Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.21 at Kannapolis
May 21, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers tonight at Atrium Health Ballpark at 6:30 pm. RHP Hiro Wyatt (1-1, 4.82 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Kannapolis counters with RHP Seth Keener (1-4, 10.33 ERA).
Columbia comes back to Segra Park to face the Fayetteville Woodpeckers Memorial Day week! The team will celebrate with $1 Busch Light for Thirsty Thursday May 29 on Country Night. The next day, we'll find our beach for Margaritaville Night. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will get a Hawaiian T-shirt courtesy of AMAROK. Then Saturday is the best Dad-Daughter Date Night in Columbia. Join us for Princess Knight with a pre-game tea party and a post-game fireworks show May 31. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIVE-RUN FIFTH, STRONG PITCHING COMBINE FOR WIN: The Fireflies bats plated a handful in the fifth inning behind a strong night of pitching to beat the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 8-1 Tuesday night at Atrium Health Ballpark. The Fireflies now have a two-game lead over Kannapolis for first place in the South Division. The Fireflies bats scored a handful in the top of the fifth. 10 batters came up in the inning. After a groundout and strikeout to start the inning, seven-consecutive reached for the visiting team. Ramon Ramirez and Stone Russell both slapped two RBI singles to highlight the inning.
SPEED, I AM SPEED: Asbel Gonzalez is now second in the Carolina League in stolen bases with 35 on the season. He trails Tommy Hawke, who has 41. Gonzalez is also second to Hawke for the most runs scored in the League (36). Gonzalez also has the league's fifth-best batting average with a mark of .326. Tuesday, Gonzalez became the first Fireflies player to hit a lead-off homer since Jean Ramirez did it at Kannapolis July 14, 2022. It was the center fielder's first homer of the season and the second of his career.
MASTER OF THE MISS: Friday, Yunior Marte earned his second quality start of the season to get his team-leading third win of 2025. The righty hasn't allowed a run since April 27. He has worked 15.2-consecutive innings without surrendering a run, spanning three starts. During the stretch, Marte's ERA has dropped from 4.84 to 2.87. Marte ranks among the league leaders in Innings Pitched (37.2, 1st), ERA (2.87, 7th), Wins (3, 4th), Strikeouts (36, 5th), Opposing Average (.207, 6th) and WHIP (1.09, 5th).
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 16-8 at home compared to a 7-9 record over their first nine road contests of the 2025 season.
RAKING RAMIREZ: Saturday, Ramon Ramirez rewrote the Fireflies record book. He hit Columbia's first walk-off homer since Erick Pena homered May 3, 2023. He had the Fireflies first two homer game since he accomplished the feat April 13. He had Columbia's first five RBI game since he had a six RBI game April 13. He has also homered in back-to-back games for the first time since Brennon McNair did so April 19 and 22. Ramirez leads the Carolina League with eight homers and 33 RBI. He is also third in runs scored with 31.
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.
FIGUEROA FLOWING: Derlin Figueroa had a fantastic week at the plate against Augusta. The lefty is riding his longest-hititng streak of 2025, a seven-game stretch that started April 13. On the run, he is 12-27 (.444) at the dish with three RBI. The streak is the third-longest active hitting streak in the Carolina League this year. It trails Luiyin Alastre, who's riding a 10-game hitting streak and Antonio Anderson who has hit safely in eight-straight games.
Carolina League Stories from May 21, 2025
- Pena to 7-Day IL - Carolina Mudcats
- FredNats and Mudcats Postponed Wednesday - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Mudcats Rained out at Fredericksburg - Carolina Mudcats
- Jose Escobar Lifts Pelicans over Crawdads with 10th Inning Grand Slam - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Crawdads Fall in Extras 10-7 - Hickory Crawdads
- Hostetler Reinstated from 7-Day IL - Carolina Mudcats
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 5.21 at Kannapolis - Columbia Fireflies
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