The Columbia Fireflies (28-28) suffered another devastating loss to the Charleston Riverdogs (28-29) Wednesday at Spirit Communications Park. This 6-5 loss gives Charleston a 2-0 lead in the three game series.
With this loss, the Fireflies are currently at .500 for the year. This is the second game of a six-game homestand which will feature one more game against Charleston and three games against Augusta.
During this match-up, both teams had a slow start in the first two innings. Charleston scored first when Jason Lopez hit a home run to give them a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning.
The Fireflies responded in the fourth when Ali Sanchez hit a home run to tie the game. Scott Manea hit another home run in the fourth to give Columbia a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth. Charleston responded in the fifth when Matt McPhearson doubled to give Jason Lopez his second run of the night and tie the game at two each.
Columbia's defense struggled in the seventh inning when Charleston scored four runs. Four different players scored on hits, with Jason Lopez scoring his third run of the night. This gave Charleston a 6-2 lead at the top of the seventh and left the Fireflies searching for an answer back.
Just when Columbia felt defeated, they started a comeback in the bottom of the seventh when Quinn Brodey hit a two-run home run to cut Charleston's lead to two runs. The Fireflies almost closed the gap in the eighth when Matt Winaker singled to give Jeremy Vasquez a score, which cut the Charleston lead to one.
Columbia did not allow a single hit in the top of the ninth, but they fell short in the bottom of the ninth when they didn’t get a single hit. This ultimately secured the Fireflies defeat and lead to their inability to have a strong comeback.
Despite this disappointing loss, this was a special game for the Fireflies as they posted a season high of three home runs. The Fireflies will return to Spirit Communications Park Thursday to close out the series against Charleston with the first pitch at 7:05 p.m.