Season-High 10 Walks Leads to 8-3 Loss for Fireflies

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Columbia Fireflies pitching staff tied a season-high with 10 walks that helped contribute to an 8-3 loss to the Augusta GreenJackets Saturday evening at Segra Park.

Before starter Matt Stil could record an out, the Fireflies (22-16) found themselves in a 3-0 rut to the GreenJackets (19-22) bats, punctuated by a two-run blast from Landon Stephens. Stil was able to get out of the inning without much further trouble, but the crowd at Segra Park would watch him issue five walks before getting yanked for Marlin Willis (L, 0-1) after 1.2 innings.

Juan Carlos Negret was the offensive catalyst for Columbia. The slugging outfielder reached on an error in the bottom of the first that allowed Herard Gonzalez to scamper home. Then in the third, with Maikel Garcia on third and two outs, the outfielder, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday, smashed a two-run homer, his fifth of the season to tie the game.

Willis allowed a run to score in the fourth after loading the bases with walks and hit by pitches. He hit Willie Castro with a pitch for the deciding run of the game. Darius Vines (W,twirled a masterpiece for the GreenJackets. The righty wrung up 10 Fireflies hitters through six innings while allowing just two runs.

The Fireflies complete their series with the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park tomorrow at 5:05 pm. LHP Rylan Kaufman (1-2, 5.79 ERA) gets the nod for the Columbia Fireflies and righty Joey Estes (0-1, 1.01 ERA) will start his second game of the series for the Augusta GreenJackets.

Tomorrow the Fireflies continue their Negro League Celebration to honor the culture and history of the Negro Leagues. The Fireflies will wear Newark Eagles jerseys and the GreenJackets will wear Chattanooga Choo Choos jerseys during the game. To help celebrate Father’s Day at the yard, all dads will receive a voucher for a free 16 oz beer or a 24 oz fountain soda.