Fireflies Fall to Kannapolis, 6-3

KANNAPOLIS, NC (Fireflies) – Nabil Crismatt struck out 10 Intimidators on Friday night, but Columbia fell to Kannapolis, 6-3, in the series opener at Intimidators Stadium. It was the third time this season Crismatt collected a double-digit strike-out game.

Columbia (25-36, 61-70) got the scoring started in the first inning. J.C. Rodriguez led off and singled to right field. Then Rodriguez moved up to second base thanks to a fielder’s choice. Eudor Garcia smoked a ground ball down the first-base line. Intimidators first baseman Cody Daily knocked the baseball down, rushed to the bag and put away Garcia. In the process, Rodriguez whipped around third base and scored.

Kannapolis (31-30, 55-76) evened the score in the bottom of the second inning. Cody Daily singled and Bradley Strong followed with a double. Grant Massey bounced out to short stop, but Dailey scored from third base.

Garcia plated his second run of the night in the top of the third frame. Tucker Tharp slapped a base knock to center field. One batter later, Patrick Mazeika mimicked Tharp with a single of his own. The shop was set up for Garcia. The mighty lefty hit a line drive over the second baseman’s head to score Tharp from second.

The seesaw tilted back the Intimidators’ way in the home half of the inning. Danny Mendick and Alex Call stroked back-to-back base hits. Four-place hitter Cody Dailey stepped in next and crushed a two-run double to left-center field. Mendick and Call both scored to put Kannapolis ahead, 3-2.

The Fireflies fought back instantly and tied the score in the fourth. Dale Burdick continued his hot-hitting as of late, lacing a triple down the right-field line. Joe Tuschak drove Burdick home using a sacrifice fly.

Crismatt (L, 1-2) cruised during the middle innings. On top of his 10 strikeouts, the right-hander from Barranquilla, Colombia, didn’t walk a batter in his seven frames on the hill.

Kannapolis added two runs in the seventh inning and one more tally in the eighth frame. Relievers Louie Lechich (W, 1-0) and Ben Wright (S, 3) sealed the game on the mound for the Intimidators.

On Saturday, righty Chase Ingram (7-9, 4.48) gets the start for the Fireflies. He faces Intimidators right-hander Max Beatty (4-5, 3.00) with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

You can listen to the action on WGCV 620 AM and 96.3 FM, ColumbiaFireflies.com and the TuneIn Radio app starting at 6:45 p.m.