Top Storylines
- Connor Rassmussen launched his fifth homer of the season in the top of the fourth inning, cutting Myrtle Beach’s lead to 3-1. It was Rasmussen’s second homer of the series.
- Alberto Toribio struck out four over three innings in his relief debut with the Fireflies. The righty allowed one run on two hits and two walks while working around a pair of wild pitches.
- Grant Fontenot gets his first strikeout after being selected in the 10th round of this year’s draft out of LSU. Fontenot now has three scoreless appearances in his pro career.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Rasmussen’s second homer of the series wasn’t enough as the Fireflies lost to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 5-1 Thursday Night at Pelicans Ballpark. Rasmussen’s homer in the fourth inning was his second of the series.
Columbia's bullpen was solid, allowing just a pair of runs in six innings in relief. Alberto Toribio led the way with three innings of one-run baseball in his debut and Grant Fontenot closed things out on the right foot. In his third scoreless appearance of the season, Fontenot earned his first two strikeouts to set aside the Pelicans.
Play-by-Play
Myrtle Beach broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. Juan Thomas singled and stole second before reaching third on a throwing error. Caden Sorrell then hit a towering three-run homer off the scoreboard to push the Pelicans to a 3-0 lead.
Columbia answered in the top of the fourth. Connor Rasmussen launched his fifth homer of the season over the right field wall to cut the Pelicans lead to 3-1.
Myrtle Beach added to it’s lead in the bottom of the fifth. Corey Nunez doubled before moving to third on a wild pitch. Jhoander Irigoyen then drew a walk, and Nunez scored on another wild pitch to push the Pelicans advantage to 4-1.
Ryan McDonagh (L, 2-5) didn't allow an earned run in his three-inning start, but was tagged for the three runs off Sorrell's homer before he left the game. In his final game of the season, the righty worked three innings around two hits with two strikeouts.
Albert Toribio made his relief debut in the bottom of the fourth after replacing Ryan McDonagh. The righty struck out four over three innings and allowed one run on two hits and two walk. After Toribio, Basora allowed a run in one inning of relief. The run snapped his stretch of five-consecutive games without allowing a run for the Fireflies.
Kevin Camacho (W, 1-2) earned his first win of the season in his fifth appearance for the Pelicans. The righty worked five frames around six hits while allowing just one run. He struck out six before he passed the ball to the bullpen. Fenuel James was the first arm out in relief. He spun three, one-hit innings with four strikeouts before Jhon Cabral closed the game with a scoreless ninth.
On-Deck
The Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tomorrow night at Pelicans Ballpark at 7:05 pm. RHP Coleman Picard (2-2, 3.45 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters with RHP Chase Meyer (0-0, 1.23 ERA).
Thank you for keeping up with the Fireflies for the 2026 season! Stay tuned for updates on off-season events at Segra Park and updates on the upcoming 2027 season. More details are available at FirefliesTickets.com.