Mudcats Rally Past Fireflies 2-1 In Twelve Inning Thriller!
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Photo courtesy of Carolina Mudcats
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May 1st, 2024
The Carolina Mudcats (17-6) played host to the Columbia Fireflies (12-10). The Mudcats went into the day carrying a 1.5 game lead over the Fredericksburg Nationals (15-8). The Mudcats starting pitcher was Daniel Corniel who sported a 0-0 record with 11.2 innings pitched. The Fireflies starting pitcher was Felix Arronde who was 2-1 record in 18 innings pitched. The Mudcats successfully grew their division lead over Fredericksburg by winning 2-1 in the 12th inning.
In the top of the first, Columbia got the lead after Erick Torres drew a walk, and he scored on an RBI single to make it 1-0 in favor of the Fireflies. The Mudcats were unable to plate any runs in the first 5 innings. Daniel Corniel, K.C. Hunt and the Mudcats silenced the Columbia bats for 11 innings. In the bottom of the 6th, the Mudcats scored their first run of the night by David Garcia. The Mudcats loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, a walk and a single. The run scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.
Daniel Corniel went 6 innings while only allowing 1 run.
The Mudcats were held scoreless for the next 4 innings. In the top of the 12th, Columbia sent a ground ball up the middle. Center fielder Yophery Rodriguez charged the ball, and threw a laser to catcher David Garcia who tagged the runner that was attempting to score for the out.
In the bottom half, Cooper Pratt was the ghost runner starting on 2nd base. A ground ball that was mishandled by the 2nd baseman moved Pratt to 3rd base. Then, Juan Baez brought home the winning run on a RBI single up the middle to give the Mudcats the 2-1 victory in 12 innings.
KC Hunt pitched 3 scoreless innings with no hits. Bayden Root then threw 2 innings of scoreless innings without allowing any hits. Jeison Pena then threw 1 scoreless inning to set up the offense in the bottom of the 12th.
The Mudcats improved to 17-6 on the year while Columbia fell to 12-10. The Mudcats grew their division lead to 2.0 games over Fredericksburg The winning pitcher was Jeison Pena. Ben Hernandez received the loss for Columbia. The Mudcats are back in action against the Fireflies at 6:30pm at Five County Stadium.
