Columbia Takes Game 4-1 After Delay on the Beach

COLUMBIA, SC – The Columbia Fireflies withstood a one hour and 49 minute delay, but came out firing on all cylinders after the tarp came off as they beat Myrtle Beach 4-1 at Pelicans Ballpark Thursday night.

Wilmin Candelario led off the seventh inning with a double to left-center. Next, Jean Ramirez bunted him to third and Candelario came home on a Scarlin Lebron wild pitch to give the Fireflies a 2-1 lead.

The next inning, it was Lizandro Rodriguez who led the frame off with a double. He moved to third as Erick Pena reached on a throwing error and came around to score when Roger Leyton skied a sacrifice fly to right field, giving Columbia a 3-1 lead.

Omar Hernandez wrapped up the scoring in the ninth with an inside-the-park-homer that he smashed passed the diving glove of center fielder Ismael Mena for his fourth homer of the season to give Columbia a 4-1 lead. The hit extended Hernandez’s hitting streak to nine games, unseating Brett Squires for the longest hitting streak for a Fireflies player this season. The last Fireflies player to have a longer hitting streak was Javier Vaz who closed out the 2022 season with an 11-game stretch.

Eduardo Herrera (W, 6-1) was the first pitcher on the hill after the delay and he worked a pair of scoreless innings to keep the Pelicans at bay. Cooper McKeehan (S, 11) closed out the game to earn his 11^th save of the season. The mark is tied with Adonis Uceta (2017) and Allan Winans (2019) for the second-most in a single season in Fireflies history.

The game was delayed before the start of the sixth inning due to lightning in the area in a 1-1 tie. The delay lasted one hour and forty minutes before the game restarted at 10:30 pm.

The Fireflies started the scoring in the top of the fourth inning. After Roger Leyton and Brennon McNair drew back-to-back one out walks, Jean Ramirez slapped a two out single to right to score Leyton before Ramirez was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

It didn’t take long for the Pelicans to strike back. In the bottom of the fourth, Shane Panzini hit Jefferson Rojas with a pitch, after a throwing error on a pick-off attempt advanced the shortstop to second, Rafael Morel hit a base knock to right field to plate Rojas and tie the game.

Panzini spun 4.1 innings before he exited the game. The righty only allowed two hits, but he issued five walks and hit a batter with a pitch, which drove up his pitch count.

Columbia continues their series with the Pelicans tomorrow with a 7:05 pm tilt at Pelicans Ballpark. LHP Hunter Patteson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his Fireflies debut and will work against righty Grant Kipp (2-5, 2.97 ERA).

The Fireflies return home to end the month with a six-game set against the Carolina Mudcats July 25-30. The homestand will have our Marvel Defenders of the Diamond Night Saturday the 29 and will include a Cayden Wallace Hero Bobblehead courtesy of SAFE Federal Credit Union July 28. Tickets for the homestand are available at FirefliesTickets.com.