Columbia strikes late once more

For the second straight night, Columbia used some ninth-inning magic to down Greenville. On Friday, the Fireflies scored two runs in the top of ninth to break a tie and win 5-3 at Fluor Field.

The Fireflies trailed most of the game and headed into the sixth inning down 2-0. That was when the visitors got to starter Marc Brakeman. Tucker Tharp singled and moved up to second base when Vinny Siena walked. Next, Joe Tuschak’s single loaded the bases and that was enough to bring in reliever Dioscar Romero.

The first batter he faced, David Thompson, smashed a double into the left-centerfield gap that plated two runs to tie the score. Thompson leads the South Atlantic League with 18 RBIs and has driven in at least one run in seven of his last 10 games.

Columbia (9-7) took a brief lead in the top of the seventh when Jeff Diehl hit his first home run of the season. Greenville (9-7), though, evened it up in the bottom half of the frame after Joseph Monge singled in Kyri Washington.

The Fireflies responded in the ninth as Dash Winningham singled off of Jeffry Fernandez to start the frame. Vicente Lupo was then inserted into the game as a pinch-runner. Diehl walked, and with runners at first and second, Natanael Ramos bunted, but Fernandez’s throw was wide. That enabled Lupo to score and pushed Diehl to third base. Milton Ramos provided the insurance, slicing a base hit up the middle that plated Diehl.

Tyler Bashlor shut down the Drive in the bottom of the ninth to earn the save. Johnny Magliozzi, who pitched the seventh and eighth innings, picked up his first win of the year.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Columbia strikes late once more."