Florence Avenges Monday Loss

John Long is congratulated by Trent Still (20) and Jim Rider (4) after Long's homer in the third.

COLUMBIA - It looked as if Monday night might repeat itself.

The Columbia Blowfish, trailing the Florence Red Wolves by three Wednesday, rallied back to make it a one-run game in the fifth. Indeed, Columbia loaded the bases with one out to chase Florence starter Patrick Dolan (Charleston Southern). However, the Red Wolves brought in Steven Neff (South Carolina), who settled in right away.

A baserunning blunder allowed Florence to turn a double play, and the Red Wolves avenged Monday's loss with a 7-4 win at Capital City Stadium.

Neff (1-3) faced the minimum in 4.2 innings, giving up two hits and forcing three double plays. Columbia starter Tyler McBride (Winthrop 2-5) was charged with five runs, four earned, on seven hits in four innings. Florence starter Patrick Dolan was given a no-decision after giving up four runs on three hits in 4.1 innings, two outs shy of the required innings to be eligible for a win.

The Red Wolves struck early. Zach Caldwell (Missouri Southern) led off the game with a single to left on McBride's second pitch and moved to third on a double by Sam DiMatteo (California, Pa). Barrett Kleinknecht then drove Caldwell home with a sacrifice fly to give Florence a 1-0 lead.

The Blowfish responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. Matt Williams (Liberty) singled to start the at-bat and advanced to second on Scott Wingo's (South Carolina) walk. Florence catcher Richard Pirkle (GA College) tried to catch Williams off second, but his throw sailed into center field, moving the runners to second and third. Matt Leeds (College of Charleston) followed with an RBI groundout to shortstop, scoring Williams. Trent Still (Anderson) then doubled to bring Wingo around, giving Columbia a 2-1 advantage.

Florence retook the lead with three consecutive extra-base hits in the third. DiMatteo hit his second double off the wall in left, then scored on Kleinknecht's double. Myckie Lugbauer (Maine) followed with a two-run home run to deep right field to make it 4-2 Florence. The Red Wolves made it 5-2 in the fourth after Herman Petzold (Notre Dame) walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a past ball. Drew Haynes (Louisville) followed with an RBI single to plate Petzold.

The Blowfish answered with a two-run shot of their own in the bottom of the inning. Still walked to start things off, then John Long (Liberty) followed with a home run to left, his third of the season to help the Blowfish close the gap, 5-4.

The Blowfish looked as if they would come all the way back in the fifth. With one out, Dolan walked the bases loaded by issuing free passes to Wingo, Branfy Arias (Tusculum), and Leeds. Florence coach Wes Davis then brought Neff into the ballgame. A pitch to Still got away from Pirkle behind the plate and Wingo broke for home.

However, Pirkle recovered quickly, chasing Wingo back to the bag. Arias was caught in no man's land between second and third and soon found himself caught in a rundown. As Arias was tagged out, Wingo tried for home again, but was also tagged out to end the inning.

"That was definitely all mine," said Columbia coach Lee Gronkiewicz, who was coaching third at the time, "I had Wingo going and he came back. Branfy got picked off and I told Wingo 'get up.' That's totally my fault."

The Blowfish struggled after the fifth, as Neff faced the minimum 12 batters over the next four innings.

Florence, meanwhile, got insurance runs in the sixth and seventh. Pirkle walked in the sixth and advanced to second on a wild pickoff throw by Columbia reliever Jeremiah Meiners. Haynes followed with another RBI single to give the Red Wolves a 6-4 lead. DiMatteo then led off the seventh with a single, stole second, and scored on Lugbauer's double to give Florence its final 7-4 margin.

Still is helped off the field by Stew Brase (7) and Nick Chinners in the sixth

Notes: Due to the double play in the fifth, Neff had the rare distinction of statistically facing fewer than the minimum. In 4.2 innings, Neff faced 12 Blowfish... Still left with a foot injury in the sixth. It is not known if he will be able to finish the remainder of the season... Columbia finishes the summer with a 4-8 record against Florence... The Blowfish are off Thursday before traveling to Wilson Friday for a 7:05 game against the Tobs.