Catfish swept, fall to 2nd place

The hot streak for the Columbus Catfish cooled slightly against the Rome Braves.

Rome beat the Catfish for the second straight night -- by a 5-4 score on Tuesday night -- as they swept the Catfish in the short, 2-game series.

Rome scored in 4 straight innings, the 2nd through the 5th, to build a 5-0 lead.

The Catfish battled back with a pair in the 7th and 8th innings each.

In the 7th, RF Quinn Stewart drew a lead-off walk, then moved to third on a soft liner to center by DH Greg Sexton. He scored on CF Reid Fronk's single. Sexton moved to third when LF Stephen Vogt loded the bases on a single right. 1B Henry Wrigley drove in Sexton on a sacrifice fly, closing the gap to 5-2.

SS Shawn O'Malley led off the 8th by striking out, but made it to first on a dropped third strike. 2B Chase Fontaine reached on an error, moving Shawn O'Malley to third. Stewart drove in O'Malley on a ground out, then Sexton drove in Fontaine on a sacrifice fly, pulling the Catfish close, 5-4.

In the 9th, the Catfish went down in order, unable to duplicate their June 28th 9th inning comeback against Rome P Michael Mehlich. Mehlich picked up his first save in the process Tuesday night.

The Catfish only managed 4 hits and 2 earned runs, and left 5 runners on base, 4 of those in scoring position.

Jesse Darcy suffered his 1st loss of the season. He's now 4-1 in 9 starts. Kevin Boggan allowed 4 hits, but kept Rome off the board. Justin Garcia pitched a perfect 8th, striking out all 3 batters.

The loss, coupled with Augusta's win over Hickory, drops the Catfish to 2nd place, 1/2 game behind Augusta. The Catfish head to Hickory Wednesday night for a 4-game series.