It is just three games into the Columbia Fireflies inaugural season, and they had showed through the first two that they are not averse to the dramatic finish, dropping both in the bottom of the ninth inning in walk-off style. A loss was not to be on this night, however, as Thomas McIlraith and two relievers combined to no-hit the Charleston RiverDogs for the franchise’s first victory, a 9-0 clobbering of their South Atlantic League rivals.

Columbia had the lead in each of their first two games, and Saturday night was no exception. Josh Rogers started for the RiverDogs, and he was in trouble in the very first inning. Rogers struck out Ivan Wilson to start the game, but a single by Kevin Kaczmarski and a walk to Vinny Siena put two on with one out. Dash Winningham flew out to left field, but David Thompson followed with a huge three-run homer to stake his team to a three-run lead. It was Thompson’s first home run of the year.

From there neither team was able to generate any offense over the next three innings. Rogers retired nine of the next 11 batters he faced to keep it a three-run game, but his team was not going to be able to do anything against McIlraith.

The right-hander retired the first six hitters he faced, five of which came on ground balls. In the bottom of the third he walked Kendall Coleman to begin the frame, but then struck out Angel Aguilar before getting Radley Haddad to strike out in a strike’em out, throw’em out double play. Coleman was caught stealing as Haddad struck out.

It the bottom of the fourth, McIlraith retired the side on three more ground balls. He still had retired the minimum to that point, but that streak would come to an end in the fifth, as Chris Gittens led off with a walk. Jhalan Jackson then flew out to center field, the first ball to leave the infield for Charleston. Kyle Holder then grounded into a fielder’s choice, before Coleman struck out.

McIlraith’s last inning was the sixth. He struck out Aguilar again, then got a comebacker from Haddad for the second out. Jeff Hendrix struck out to end the inning, and that was the Fireflies’ starter’s last batter for the night.

It was an absolutely dominating performance by the righty. He allowed just two walks while striking out six. Of his 72 pitches thrown, 46 were strikes, and he recorded 10 ground outs to just one fly out. For just his 13th career professional appearance, it was one that the 22-year-old will not forget.

While McIlraith was dominating the Charleston hitters, the Columbia hitters were really warming up. Up 3-0 in the top of the fifth, the Fireflies would add to their lead. Kaczmarski singled with one out and moved to second on an error and a passed ball. Siena drove him home with a sacrifice fly.

In the sixth Claudio Custodio took over for Rogers on the mound. He retired the first batter before giving up a single to Jeff Diehl and then walked Joe Tuschak. Jose Garcia followed by beating out a ground ball to short, and the bases were loaded with no one out. A ground out by Milton Ramos scored Diehl and the game was now 5-0.

In the top of the seventh the Fireflies kept piling on. David Palladino came in to pitch for Charleston. He gave up a leadoff double to Kaczmarski, who moved to third on a passed ball. Siena was then walked and that was followed by a hit by pitch of Dash Winningham. With the bases loaded and no one out, Thompson hit into a ground out that moved everyone up 90-feet, including scoring Kaczmarski. A wild pitch would then score Siena, and Winningham came home on a lined base hit by Tuschak.

Columbia would add one more run in the ninth. Winningham was walked to start the inning, and moved to third following two wild pitches. Walks to Thompson and Diehl loaded the bases with no one out, and Winningham scored on a double-play ground out. That made it 9-0.

While the extra offense was nice, all eyes were on the mound for Columbia as two relievers looked to close out the no-hitter. Alex Palsha was first up, and he was absolutely devastating. The Columbia reliever retired all six batters he faced, striking out four, including two in each inning.

In the ninth Johnny Magliozzi came in looking to get the last three outs. Facing the eight, nine and one hitters in the lineup, Magliozzi was dominant. The reliever threw 14 pitches, 9 of which were strikes. He struck out Aguilar and Haddad, getting each to chase pitches out of the zone. That brought Hendrix to the plate, who had no answers as well. He struck out to end the game, giving Columbia their first win, and the Mets’ Single-A team their first no-hitter.

It was a completely dominating performance from the pitching staff in every way. Not only did they allow no hits, but they also struck out 13 Charleston RiverDogs batters. Of the 116 total pitches thrown, 74 went for strikes.

These two teams will close out their four-game series tomorrow afternoon at 5:05 ET. Kevin Canelon (0-0) with go for the Columbia Fireflies. He will be opposed by Simon De la Rosa (0-0) for Charleston.

Boxscore

By Robert Pannier