Fireflies Lose Finale 7-2 in Kannapolis
Kannapolis, NC – The Columbia Fireflies fell behind early and couldn’t come back as they dropped their fifth-straight to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 7-2 Sunday afternoon at Atrium Health Ballpark. Kannapolis got on the board first Sunday. After loading the bases, Ronny Hernandez reached on a catcher’s interference, which allowed
Kannapolis, NC – The Columbia Fireflies fell behind early and couldn’t come back as they dropped their fifth-straight to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 7-2 Sunday afternoon at Atrium Health Ballpark.
Kannapolis got on the board first Sunday. After loading the bases, Ronny Hernandez reached on a catcher’s interference, which allowed Wilber Sanchez to trot home and break the scoreless tie.
Hernandez came up in the third with another chance to move his club ahead. He singled through the middle to score Caden Connor from third to double Kannapolis’ lead with one out. Later in the frame, Erick Torres misjudged a two out pop-up to center that turned into a two RBI double for Drake Logan. The play scored Albertson Asigen and Hernandez to give Kannapolis a 4-0 advantage.
Blake Wolters (L, 1-1) worked three frames, allowing four runs (three earned) before Columbia went to the bullpen. Connor Fenlong was the first arm out of the pen, working one scoreless frame before getting it to Logan Martin, who worked as the piggyback pitcher today.
The Cannon Ballers put things out of reach in the fifth inning. An error, two walks and two hits combined with a wild pitch allowed a trio of runs to score against Martin and led to Kannapolis taking a 7-0 lead.
Finally, Luis Polanco worked a scoreless eighth to move the game to the final frame.
The Fireflies got on the board in the top of the sixth inning. After a Jhonny Perdomo base knock, Derlin Figueroa smashed his seventh homer of the season beyond the right field fence to cut Kannapolis’ lead to 7-2.
Lucas Gordon (W, 3-1) spun 5.1 frames, allowing two runs on the Figueroa homer before transferring the ball to the bullpen. Luke Bell, Mark McLaughlin, Christian Edwards and Billy Seidl combined to offer 3.2 scoreless innings in relief to keep Columbia at bay.
Columbia heads home Tuesday to start a six-game set with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Both teams have yet to name a starter for the series.
The Fireflies return to Segra Park June 4 to start a set with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. Help the team unmask some villains Saturday, June 8 for Scooby-Doo! Night presented by Escapology. The club will also be giving away a piece of history, as the first 1,000 fans will receive a Tyler Tolbert Bobblehead Friday, June 7 thanks to SAFE Federal Credit Union. Buy your tickets now at ColumbiaFireflies.com.