Fireflies Get Second Walk-Off Winner of 2022 in 10th

COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies allowed Down East to score eight runs in the final two innings of regulation, but Omar Hernandez sliced a single to left to score River Town in the bottom of the 10th to push the Fireflies to a 13-12 walk-off victory.

Luis Barroso (BS, 1; W 1-1) worked a 1-2-3 10th inning to set the Fireflies up to walk off the game. He allowed the Wood Ducks (7-8) to score one in the ninth to tie the game.

Chase Wallace and Rylan Kaufman struggled in the eighth inning, combining to allow three hits, hit a batter and walk three additional batters as half a dozen runs crossed the plate to cut Columbia’s (6-9) lead from 12-5 to 12-11.

The scoring started early from the Columbia Fireflies. River Town doubled in the first and after a Carter Jensen walk, the two executed a double steal to break the scoreless tie.

Things didn’t end there. In the second, the Fireflies took advantage of some walks and errors that allowed Guillermo Quintana to clear the bases as he laced a double to the left-center gap to put the Fireflies in the driver’s seat with a 5-0 lead.

The third started in a similar vein. After walks and an error with just a single out, the Fireflies were set up to score a lot of runs. Darryl Collins singled to bring home Wilmin Candelario for the left fielder’s sixth RBI of the season.

Jensen clobbered a two-run homer in the sixth to right-center field that extended the Fireflies lead to 12-5. Town also had a late homer, his third of the series. Town finished the series 9-15 with three homers, four doubles, five walks, seven runs scored and five RBI. He scored four of Columbia’s runs today, a career-high. He’s also the first Fireflies player to score four runs since Rubendy Jaquez did so July 22, 2021.

After the off day, the Columbia Fireflies will head to Myrtle Beach to begin a series with the Pelicans. The Fireflies will start southpaw Noah Cameron (0-0, 3.27 ERA) in the first game of the series and Myrtle Beach opts to start righty Tyler Schlaffer (0-1, 4.22 ERA).

The Fireflies return home for a series vs the Delmarva Shorebirds May 2-8. The series will include a t-shirt giveaway, a fireworks show, a Budweiser Thirsty Thursday and much more fun! Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.