Game 24 Recap: How (and how not) to Beat the Rain

I wanted to go to this game. I really did. But the forecasts were saying it was going to be a 50 to 60 percent chance of rain, so I stayed home. I had no idea as well as how Spirit Communications Park handled rain either. I know that at Carolina Stadium (known now to those with no sense of history as Founders' Park) they encourage fans to leave the stadium when they may be parked up to a half mile away, and the campus police generally aren't very friendly to those who seek shelter in the protected areas of the stadium either. USC also under NCAA guidelines has a strict rule about not playing when the lightning detector says there is lightning 8 miles from the stadium, even if it is not actively threatening the park. This can lead to delays and cancellations without actual rain. Weather delays are baseball's worst tradition, and I wanted no part of it even at a minor league park.

But despite a storm cell passing just a few miles south of town, this game started as scheduled at 2:05 PM on a Sunday afternoon. The Fireflies started okay, taking the lead in the first as the sloppy Intimidators couldn't turn the double play. But a passed ball by Jose Garcia set up a tying run for Kannapolis in the 3rd. The teams then exchanged runs, as Emmanuel Zabala made his Fireflies (and full season) debut by doubling and scoring in the 3rd while the Intimidators tied it again at 2-2 in the 4th. Zabala was probably the best Firefly of the day, going 2 for 3 with both hits being doubles and scoring both times. Zabala arrived in Columbia from Brooklyn's camp in extended spring training due to Tucker Tharp's face injury from Thursday.

But as the game became official after the 5th, the chance of rain grew which made each inning more critical. Johnny Magliozzi relieved Joe Shaw at that point, as Shaw had to go 88 pitches to keep the game close. Magliozzi has often been fortunate to get positive decisions this year, but not this afternoon as he gave up a 3 run home run in the 6th to Micker Adolfo. Dash Winningham had a RBI single in the bottom of the 6th, and then Zabala made things interesting by scoring on an error on J.C. Rodriguez's stolen base which also put the tying run on third. But David Thompson would be the Mighty Casey this game, striking out when the Fireflies needed a hit to tie the game. And with the rain arriving, the 8th and 9th innings would not be options. When rain is coming you need to score fast and get ahead quick, and the Fireflies could not and therefore lost 5-4. You can blame it on the rain, but in baseball you need to get a good start and always be on your best after that. Teams have been often taking advantage of faltering bullpens this year, but that shouldn't be something you have to rely on.

Meanwhile, going by the stricter NCAA guidelines USC could not start on time just a few miles away. And that meant when they got the same rain storm that stopped the Fireflies short, the USC game was outright cancelled in the 4th. Sure, they didn't lose like the Fireflies did. But the fans at the Fireflies game got to get their money's worth and the players got to put up meaningful stats in the advancement of their careers. The Gamecocks however did not. Overall, it seems the Fireflies' avoided delays the best they could to have a game, but they unfortunately were not rewarded with a win.

Anyway, here are the updated all-time player standings for the Fireflies. Zabala makes a nice debut, but will take several games to get enough points to boost him on this list. Thompson's 0 for 4 day with 2 strikeouts means that P.J. Conlon becomes Top Firefly even without pitching this day. This is now through four rounds of the rotation, so no pitcher is favored based on going earlier in the rotation.

Player	Position	TB	R	RBI	BB/HBP	SB	CS	0 for 1	SO	Outs	K	R	ER	H	BB/HBP	W	S	L	Score
P.J. Conlon	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	71	18	3	3	24	2	3	0	0	343
David Thompson	3B	42	20	27	11	1	0	62	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	341
Vinny Siena	2B	38	21	8	21	1	1	47	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	287
Chase Ingram	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	66	28	8	6	21	5	2	0	1	279
Joe Shaw	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	63	24	7	6	21	6	2	0	1	249
Kevin Canelon	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	63	21	9	9	20	7	1	0	1	182
Ivan Wilson	CF	33	13	8	9	2	2	56	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	169
Seth Davis	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	42	12	6	4	11	9	1	1	1	169
Tyler Bashlor	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	12	2	2	5	6	0	2	0	168
J.C. Rodriguez	DH	24	10	11	10	4	1	57	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	162
Alex Palsha	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	19	6	5	7	6	1	1	1	159
Thomas McIlraith	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	60	18	12	10	17	11	1	0	1	151
Dash Winningham	1B	25	10	11	11	0	0	54	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	148
Jeff Diehl	DH	24	10	10	11	1	0	47	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	148
Tyler Badamo	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	74	13	15	13	28	6	1	0	2	121
Joe Tuschak	LF	25	7	11	6	0	1	49	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	116
Johnny Magliozzi	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30	8	7	7	12	2	1	2	1	113
Tucker Tharp	RF	19	8	5	2	2	1	29	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	110
Nicco Blank	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19	5	1	1	2	3	0	0	0	81
Christian Montgomery	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	33	14	11	6	10	8	0	0	0	73
Vicente Lupo	LF	11	5	5	5	0	1	20	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	62
Craig Missigman	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	37	15	8	8	12	10	0	0	0	60
Milton Ramos	SS	15	6	10	6	0	1	48	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	56
Kevin Kaczmarski	RF	14	10	3	7	0	2	41	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	52
Emmanuel Zabala	LF	4	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	28
Tyler Moore	C	11	6	3	4	0	1	38	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23
Jose Garcia	C	6	3	1	4	0	0	16	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	22
Natanael Ramos	C	4	1	1	2	0	0	10	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13
Witt Haggard	P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	3	3	3	3	0	0	2	-58