Fireflies beat Hickory Friday night
HICKORY, NC (WOLO) – Darwin Ramos found his form in Hickory on Friday night. The right-hander allowed just two hits and one run over 5.2 innings at L.P. Frans Stadium and led the Fireflies to a 3-1 victory over Hickory.
Ramos (W, 2-2) won his second game in three starts. On August 15th, the 21-year-old defeated the Augusta GreenJackets at Lake Olmstead Stadium. His road magic continued with six strikeouts on Friday. He was lifted in the bottom of the sixth inning after allowing a run-scoring single to Alex Kowalczyk. Lefty Aaron Ford was called upon out of the bullpen in a tense moment to face the left-handed Rangers prospect, Anderson Tejeda. With the tying run in scoring position, Ford struck Tejeda out looking.
Columbia (66-63) did all its damage, though, in the top of the fourth inning. A hit parade begin off of starter Edgar Arredondo (L, 6-6) when J.J. Franco and Ian Strom rocked back-to-back singles. Dash Winningham then knocked in his 68th run of the year – one behind his 2016 mark – with a base hit up the middle. Strom moved to third on the single and later scored on a wild pitch that bounced by the catcher, Yohel Pozo. A Jay Jabs single pushed Winningham to third base and there was a chance for Natanael Ramos to drive in Columbia’s third run. He did so when he chopped a ground ball to Brendan Davis at second base. Ramos was out, but Winningham scored. The visitors led, 3-0.
Winningham was indomitable at the plate on Friday. In addition to his RBI single in the fourth, the first baseman rocked a base hit in the second and doubled in the sixth. He finished 3-for-3 with a walk.
Ford later hurled a scoreless bottom of the seventh and Ryder Ryan did the same in the eighth. Matt Blackham (S, 6) was responsible for closing the door in the ninth. Blackham has not allowed an earned run in 23.2 consecutive innings.
On Saturday, the Fireflies send right-hander Gabriel Llanes (5-10, 4.19) to the hill to face Hickory (62-69). The Crawdads counter with righty Walker Weickel (4-4, 3.14). First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at L.P. Frans Stadium.
You can listen to the action on ESPN Columbia 94.9 FM and 1230 AM, ColumbiaFireflies.com and the TuneIn Radio app starting at 6:45 p.m.
The Fireflies contributed to the writing of this article.
