Blowfish Win Home Opener 4-0

COLUMBIA, S.C. — With more than 2,000 people at the ballpark and a host of promotions on the docket, the Columbia Blowfish got their 2014 home season started with a bang on Wednesday night at Historic Capital City Stadium. Junior Landon Beck of Anderson University and University of Georgia freshman Mike Bell were the two catalysts for the home team, giving the Blowfish all they would need to get past the Gastonia Grizzlies. Beck tossed 6 innings of one hit baseball, while walking one batter. Beck struck out 9 Gastonia hitters, setting a new opening night record for strikeouts for Columbia. Cody Dix (Francis Marion) and Evan Raynor (Florence Darling Technical College) came on in relief to preserve the shutout. Dix tossed 1.1 scoreless, and Raynor came on to two batters in 1.2 innings of work for the save. The home crowd was enthusiastic the entire night, with Mike Bell giving them plenty to cheer about early on. Bell scored on a passed ball in the first inning, and then hit a solo dinger well over the left field fence, giving the Blowfish all the offense they would need. With an announced attendance 2,346, the Blowfish faithful came out in droves wearing Pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. The Blowfish teamed with the SC State Fair for the “Think Pink” theme, and also handed out seeds for pink forget-me-not flowers as part of their Seeds of Hope campaign. Pink fireworks were also shot off after the Blowfish win, in what is presumably the first time that pink fireworks have been shot off at a baseball game. The display kicks off a regular dose of fireworks that the Blowfish have scheduled after every Friday and Saturday night home contest this season. Plenty of young Blowfish fans were in the stadium this evening as well, as the Blowfish Reading program sponsored a reading parade for students from William J. Clark, Forest Lake, Saxe Gotha, Baron Dekalb, Pomaria-Garmany, Stover Middle, Midway Elementary and Saluda Middle schools. The Blowfish improve to 1-1 on the year and hit the road again tomorrow night, May 29th, to take on the Florence RedWolves in Florence, SC. The Coastal Plain League is the nation’s hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 17th season in 2013, the CPL features 14 teams playing North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. Furthermore, the CPL has had over 1,000 alumni drafted and 62 alums – including 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander – make their Major League debut thus far. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com and follow us via Twitter @CPLBaseball.