Blowfish Take 2nd Straight

FLORENCE, SC - Bryan Hill (Union) and Brison Celek (South Carolina) each homered as the Blowfish rallied with a three-run ninth inning to knock off the Florence Red Wolves 7-4 Tuesday night at American Legion Field.
    Columbia (2-2) handed Florence (3-4) its fourth consecutive loss with the victory.
    Chase Pickering (West Virginia, 1-0) picked up the win in relief, pitching  scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Colby Holmes (South Carolina, 0-1) gave up three unearned runs in 1.2 innings for the loss. Andy Podolinski (West Virginia) threw a three-up, three-down inning for his first save of the young season.
    Columbia got on the scoreboard first when Celek drove Florence starter Alex Kreis's (Jamestown) pitch over the left field wall for the game's first run. It was Celek's first at-bat in a Blowfish uniform. Will Callaway (Appalachian State) followed with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch by Kreis. Shawn Glover (Erskine) then doubled with a shot that just stayed inside the right field line to drive home Callaway and make it 2-0 Blowfish.
    Florence answered in the bottom of the inning when Columbia starter Chad Hodges (Shorter) walked both Ethan Santora (Mercyhurst) and Austin Smetana (Francis Marion). Will Chandler (Florence-Darlington Tech) then hit a slow ground ball to the right side of the infield. Columbia second baseman Ryan McCormick (Millersville) fielded it and threw to second to retire Smetana, but the relay throw from shortstop Dadynoel Lorenzo (Georgia Perimeter) bounced away from first, allowing Santora to score from second on the error and close the gap 2-1.
    The Red Wolves took the lead in the third. Tyler Boyd (Francis Marion) singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a Mac Doyle (Wofford) walk. Three batters later, John Frost (Alabama-Birmingham) hit a deep shot to right field. Columbia outfielder Branfy Arias (Tusculum) sprinted towards the warning track, but the ball bounced off his glove as he reached out for the wall. Both Boyd and Doyle scored on the play to give Florence a 3-2 advantage.
    However, the Blowfish tied the game in the fifth. Dedrick Mingo (Limestone) walked and moved to second on Demontez Jones's (Charleston Southern) single. Arias then laced a single into left field, bringing home Mingo to even the score 3-3.
    The Red Wolves took the lead back in the sixth with a little "small ball." Frost singled and moved to second on Smetana's groundout. He moved to third after Glover was charged with a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch by Hodges to put Florence up 4-3.
    Columbia took advantage of Florence mistakes to tie the game again in the seventh. Mingo beat out an infield single to lead off the inning, then stole second. He moved to third on a Lorenzo groundout. Jones then laid down a perfect bunt to reach first safely and put men on the corners with one out. Florence reliever Jacob Smith (Campbell) then tried to pick off Jones, but his throw sailed high over the head of Frost at first base. Mingo scored an unearned run to even the score again, 4-4.
    The Blowfish pulled ahead in the ninth. Mingo grounded a ball to short, but Red Wolves' shortstop Stephen Carmon (USC Aiken) fired a bouncing throw to first that got away and allowed Mingo to reach safely. Mingo then stole second and moved to third on Lorenzo's sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Arias grounded another slow roller towards short. Carmon charged and fired quickly to first as Mingo crossed home plate. The throw missed its target and Arias advanced to second on the fourth Florence error. Hill then followed with his first home run of the season put Columbia ahead for good, 7-4.
    Blowfish starter Chad Hodges had a solid night for the no-decision, giving up four runs, but only two earned, off four hits in 6 innings. He also threw five strikeouts and five walks. Florence starter Alex Kreis gave up three runs on three hits in four and two-thirds innings.
    NOTES: It was Pickering's first appearance for the Blowfish... Hill now has seven RBIs in four games... Celek became the first Blowfish not named Bryan Hill to drive in a run with his second inning home run... Columbia is now 1-2 against Florence. The two teams meet again at Capital City Stadium on Friday... The Blowfish return home on Wednesday night against the Wilmington Sharks for a 7:05 pm start time. It will be Discount Beverage Night, meaning all sodas and suds will be only $1 from 6-8 pm.