Crawdads at Fireflies: Lafalaise eyes first win in Columbia

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Interstat) — The Hickory Crawdads visit the Columbia Fireflies on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. at Spirit Communications Park for the second game of a six-game series. The forecast calls for 64 degrees and cloudy skies.

Hickory (17-14) sends right-hander Jesus Lafalaise (0-2) to the mound looking for his first win of the season. Columbia (15-18) will counter with a pitcher yet to be announced. The Fireflies won the series opener Tuesday, 3-2, to take a 1-0 lead in the set.

Players to watch

Crawdads center fielder Hector Osorio has been a bright spot in a recent Hickory slide. Over his past five games, Osorio is batting .412 (7-for-17) with two home runs and four RBIs. He went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs in Hickory’s 6-2 loss to Myrtle Beach on May 8.

For the Fireflies, right-handed reliever Jordan Woods has been dominant. In his last outing May 10 at Kannapolis, Woods tossed six shutout innings, allowing no hits and striking out 14, though he took a no-decision in a 3-2 loss.

Recent history

Wednesday’s game is the fifth meeting between the teams this season. Columbia leads the series 2-2 after Tuesday’s win. The clubs split a four-game set in Hickory on April 2-4, with each team winning twice. The Crawdads won 5-4 and 5-2; the Fireflies won 5-2 and 3-2.

Hickory has lost seven of its last nine games overall, including a 6-2 home defeat to Myrtle Beach on Friday. Columbia has dropped four of its last five, capped by Sunday’s 3-2 loss at Kannapolis.

Looking ahead

The teams play four more games at Spirit Communications Park through Sunday before Hickory returns home to host Charleston on May 19.

A game simulator from Interstat projects a 3-2 Columbia victory.