Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 6.17 at Hickory
Published on June 17, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Hickory Crawdads this afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium at 12:05 pm. LHP Darwin Rodriguez (2-4, 4.78 ERA) gets the ball for Columbia and Hickory counters with righty Frank Martinez (0-2, 7.98 ERA).
The Fireflies return home for 12 games in 13 days from June 30-July 12. The team will celebrate America's 250th birthday with the biggest fireworks show of the year, Saturday, July 4 and will continue with fireworks and a patriotic theme all weekend thanks to SC 250. The next weekend, the club is throwing it back to the 90s for the return of the Capital City Bombers thanks to Cassell Brothers Home Services. Join the team for a bobble plane giveaway Friday, July 10 and a drone show Saturday, July 11. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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GUTIERREZ THROWS GEM IN 7-3 WIN AT HICKORY: The Fireflies used a dominant Jose Gutierrez quality start to beat the Hickory Crawdads 7-3 Tuesday night at L.P. Frans Stadium. Jose Gutierrez (W, 4-2) rolled through the top of the order for Columbia. The starter retired the first seven batters he faced, but then Marcos Torres slammed a solo homer to left-center to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning. The next inning, Marco Argudin bounced a single off Gutierrez's leg then Paulino Santana clubbed his sixth homer of the season to right to give the Crawdads their first lead of the game, 3-1.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the second-best ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded an 11-12 record combined with a 3.27 ERA over 272.2 innings through the first 64 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 282 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .236 AVG on the season. The Jupiter Hammerheads lead the way with a 3.21 ERA over 269.0 innings in their first 64 contests.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Friday, he etched six strikeouts across 4.2 innings of work. Lombardi has the second-most strikeouts (74) in Single-A over 46.1 innings of work. Palm Beach's Cade Crossland is first with 78. Lombardi has the second-best K/9 rate in Minor League Baseball among pitchers with at least 45 innings this season (14.37). Seth Hernandez leads the way at 15.04. Lombardi also has the fourth-best strikeout percentage in Minor League Baseball among players with at least 45 innings pitched this season. Arkansas's Kade Anderson leads the way. He has struck out 43.2% of batters faced this season.
THE SKINNY: When the Fireflies beat the Hickory Crawdads and the Charleston RiverDogs beat the Wilson Warbirds Tuesday, the RiverDogs officially clinched the First-Half South Division Championship. After Thursday's game at Hickory, the 66-game second-half slate will begin. Columbia will play their fist nine games of the second half on the road, but after that, the club will play 18 of its next 21 games at Segra Park.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING: When Roni Cabrera homered in the fifth inning Tuesday, he extended his run-scored streak to seven-consecutive games. It's tied for the longest active runs scored streak in the Carolina League. Since the run began June 6, the outfielder is 10-24 (.417) with seven RBI and nine runs scored. It's tied for the seventh-longest run scored streak in Fireflies history. The last time someone had a longest streak, Derlin Figueroa scored in eight-straight from July 27-August 4, 2024. Quinn Brody has the longest run in franchise history. He scored in 10-straight games from May 3-May 13, 2018.
HIP HIP, JOSE: Tuesday, Jose Gutierrez worked seven innings and allowed three runs off five hits while striking out four Hickory Crawdads. It was the righty's third-consecutive quality start. The last time a Fireflies pitcher spun seven or more innings came in 2024. Jonatan Bernal worked seven frames in a 9-0 drubbing of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Pelicans Ballpark August 14. In the month of June, Gutierrez is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA. He has 17 strikeouts and only one walk across 19 innings to combine with a 0.84 WHIP.
IT'S HOT IN COLUMBIA: The Fireflies have won eight of their last nine games dating back to June 5.
Carolina League Stories from June 17, 2026
- Potter Fires Five Scoreless in Loss that Ends Streak - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Carico's Two Hits Lifts Pelicans over Shorebirds - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Bagwell's Strong Start Not Enough as Augusta Falls - Augusta GreenJackets
- Wilson Blasts Off to Victory Over Charleston - Wilson Warbirds
- Shorebirds Surge Late But Fall Short to Pelicans - Delmarva Shorebirds
- RiverDogs Lose Early Lead in 12-3 Defeat to Warbirds - Charleston RiverDogs
- FredNats Throws 7th Shutout of the Season, Break Franchise All-Time 1st Half Wins Record, Beat Salem 3-0 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Bullpen Shines in 9-5 Victory - Hickory Crawdads
- Novas Hits First Blast of Season as Fireflies Fall 9-5 - Columbia Fireflies
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 6.17 at Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Pelicans Rack up 10 Hits in Series Opening Victory over Shorebirds 12-4 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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