Catfish win final game in Columbus

Baseball has left Columbus.

But on a winning note.

In their final game in Columbus, the Columbus Catfish beat the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 9-4 tonight.

The Catfish head to Rome to close out the season, then pack up and head to Bowling Green, Kentucky (population 53,112) to play the 2009 season.

Catfish beat Savannah again, still fighting for playoff spot

The Columbus Catfish held off the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 10-5 tonight, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.

Despite the win, the Catfish are one game closer to elimination, thanks to Augusta's 5-1 victory over Hickory tonight.

With tonight's results, Augusta's "Magic Number" ... and Columbus' "Tragic Number" ... is one. A single Augusta win or Catfish loss gives Augusta the 2nd half division crown. However, if Augusta loses out, and the Catfish win out, the Catfish take the title.

Catfish sweep Savannah, win 9th straight

The Columbus Catfish continued their hot streak Saturday night.

The Catfish beat the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 7-5 to complete a 4-game sweep, a perfect 8-0 road trip, and their 9th straight win.

The game was remarkable in one other way: the Catfish won the game despite being out-hit by Savannah, 13-5.

Catfish sweep doubleheader from Savannah

The Columbus Catfish got the best of both worlds Friday night in Savannah.

A pair of games were in doubt from even being played. But they waited out the weather, then took two from the host Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets), 5-3 and 5-2.

The first game was all Catfish, as they jumped out to an early lead, then held on for the win.

The nightcap was a pitchers' duel, with the Catfish finally solving Savannah pitching in the last two innings.

And between it all, fireworks and a performance that was special ... at least to me.

Catfish win 6th straight, edge Savannah in 11

The Columbus Catfish overcame an early 4-run deficit, then won the game in extra innings Wednesday night.

The Catfish took the series opener from the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets), 8-6, in 11 innings:

Catfish sweep Savannah

Though they've only finished 4 games in the SAL 2nd half, the Columbus Catfish are where no other team in the league is right now: undefeated.

The Catfish beat the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 3-2 for the 2nd night in a row Tuesday, as they maintained their perfect record and completed a short series sweep.

Catfish beat Savannah in 10

After being no-hit for over 7 innings, the bats finally came alive for the Columbus Catfish Monday night, who squeezed out a 3-2 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets).

It was a game where both starting pitchers pitched well enough to win. And neither did.

Catfish starter Alex Cobb went 6 innings, allowing a run on 6 hits, but left the game down 1-0. Savannah P Nick Carr went 7-1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 1 hit.

Catfish lose finale to Savannah in 9th inning

The Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) scored in the bottom of the 9th inning to eek out a 2-1 win over the Columbus Catfish Thursday night, earning a split and denying the Catfish the chance to win their 2nd straight series.

Catfish double up Savannah, 4-2

The Columbus Catfish cashed in on 3 Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) errors this afternoon, posting a come-from-behind 4-2 win.

Savannah beats Catfish, 4-1

The Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) evened the series with the Columbus Catfish Tuesday night, with a 4-1 victory.

Savannah's Carlos Guzman blasted 2 home runs ... his first in nearly a month ... to lead the Savannah attack.

Catfish edge Savannah

Columbus Catfish P Jesse Darcy owns the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets). In less than a week, he's pitched 12 innings, allowed no earned runs, and struck out 9. Oh, and has a 2-0 record. And that's against Savannah.

That includes his performance Monday night, when the Catfish edged Savannah, 2-1 in Savannah.

Catfish blanked by Savannah, 5-0

After stopping their losing streak at 12, the Columbus Catfish ended their winning streak at one.

The Catfish dropped a 5-0 decision to the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) tonight, to finish a miserable home stand that came on the heels of a miserable road trip.

Catfish snap losing streak, blank Savannah

Catfish celebrate after breaking minor league baseball's longest losing streak of 2008.

It's been so long, I almost forgot what it felt like.

Winning a baseball game.

The Columbus Catfish broke a 12-game losing streak today, beating the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 2-0 in front of a crowd of 1,416, most of whom were school-age kids.

One bad inning gives Catfish a dozen straight losses

It took just one inning ... a really bad inning ... to send the Columbus Catfish to their 12th consecutive loss Tuesday night.

The Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) slugged 5 home runs -- one a 3-run shot; the others, solo shots -- in the first inning to stake a 7-0 lead. The Catfish fought back, but weren't able to overcome the deficit, falling 7-4 to Savannah.

Catfish lose late to Savannah

Another good pitching performance wasn't enough for the Columbus Catfish to break out of their losing streak.

Alex Cobb pitched 7-1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 4, but took his 4th loss of the year as the Catfish dropped a 2-1 decision to the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) tonight.

Catfish beat Savannah, take series, even road trip.

The Columbus Catfish won their first series of the year, and picked up a split on the road trip, beating the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 7-4 tonight.

Things started well for the visitors.

With 2 outs in the 2nd inning, LF Stephen Vogt doubled on a fly ball to left, 1B Henry Wrigley walked, and SS Omar Luna singled to center, scoring Vogt and putting the Catfish up 1-0.

Savannah tied it up in the bottom of the 3rd, when Matthew Bouchard scored on a Jose Jimenez single.

The game stayed tied until the 6th inning. 3B Gregory Sexton doubled to start, moved to third on a ground out by Loyola, and scored on a sacrifice fly by C Mike McCormick. Vogt walked, then scored on a double by Wrigley. Luna singled to right field, scoring Wrigley, but was thrown out at second trying to stretch it out.

With the Catfish up 4-1, Savannah's Richard Lucas closed the gap somewhat with a solo home run over the left field wall.

A single and a triple in the Savannah 7th made it 4-3.

In the 8th, the Catfish extended their lead. Sexton and Loyola singled to start the inning. With 1 out, Vogt loaded the based with a single. Wrigley reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Sexton, and putting runners on the corner. Following a pitching change, Luna singled, scoring Loyola and putting the Catfish up 6-3.

A hit batsman and two singles allowed Savannah to close the gap to 6-4 in the bottom of the 8th.

The Catfish added another run in the 9th. PH Seth Dhaenens reached on a fielder's choice, moved to second on a fly ball single by Sexton, and scored on a fielder's choice, with Loyola getting the RBI. That run put the Catfish up 7-4.

Luna was 4-for-4, with 3 RBIs to lead all batters. Sexton was 3-for-5, with a double and 2 runs scored. Vogt was 2-for-4 with a double and also scored twice, while Wrigley was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored.

Alex Cobb allowed a run on 4 hits over 5 innings, picking up his 2nd win of the year. He stuck out three. Justin Garcia allowed a pair of runs on 3 hits in 2 innings work. Jesse Darcy allowed a run on 2 hits in an inning's work. Travis Risser picked up his second save. He allowed 2 hits in the 9th, but struck out Lucas ... who hit that home run in the 6th ... to end the game.

The win was the 3rd in the 4-game series in Savannah, and gave the Catfish a 4-4 record on the road trip.

The Catfish return home tomorrow night, facing the Rome Braves in a pair of games, before hosting division leader Charleston beginning Friday night.

Catfish drop series, finally win a game

Saturday night's rainout caused the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) and the Columbus Catfish to schedule a double-header today. And, after dropping the first two games of the series, the Catfish needed a double-header sweep to split the series.

They didn't.

They did make it interesting in the first game, and just plain beat Savannah in the second game, giving Savannah the series, but the Catfish their first win.

Game one was much like the first two games of the series. Savannah jumped to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to another towering home run, this one by Savannah C Francisco Pena.

By the middle of the 4th, Savannah had a 4-0 lead. The Catfish made another error, their 7th in three games, accounting for one of those runs. They'd commit another later in game one, but no one scored on that one. And, in all honesty, they should have been charged with another error in the 4th, on a play where the official scorer ruled a sacrifice fly on a deep shot to center that allowed a runner to score ... from second base. The Savannah coach held the runner up at third, then sent him home when the throw missed the cutoff man. Doesn't really matter, I supposed, since the run counts, whether earned or unearned. Unless you're the pitcher, who got charged an earned run on a run that shouldn't have happened.

Bottom of the 4th, and the Catfish started their comeback.

With 2 outs, DH Stephen Vogt walked, stole second, then scored when 1B Henry Wrigley doubled to right, cutting the lead to 4-1.

The Catfish stranded runners in scoring position in both the 5th and 6th innings.

In the 7th, the Catfish came, oh, so close to winning.

With one out, SS Omar Luna reached on an error. CF Emeel Salem and RF Maiko Loyola walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, LF Reid Fronk walked, plating Luna. 2B Cody Cipriano grounded out, scoring Salem. Vogt then hit a hot shot over the third baseman, that should have been a double, scoring two runs and giving the Catfish the win. However, Savannah, 3B Jacob Eigsti made a great jump to snag the ball, cut the rally short, and give the visitors the win.

Both pitching staffs did another good job. Savannah only managed 4 hits, while the Catfish mustered only 3. Each team has two errors, though the Catfish should have been charged with a third.

Game two was not close.

The Catfish got their first lead of the season in the 3rd inning. With one out, Luna and Salem both reached on singles. Salem stole second, his third steal of the young season. 2B Joey Callender drove in Luna on a sacrifice fly to right. Then some serious excitement. Just how serious, we wouldn't find out until later.

Fronk (RF) hit a shot just out of reach of Savannah CF Richard Pena. Salem scored from third, and the ball bounced away from Pena. By the time the ball got back to the infield, Fronk was bearing down on home plate. With C Jordan Abruzzo blocking the plate, Fronk ran him over, scoring the Catfish' third run, and turning a triple into an inside-the-park home run.

In the 4th, Vogt (LF) and C Mike McCormick hit back-to-back doubles to make it 4-0.

In the 5th, the 3rd inning collision at home plate came back to into play. Savannah reliever Julio Polanco hit Fronk with his first pitch, bringing a warning from home plate umpire Koyu Inoue. Savannah manager Donovan Mitchell complained about the warning, but it stood.

In the 6th, the Catfish stretched their lead to 4-0. McCormick and Wrigley singled to lead off the inning. DH Shawn Williams hit into a 4-6-3 double play moving McCormick to third. Luna singled to second, scoring McCormick, and putting the Catfish up 4-0.

The 7th inning saw more fireworks, but no scoring.

With 2 outs and the bases empty, Catfish P Kevin Boggan hit Abruzzo in the head. Inoue immediately threw out Boggan while Abruzzo yelled, "I am not believing this!" as he grabbed his head and dropped to the ground. Abruzzo let the F-bomb ... actually the M-F-bomb ... fly as he rolled around. The Savannah skipper let an F-bomb fly as he complained to Inoue, despite Inoue's tossing of Boggan.

After things settled, Abruzzo was replaced on the base paths, and Catfish reliever Travis Risser coaxed a ground ball out of Savannah 3B Jacob Eigsti to end the game.

Jason Ragan picked up the first Catfish win of the year, striking out 4 and retiring 9 straight at one point.

Despite dropping the series, the Catfish were actually in every game. Errors killed them.

If they can cut down the errors, they'll be on the winning side of a lot more games than on the losing side.

The Catfish head on the road for eight games, playing at Rome tomorrow night in the first of four, then heading to Savannah Friday for another four.

I'm curious to see if there'll be any follow-up to the head-hunting that may ... or may not ... have gone on today.

Catfish lose error-filled contest

For the second night in a row, the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) ruined the night for the Columbus Catfish at Golden Park. After being one-hit by Savannah last night, tonight, the Catfish outhit the Sand Gnats 10-8, but were outscored 7-4.

Defensively, it was not a night to remember. The Catfish committed 5 errors. And a fan committed one. More about that in a minute.

First, the good news is, the swelling is going down nicely.

Not mine. My grandson's.

He went to the game with us tonight. And, you know the part where they say "Be aware of balls being hit into the stands?"

Well, they also mean that you should be aware of balls being hit into the picnic area by the visitor's bullpen, too. Because that's where my grandson was playing with several other children when a Savannah batter hit a hot shot into the picnic area.

The ball came in so fast, he didn't have a chance to get out of the way. Hit him squarely in the leg.

Hurt like heck, but he still managed to get the ball.

And I have nothing but good things to say about the Catfish, including General Manager Ken Clary, who was quickly on the scene, kept my grandson calm, and got the nurse to look at him.

The nurse was great, too. And, in a few minutes, my grandson was running around, having a good time.

Back at the game, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. Except for injuries. My grandson checked that off the list.

The Catfish, though, suffered 5 errors. Six if you count the fan who interfered with a pop fly near the visitor's dugout. So we could check that off the list.

I've never seen a runner score from first on a strike-out. Until tonight. With two out and Savannah DH Darren Clark on first, having reached on an error, Catfish starter Glenn Gibson struck out Savannah LF Daniel Stegall. Catfish C Mike McCormick dropped the strike, then threw high to 1B Seth Dhaenens. The ball reached the right field corner, allowing Clark to score. So we could check scoring from first on a strike out off the list.

In the 4th, Savannah 2B Greg Veloz stole home as McCormick threw high while trying to throw out SS Matthew Bouchard who was stealing second. So we could check stealing home off the list.

Savannah 1B Jose Jimenez (yes, his name Jose Jimenez) hit a towering 2-run shot over the left field wall. Actually, over the advertising signs above the wall. Actually, into the trees behind the wall. So we could check scoring runs while knocking limbs off trees from the list.

And, in the 9th, the rains came, holding the game up for an hour. So we could check that from the list.

Yes, it was one of those nights.

On the positive side, the Catfish managed to keep it from being worse. On the five errors, Savannah only managed two runs. Nine Savannah runners were stranded, and one was caught stealing. Like I said, it could have been worse.

Catfish DH Stephen Vogt hit a 2-run shot over the left-center wall. McCormick went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. LF Reid Fronk was also 3-for-4, scoring two runs, and stealing three bases.

A bad night overall, but some good performances. The Catfish pitchers struck out nine. The bullpen recorded 5 of those, and allowed just one run.

The Catfish are now 0-2, and need to win both Saturday and Sunday in order to salvage a split of the series.

Catfish drop opener, are 1-hit by Savannah

There's not much you can do when the opposing team's pitcher is putting his pitches right where he wants them. You can hope the pitch count catches up with him, and you can get some hits off the bullpen.

That's sort of what happened to the Columbus Catfish tonight.

Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) pitcher Michael Antonini had his stuff tonight, holding the Catfish hitless through six innings, allowing just three base runners -- two on errors plus one walk -- to pick up a 2-0 win over the Catfish.

Savannah reliever Jacobo Neguilis allowed a hit to the first Catfish batter he faced in the 7th, but a fly ball and two ground balls kept the Catfish off the board. Savannah's Nicholas Waechter pitched two perfect innings to seal the win.

While the Catfish were held to that single by 3B Gregory Sexton, they did hit the ball hard a few times, but each time at someone. Or 400 feet to center field, only to find it's 415 to the wall.

Defensively, the Catfish played well. For instance, 1B Henry Wrigley made a great diving stop of a ball that, had it gotten by, could have been a double easily, and possibly a triple. Several sharply hit balls to Sexton at third and to SS Omar Luna were handled well. Sexton turned an unusual 5-3 double play, swiping a Savannah baserunner as he tried to advance on a 1-out grounder to third, before retiring the batter at first to end the inning and stop a Savannah inning from getting out of control.

In the first two innings, each with the leadoff batter making it to third base, the Catfish settled down and shut Savannah down.

However, Savannah scored in the 4th on a hit batsman and a double. And an unearned run in the 6th on an error by Luna, followed by a double.

The difference, though, was the pitching. Catfish starter Alex Cobb struck out 5 in 5-2/3 innings work, allowing one earned run on 4 hits, which would normally be good enough for a win. Catfish reliever Justin Garcia struck out 3 in 2-1/2 innings work, allowing a hit. Brian Flores pitched a perfect 9th for Columbus.

As good as that was, Savannah pitching was better tonight.

The loss drops the Catfish to 0-1. They get the chance to even their record and the series with Savannah tomorrow night at 7:00. Lefty Glenn Gibson is scheduled to start for the Catfish. He was 4-3 in 12 starts for Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League last year, striking out 58 in 58 inning pitched.

I'm hoping for a better outcome tomorrow night.

I was pleasantly surprised by one thing: I expected a few hundred fans at the ballpark, because that's normal for Columbus. However, 1,895 fans showed up for the game. That's nearly 600 more than came to watch the Catfish clinch the South Atlantic League championship last September.

Oh, and the Catfish magic number to clinch the South Atlantic League Southern Division title remains at 71.

Take me out to the ballgame

Baseball season opens tonight. The minor league season, that is.

Opening Day in Columbus usually means a couple of hundred fans show up for a ballgame where a few players from the previous year's team -- that usually finished near the bottom of the standings -- take the field.

This year, there are only four players back from last year's team: IF Seth Dhaenens, IF Joey Callendar, OF Maiko Loyola, and P Jeremy Hall. But that's the team that won the South Atlantic League championship, the first baseball championship in Columbus in over 20 years.

However, two unfortunate things are likely to happen.

One is that only a few hundred fans will show up. I'd wager good money that'll be the case.

The other is that this is probably the last year of the Columbus Catfish. Some guy from Up North (Art Solomon, a successful businessman who already owns a Double-A team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats) is trying to buy the team and move it to Bowling Green, Kentucky. I'd wager good money on that, too.

So, as the 2008 Columbus Catfish Farewell Tour kicks off, I'll be in my usual seat behind home plate, cheering on the team.

At least I'll have been rewarded by a championship. And who knows? Maybe this year's team will take the trophy come September.

Regardless, it's been a fun ride. And I'm looking forward to this season. I'm just sad that it will likely be the last.