Asheville Edges Fireflies, 7-6
ASHEVILLE, NC (Fireflies) – Columbia out-hit Asheville on Wednesday night, but the Tourists walked off in the bottom of the ninth, defeating the Fireflies, 7-6. Joe Tuschak tallied two of the visitors’ 10 hits at McCormick Field, both extra-base hits. Tuschak doubled and launched a two-run home run.
Asheville (26-25, 60-60) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth. The first three hitters reached to begin the frame beforeJimmy Duff (L, 2-2) was called on out of the bullpen. He retired Carlos Herrera with a ground-out to third base, but Chris Rabago scored from third in the meantime. The next hitter, Brendan Rodgers, lined a triple down the left-field line, enabling both other runners to score and tie the game up. After Duff intentionally walked Brian Mundell and Yonathan Daza, he hurled a wild pitch to the back stop, which allowed Rodgers to score the game-winning run. Christian Quintin (W, 4-5) picked up the win for the Tourists.
Ironically, it took five innings for the game’s first run. Tuschak led off the fifth with a two-bagger and moved to third base when Dale Burdick grounded out to second. Two batters later, Enmanuel Zabala vaulted a high fly ball to the wall in right field. Daza plucked it, leaping back at the fence, but that gave Tuschak plenty of time to tag and score.
The Fireflies exploded for four more runs in the sixth. Luis Ortega plated his 25th run of the season and later in the frame Tuschak slammed his sixth homer of the year. The two-run blast stretched Columbia’s (19-33, 55-67) lead to 5-0.
The pesky Tourists jumped right back with three in the bottom of the seventh. Those were their first runs of the night, as starterAndrew Church flummoxed the home team over the first six frames. Herrera doubled in a pair and Rodgers plated another with a sacrifice fly. That was when Church was removed for reliever Johnny Magliozzi. In a tight spot, the New England native struck out Mundell, who owns the league’s second-best batting average.
After Vicente Lupo crushed a solo homer in the top half of the frame – his second in two days – Magliozzi continued to dazzle on the hill in the bottom of the eighth. He sent down the side in order, punching out two more.
Columbia finishes its series with Asheville on Thursday night at 7:05 p.m. Manager Jose Leger sends right-hander Joe Shaw (7-8, 4.14) to the mound to face Tourists righty Trey Killian (9-5, 3.96).
You can listen to the action on WGCV 620 AM and 96.3 FM, ColumbiaFireflies.com and the TuneIn Radio app at 7:00 p.m.
