Fireflies Blank Nats in Third Straight Win
COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies pitching staff was on fire again, as Frank Mozzicato led the way to a 6-0 victory in the club’s fifth shutout of the season. Mozzicato (W, 1-2) set the pace with his third quality start of the season. The southpaw punched out seven in six,
COLUMBIA, SC – The Fireflies pitching staff was on fire again, as Frank Mozzicato led the way to a 6-0 victory in the club’s fifth shutout of the season.
Mozzicato (W, 1-2) set the pace with his third quality start of the season. The southpaw punched out seven in six, one-hit frames to keep Fredericksburg (11-23) at bay. The Fireflies have held the Nationals scoreless since the first out of yesterday’s game (17.2 innings) and the bullpen has thrown 13 scoreless innings in the series.
Frank Mozzicato is on the leaderboard for a lot of categories in the Carolina League this year. He leads the circuit in strikeouts (55), opposing batting average (.144) and innings pitched (35.1), he has the fifth-best ERA (2.04) and the seventh-best WHIP (1.08).
Marcus Olivares worked two scoreless frames in relief for Columbia, notching a pair of strikeouts before Samuel Valerio shut down Fredericksburg in the ninth with a pair of whiffs to close out the game.
The Fireflies offense started early. Levi Usher drew a lead-off walk and came around on Daniel Vazquez’s 20th RBI in the season in the top of the first to break the scoreless tie.
Vazquez finished the night with three hits, including an RBI single in the seventh that set the table for Erick Peña to rip a two-RBI single down the right field line, giving Columbia a 6-0 lead. Both hitters are tied for eighth in the Carolina League with 21 RBI on the season.
The Fireflies continue their series with Fredericksburg tomorrow night at 7:05 pm at Virginia Credit Union Stadium. RHP Shane Panzini (1-2, 3.03 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Fredericksburg counters with Riley Cornelio (1-2, 6.89 ERA).
Columbia returns home Tuesday, May 23 to start a six-game series with the Charleston RiverDogs. The week marks the return of Copa de la Diversíon weekend presented by Southern Recipe Small Batch Pork Rinds, where the Fireflies will become Los Chiccarones de Columbia for the weekend. Friday, the Fireflies will give away a soccer scarf for the first 1,000 fans through the gates thanks to Southern Recipe Small Batch and Saturday, we’ll have a fantastic fireworks display. Tickets are still available at FirefliesTickets.com.