Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.29 vs Hickory
April 29, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies open up a six-game set with the Hickory Crawdads tonight at 7:05 pm at Segra Park. RHP Josh Hansell (0-1, 5.79 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Hickory counters with RHP Kamdyn Perry (0-1, 6.55 ERA).
Tonight is a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday at Segra Park. Fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs, popcorn, fountain sodas and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite at the game tonight. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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BULLPEN WORKS SIX SCORELESS IN 5-2 LOSS: The Fireflies fell 5-2 vs the Carolina Mudcats Sunday despite getting six scoreless innings from the bullpen.The bullpen kept the Mudcats close Sunday. Henson Leal started with a pair of scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 0.69. After that, Yeri Perez spun a pair of scoreless innings to send the game to the eighth. Dennis Colleran worked the eighth and ninth without allowing a run to halt the Mudcats momentum. Luiyin Alastre started the scoring Sunday. The third baseman pulled his first homer of the season over the right field fence to score Filippo Di Turi and push the Mudcats to a 2-0 lead.
SPEED, I AM SPEED: Asbel Gonzalez swiped one more base Sunday, adding to his MiLB leading total. The center fielder has 25 stolen bases. The next closest is Lynchburg's Tommy Hawke, who has 24 steals.
MILLER IS MAKING IT: Thursday, Mason Miller earned his Carolina League-leading third victory of the season after four scoreless innings in relief of Josh Hansell. Miller has been electric in a long-relief role for the Fireflies this year. The southpaw has 16 strikeouts in 14.2 innings and is holding a career-best 1.09 WHIP. He is one of four pitchers on the Fireflies roster with a sub-2.00 ERA this year (1.23) and he has tallied the second-most innings pitched (14.2) on the roster.
CLIMBING THE LEADERBOARDS: Ramon Ramirez hasn't added to his League-leading homer total this week, but Columbia's backstop has driven in four RBI against the Mudcats to give him a Carolina League-best 19 on the season. He's tied with Kannapolis's Braden Montgomery for the top spot in the League.
HIP HIP, JORGE: The Fireflies second-baseman is getting it done with his bat lately. Jorge Hernandez is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak where he's hitting .353. He's done great at setting the table. Hernandez has reached in 12-consecutive games, which is one behind Asbel Gonzalez for the longest on-base streak for a Fireflies hitter this year.
BATS BUSINESS IS BOOMING: Columbia is second in the Carolina League in batting average (.267) and is third in stolen bases (64). The Fireflies also have the second-fewest strikeouts in the Carolina League (174). They trail the Crawdads who have only punched out 172 times this season.
LOVING LEAL: Henson Leal is back for his second season in the Soda City. The righty had a 4.87 ERA in 12 games for Columbia at the end of the 2024 season. This year, he has thrived in his role, spinning 13 innings across seven games to the tune of a 0.69 ERA. Leal is holding opponents to a .143 average and has only issued four free passes this year. The righty hasn't had a save opportunity yet this year, but he did earn his first hold of 2025 thanks to 2.1 hitless innings in relief Friday evening. He also received his first win of 2025 Tuesday after entering in the 10th and only allowing the inherited runner to score.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER: The Fireflies welcome the Hickory Crawdads to Segra Park for the first time since August 29, 2019. The Fireflies were in the South Atlantic League with Hickory from 2016-2019 and have a 15-28 record against the Crawdads all-time.
Carolina League Stories from April 29, 2025
- Salem Drops Series Opener to Fredericksburg 9-5 - Salem Red Sox
- RiverDogs Drop Back-And-Forth Battle in First Meeting with Hillcats - Charleston RiverDogs
- Polanco's Start, Massive Sixth Inning Propel FredNat Win at Salem - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Pitching Leads the Way to 3-2 Win in Opener vs Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Woodpeckers Edge Shorebirds to Open Homestand - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- MudCats Fend off Pelicans 8-6 in Series Opener - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Jeffrey Mercedes Powers Lynchburg over Chalreston - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Harris Plays Hero in Ballers' First Walkoff Win of Season against Augusta - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Shorebirds Fall to Woodpeckers in Series Opener - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Mudcats Take Series Opener from Myrtle Beach - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.29 vs Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Alastre & Diaz to Wisconsin; Martinez Added from Wisconsin; DeBerry & Lameda Added from ACL Brewers; Pena to 7-Day IL - Carolina Mudcats
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