Joe Cavallaro’s stockpile of quality starts grew larger on Wednesday. The Fireflies righty hurled six scoreless innings, picked up his league-best seventh win of the season and led Columbia to a 4-0 victory. It was Columbia’s third shut-out win of the season and second in four days.
Columbia dropped its series-opener in Lexington, 3-0, on Monday night. The game was called in the eighth inning at 10:03 ET after a 30-minute rain delay. The Fireflies’ three-game win streak was snapped.
The Fireflies blanked the GreenJackets 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Spirit Communications Park. It’s the second shut-out victory and second series sweep for the club this season. Chris Viall was impressive on the mound through 5.1 innings. The righty allowed just two hits, issued zero walks, and struck out four batters.
A crowd of 4,179 fans erupted when Quinn Brodey drew a 10-pitch walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th.
Fireflies catcher Ali Sanchez went on a rampage on Friday.
Matt Winaker smashed his third professional home run in a 5-1 loss to the RiverDogs on Tuesday night at Spirit Communications Park. Raphael Gladu also extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single in the fourth inning.
Four Fireflies were named to the South Atlantic League All-Star team by the league on Tuesday. Pitchers Joe Cavallaro and David Peterson, catcher Scott Manea and first baseman Jeremy Vasquez will be on display at First National Bank Field in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the 59th SAL All-Star Game on Tuesday, June 19.
Giovanny Alfonzo bashed his second home run of the season on Sunday in Rome, but the Fireflies stumbled in the series finale to the Braves, 5-3. The Fireflies are off on Monday and return to action at Spirit Communications Park on Tuesday.
Raphael Gladu has been arguably the best hitter in the South Atlantic League since May 9. That’s when the outfielder’s hit streak began. Gladu stretched it to 18 straight games with a pair of doubles on Saturday in Columbia’s 3-1 loss to Rome at State Mutual Stadium.
It seems as though every game between and Columbia and Charleston in 2018 is tense, competitive and close.
