Bats Continue Rough Stretch in 7-0 Loss to RiverDogs

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Columbia Fireflies fell behind early and were never able to catch up in a 7-0 loss to the Charleston RiverDogs Friday night at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark.

Starter Ben Hernandez (L, 0-2) allowed a career-high four earned runs in 2.1 innings. Charleston (21-13) came out of the chute quickly, notching two hits and two walks in the first to score a pair of runs. The RiverDogs chased Columbia’s (19-14) starter out of the game after two of the first three batters reached against Hernandez. They would both score after reliever Walter Pennington walked Alexander Ovalles and allowed Osleivis Basabe to get a base knock to push Charleston’s lead to 5-0 after only three innings.

The Fireflies offense was contained yet again. Columbia had only two hits for a second consecutive night. Dating back to June 3, Columbia has now been held to two hits or less in five of seven contests.

Columbia’s two hits Friday came on an infield single from Tyler Tolbert and a base knock up the middle from Omar Hernandez.

The Columbia Fireflies and Charleston RiverDogs continue their fray tomorrow at 6:05 pm at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark. The Fireflies offer RHP Matt Stil (2-1, 5.89 ERA) and Charleston sends RHP Taj Bradley (3-2, 3.28 ERA) to the hill.

After two weeks on the road, the Fireflies will return home Tuesday, June 15 to start a six-game set with the Augusta GreenJackets. At that point, Columbia will play 12 games in 13 days at Segra Park that will include two fireworks shows, two t-shirt giveaways and much more. For tickets visit FirefliesTickets.com.