Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.16 vs Augusta
May 16, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Yunior Marte (2-1, 3.41 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Augusta counters with RHP Owen Hackman (1-2, 5.81 ERA).
Tonight is the night everyone has been waiting for! The Fireflies and Columbia Craft are unveiling their new beer name and can design pre-game and one lucky fan in attendance will win free beer for a year at the game! Don't miss out! Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES FALL SHORT 4-1 VS AUGUSTA: The Fireflies received a strong, five-inning start from Hiro Wyatt, but fell short 4-1 vs the Augusta GreenJackets Thursday night at Segra Park. Columbia hopped on the board first in the bottom of the first inning. Asbel Gonzalez and Derlin Figueroa hit back-to-back singles to start the game. Next, Ramon Ramirez walked to load the bases. After that, Brennon McNair grounded out to short to score Gonzalez and break the scoreless tie. Augusta got on the board in the top of the third inning. Owen Carey legged out a two RBI infield single to second base to score Mac Guscette and Roiber Niazoa to take a 2-1 lead over Columbia.
SPEED, I AM SPEED: Asbel Gonzalez is now second in the Carolina League in stolen bases with 34 on the season. He trails Tommy Hawke, who has 39. Gonzalez is also second to Hawke for the most runs scored in the League (32). Gonzalez also has the league's third-best batting average with a mark of .341.
MASTER OF THE MISS: Friday, Yunior Marte got his second win of the season behind five scoreless innings on the bump. During the start, the righty wrung up nine RiverDogs batters. It was a career-high for Marte, who's previous best was five strikeouts in a single game. It was also the most strikeouts in a single game for a Fireflies pitcher in 2025. He passed Josh Hansell and Tanner Jones who each have an eight punchout game this season.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Fireflies finished their 12-game homestand 9-3 against the Carolina Mudcats and Hickory Crawdads. The team has been red-hot at Segra Park this season, going 14-7 at home compared to a 6-9 record over their first nine road contests of the 2025 season.
RAKING RAMIREZ: Saturday, Ramon Ramirez launched his second three-hit game of the season. It allowed him to push his on-base streak to eight-consecutive games. The righty hit .310 on the stretch that began May 1 with seven runs scored and an additional five RBI before the streak ended Sunday. Ramirez had an .877 OPS over the 33 plate appearances in the month of May. He is tied for the Carolina League lead with 25 RBI.
ON A ROLL: Fireflies reliever Nick Conte got off to a slow start in 2025, but he has hit his stride over his last four games. Tuesday, Conte pitched more than one inning for the first time this year, striking out four batters in 1.2 scoreless innings vs Augusta. After recording a 15.63 ERA over 6.1 innings in April, Conte has a 0.00 ERA in his first 3.2 innings in May. The righty has allowed only one hit over his last three appearances and he has wrung up seven.
EXTRA-BASE MACHINE: Brennon McNair has had a strong start to the 2025 season. The outfielder is hitting .250 through his first 30 games of the year. He also has the second-most extra-base hits in the Carolina League this season. He has launched 14 extra-base hits this year, which trails the league leader Freili Encarnacion who has 17.
FIGUEROA FLOWING: Derlin Figueroa has had an excellent start to the week. Thursday, the third baseman went 2-3 with a walk, which helped Asbel Gonzalez score Columbia's lone run of the game. Figueroa has played all three games this week and is 6-11 with two walks and a double. The lefty us hitting .545 and has stolen three bases in as many games.
Carolina League Stories from May 16, 2025
- Shorebirds Walk-off the Fred Nats in Ten Innings - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Charleston Edges Salem 10-8 in Back-And-Forth Thriller - Charleston RiverDogs
- Myrtle Beach Squanders Early Lead, Fall to Lynchburg 12-4 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Maxton Homers in 5-2 Loss - Hickory Crawdads
- Fireflies Backed by Big Swings, Strong Start in 4-1 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Mudcats Rally Comes up Short - Carolina Mudcats
- RiverDogs Announce Two Additions to Hall of Honor - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.16 vs Augusta - Columbia Fireflies
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