visiting www.carolinamudcats.com, by calling (919) 269-2287, and by visiting the Five County Stadium front office in Zebulon.