Greenville snaps Fireflies’ winning streak

Josh Ockimey and Trenton Kemp each homered, and Roniel Roudes pitched five strong innings as Greenville defeated Columbia 8-3 on Friday at Sprit Communications Park.

The loss snapped Columbia’s four-game winning streak, and was its first home loss in its second game at its new park.

“It’s just one loss. You see this in minor league baseball all the time,” Columbia manager Jose Leger said. “You are going to be a little inconsistent at times. But our pitching is going to get better. It was just a tough one today.”

As a team, Columbia’s pitching staff walked nine batters and starter Thomas McIlrath didn’t have the same stuff he had as part of the team’s no-hitter Saturday at Charleston. McIlrath lasted just 4 2/3 innings and gave up three earned runs on two hits, walked four and struck out two.

“He (McIlrath) didn’t have it today. Last time, he was very effective. But he didn’t have command of his fastball and the same case with (Christian) Montgomery,” Leger said.

Greenville took control by scoring a run in innings three through five, and then scored five in the sixth to lead 8-1.

Ockimey hit the first homer in Spirit Communications Park with a solo blast in the fourth, and Kemp added a two-run homer to left field in the Drive’s five-run sixth inning.

Ockimey was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Mitchell Gunsolous also had two hits and two RBIs.

Roudes had his second straight solid start to begin the season. After pitching five scoreless in his first outing, the Nicarauga native allowed just one run in five innings and struck out for to get the victory.

Ivan Wilson led Columbia (5-4) with two hits, and Joe Tuschak and Jose Garcia each drove in one run.

THREE POINTS

Star of the game: Roudes. The 18-year-old with the funky delivery allowed one run on three hits in five innings for the win.

Turning point: Leading 3-1 going into the sixth, the Drive scored five runs and sent nine men to the plate to take a 8-1 lead.

Stat of the game: Columbia pitchers walked nine batters in the game.

OBSERVATIONS

Thompson stays hot: Columbia third baseman David Thompson extended his hitting streak to nine games with a double in the second inning. The former Miami Hurricane is hitting .333 on the season.

Crowd down: After more than 9,000 watched Thursday’s opener, Friday’s paid attendance was 4,724.

NEXT

What: Greenville at Columbia

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: Spirit Communications Park

Probable pitchers: Greenville: Daniel Gonzalez (1-0 0.00 ERA) vs. Columbia’s Kevin Canelon (0-0 4.50 ERA).

Radio: 620 AM; 105.1 FM

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Greenville snaps Fireflies’ winning streak."