Photo by Ed Delany

On a star studded Columbia Fireflies pitching staff which features former first round draft picks Anthony Kay and David Peterson, it was last year’s 24th round draft pick who has pitched like the staff ace leading the starters in wins, ERA, innings pitched, and WHIP.

On Friday night, Joe Cavallaro once again staked his claim as staff ace and further cemented his lead among the starting rotation in the aforementioned categories.

In his start against the Charleston River Dogs, Cavallaro was once dominant. In seven innings, he allowed just one earned on four hits while striking out nine and walking just two. Those nine strikeouts are a career-high.

This was the second time this season he pitched seven innings. He has pitched into the sixth in five of his six starts. He lowered his season ERA to 2.21 and WHIP to 1.08. He has 44 strikeouts compared to only 14 walks and has allowed 30 hits in 40.2 innings.

With the win, Cavallaro is now tied for the South Atlantic League lead with five wins. With the big strikeout game, he has now entered the Top 10 with his 44 strikeouts.