Pair of Homers Lift Fireflies Over GreenJackets

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Columbia Fireflies utilized a pair of two-run homers from Herard Gonzalez and Juan Carlos Negret to take home the first game of their 12-game homestand at Segra Park 4-3 Tuesday evening.

The Fireflies (20-14) found themselves in a 1-0 hole in the bottom of the third inning when Gonzalez came to the dish with Rubendy Jaquez waiting along the base paths. Gonzalez cracked a 1-1 offering from Joey Estes (L, 0-2) over the right field fence to put Columbia up, 2-1.

Juan Carlos Negret found the Fireflies in a 3-2 hole in the sixth with Darryl Collins on first when he went hacking at the first pitch of his at-bat to clear the right field fence for his fourth homer of the season to push the Fireflies in front of Augusta (17-20) 4-3.

The score stood. Luis De Avila (W, 3-0) came in and struggled in his first inning of relief, allowing a pair of runs to score and surrendering a lead that Rylan Kaufman earned through five one-hit innings. After the offense picked him up, he was able to have a clean second inning of relief before handing the ball to Chase Wallace (S, 1) who worked a pair of hitless innings to finish out the game.

The Fireflies continue their series with the Augusta GreenJackets tomorrow at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Cruz Noriega (2-1, 5.55 ERA) gets the nod for Columbia while Augusta tosses LHP Jake McSteen (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Tomorrow is Trash the Poop Wag-Along Wednesday at Segra Park. All fans who purchase a berm ticket can bring their dog out to Segra Park with them. If you’re not a dog person, you can still celebrate White Claw Wednesday. Fans can buy the seltzers for just $5 at any concession stand at the ballpark.