2009 Season Recap

2009 Season Recap

    2009 was a tumultuous season for the Blowfish.
    The team struggled out of the gate, going 9-19 to start the year. There were still some highlights in the season's first half. On June 6, over six thousand spectators attended Military Appreciation Night at Capital City Stadium. Over 3,500 soldiers from nearby Fort Jackson made up the bulk of the capacity crowd. They were treated to a pitcher's duel as Columbia and Thomasville combined for only three hits. Blowfish starter Tyler Christman (USC Sumter) gave up no earned runs in six innings. However, the Hi-Toms took advantage of  three errors, as the defending champions won 2-1. 
    Columbia's lone walkoff win of the season came on June 26 in extra innings as Matt Williams (Liberty) drove in Richard Mounce (Clemson) to help the Blowfish defeat the Wilson Tobs 6-5 in the 10th.
    Two current Blowfish, and four former players, were drafted in June. Oliver Santos (USC Salkehatchie) was chosen in the 37th round by the Cincinnati Reds and Tyler Christman was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 44th round.
    On July 2, the Blowfish made a coaching change. Tim Medlin, who led the Blowfish for the first three years of the team's existence, was replaced at the helm by Lee Gronkiewicz. Gronkiewicz, a former closer for the University of South Carolina, had spent the previous seven years in the minors (making his Major League debut with Boston during that time). Gronkiewicz was recovering from Tommy John surgery when he was approached by Blowfish owner/president Bill Shanahan about the opening in Columbia. Gronkiewicz had never coached at any level prior to taking the job. Coach “Gronk” made his debut in a 3-2 loss against Florence that night.
    On July 3rd, the Blowfish took on the USC Alumni in the third annual “Gamefish Cup” between the two teams. The Blowfish kept possession of the Cup with their second consecutive victory in the rivalry, 5-0. It was the first shutout in the short history of the Cup. Erik Sommerville (Francis Marion) pitched five shuout innings to get the win and Jim Rider (Kent St) was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
    Unfortunately, the first two weeks of July were rough on Columbia. The Blowfish lost their first ten CPL games under Coach Gronkiewicz. The losing streak was snapped in dramatic fashion on July 13, however. Columbia trailed first-place Fayetteville 8-3 in the fifth before rallying with fifteen unanswered runs to pull the shocker, 18-8. The 'Fish were able to string together a winning streak over the next week, going 5-1 and finishing the season on a 9-6 run to end with an overall record of 19-36.