Fireflies Run Away from RiverDogs with Two Homer Night

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Columbia Fireflies needed a blast from Maikel Garcia to tie the game, but Kale Emshoff obliterated a baseball to push the Fireflies ahead in the fifth in an 8-4 win over the Fireflies Saturday evening at Segra Park.

Emshoff put the exclamation point on the Columbia Fireflies fifth inning with a two-run bomb, his fifth of the season, that scored Juan Carlos Negret to push the Fireflies (29-26) in front 7-4 over Charleston (39-18). Negret singled to get aboard to score Darryl Collins from second to break a 4-4 tie. Columbia’s backstop, Emshoff, also had a two-RBI single in the first to tie the game, which totaled up his first four-RBI game of his young career.

The RiverDogs DH Michael Bergland hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to give Charleston a two-run lead, but it was immediately matched by Maikel Garcia who pushed a two-run blast off Seth Johnson (L, 3-3) to score Rubendy Jaquez and tie the game.

The Fireflies added one more run of insurance in the home half of the seventh when Jaquez sliced a single to center to usher Omar Hernandez home, giving the two teams the final score.

The home team used Adrian Alcantara’s (W, 2-4) six-inning start, the longest for any Fireflies starter this season, to keep pressure off the bullpen following a 13-inning game Friday. Marlin Willis (S, 1) finished out the game with three scoreless innings. He punched out half a dozen in the appearance to continue his hot stretch. In his last five outings, he has allowed one run in 10 innings of work while fanning 18 batters.

Columbia closes out their series with the Charleston RiverDogs tomorrow at Segra Park at 5:05 pm. RHP Cruz Noriega (3-1, 4.21 ERA) toes the rubber for the Fireflies while the RiverDogs have yet to name a starter. Gates open at Segra Park at 4 pm, fans can purchase tickets at FirefliesTickets.com.