Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 4.30 vs Hickory
April 30, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Hickory Crawdads tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Tanner Jones (1-1, 5.74 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Hickory counters with righty J'Briell Easley (1-1, 0.82 ERA).
Tonight is a White Claw Wednesday at Segra Park. Fans can enjoy $5 White Claws from bars at the ballpark. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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PITCHING LEADS WAY TO 3-2 WIN IN OPENER VS HICKORY: The Fireflies held the Hickory Crawdads to 1-9 with runners in scoring position to maintain a 3-2 win in the series opener at Segra Park Tuesday night. Columbia drove ahead in the bottom of the third inning.
SPEED, I AM SPEED: Asbel Gonzalez tallied his second four stolen base game of the season for Columbia Tuesday. He now has two of the Fireflies four franchise games with four or more steals.The center fielder leads all of Minor League Baseball with 29 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. His 1.02 ERA is the third-best in the Carolina League this season. The southpaw has 23 strikeouts in 17.2 innings and is holding a career-best 1.08 WHIP. Miller has not allowed a run since his first outing of the year April 4 and has worked 14-consecutive scoreless innings.
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 19 RBI on the season. He's one behind Carolina's Josh Adamczeski for the most RBI in the League this year
HIP HIP, JORGE: The Fireflies second-baseman is getting it done with his bat lately. Jorge Hernandez is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak where he's hitting .361. He's done great at setting the table. Hernandez has reached in 13-consecutive games, which is tied with 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 (.268) and is second in stolen bases (69). The Fireflies also have the fewest strikeouts in the Carolina League (180).
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.
THE ULTIMATE PEN: The Fireflies bullpen has been the highlight of the pitching staff this season. The bullpen features four players with a sub-2.00 ERA. Henson Leal (0.69), Fraynel Nova (0.87), Mason Miller (1.02) and Elvis Novas (1.54). The team is also on another hot stretch right now.The unit is on a 15 inning stretch without allowing an earned run. Tuesday, the team worked four innings without allowing a run, Sunday, relievers combined for six innings without a run and Saturday, the Fireflies went their final five innings without allowing a run to score after some early trouble in a 11-10 loss.
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