Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7.18 vs Kannapolis
July 18, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies kick-off a series with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. LHP David Shields (2-1, 2.45 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Kannapolis counters with LHP Justin Sinibaldi (2-6, 5.40 ERA).
Tonight is Christmas in July presented by Lowes Foods. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a Segra Park Snow Globe, we'll have Christmas photo ops throughout the ballpark and fans can purchase smoked turkey legs and Grinch Punch from The Wicked Weed Bar. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES BATS SILENCED IN 3-0 LOSS TO CHARLESTON: The Fireflies were shutout as they dropped the rubber match 3-0 to the Charleston RiverDogs Sunday afternoon at The Joe. The Fireflies bats were stymied by Jose Urbina (W, 6-1) who worked seven scoreless innings with 78 pitches. After that Jadon Berkovich struck out the side in the eighth and Dalton Fowler (S, 2) closed things out with a scoreless ninth to keep Columbia at bay. Jordan Woods threw another scoreless start for the Fireflies. The southpaw added three innings without a run to his ledger, giving him seven scoreless innings on the week.
MASTERFUL MARTE: Sunday, Yunior Marte continued his solid start to the 2025 campaign. The 6'5" righty spun his third quality start of the year. He ranks among the Carolina League Leaders in most significant pitching statistics including ERA (2nd, 2.31), strikeouts (8th, 71), innings pitched (5th, 74.0), opposing average (1st, .188) and WHIP (1st, 0.95). In his first full-season in the Carolina League, Marte has looked the part as Columbia's ace.
NO FIREWORKS THIS JULY: The Fireflies pitching staff has started the month of July at a scorching pace. The club is 5-6, but has a 2.27 ERA, which is the third-best mark in Minor League Baseball since July 1. During the run, the Fireflies have 87 strikeouts over 95 innings to pair with a 1.18 WHIP and a 2.64 K/BB ratio. The Springfield Cardinals lead Minor League Baseball with a 2.25 ERA in 104 innings since July 1 and Hudson Valley has a 2.27 ERA in 103 innings in that time frame. The teams are 11-1 and 10-2, respectively, during that time.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Saturday, Asbel Gonzalez stole four bases in a single game for the third time this year. In the third inning, he usurped Tyler Tolbert's 2021 single season stolen base record when he swept his 50th base of the season. Tolbert had 49 steals in 51 tries across 80 games in Columbia. Gonzalez is second in the Carolina League to Tommy Hawke, who has 63 swipes this season. Gonzalez also has a chance to break the Fireflies career steals record. Jean Ramirez had 68 steals from 2021-23 with the Fireflies. Columbia's center fielder isn't far from the single-season franchise runs scored record either. Eric Torres set the mark with 70 runs scored last year. Gonzalez has scored 58 runs heading into the All-Star Break.
RICARDO'S REACHING: Columbia's 18-year-old shortstop is figuring out the Carolina League. Yandel Ricardo is currently riding a six-game hitting streak, which is his longest hitting streak in full-season ball. Since the stretch began July 5, Ricardo is batting .286 (8-28) with two doubles and six RBI. He has also stolen four bags in that time.
NUMBERS BEHIND THE CLINCH: The Fireflies finished the first-half 36-30 to win the South Division Title for the first time in team history. It is the Fireflies first playoff berth in team history. The club will play their first home playoff game September 11 at Segra Park.
I NEED A HIRO: Hiro Wyatt continued his roll of great pitching for Columbia. The righty has been eating innings pitched since the start of June (27.2). He's limited base runners to the tune of a 1.08 WHIP. He's also been piling up the strikeouts. Wyatt has 27 strikeouts compared to only six walks since June 1. His last outing July 3 was the only outing of less than four innings that Wyatt has tossed since the start of June.
Carolina League Stories from July 18, 2025
- Pelicans No-Hit GreenJackets, Take Series Opener 3-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- RiverDogs Start Road Trip with Dominant Win over Hickory - Charleston RiverDogs
- Three Late Runs Prove Too Little, Too Late in Friday Night Loss to Fayetteville - Salem Red Sox
- GreenJackets No-Hit for Second Time this Season - Augusta GreenJackets
- Hickory Falls to Charleston 7-1 - Hickory Crawdads
- Fireflies Hold 'Ballers Scoreless for 8, But Lose 1-0 - Columbia Fireflies
- Shorebirds Blanked by Mudcats in First Game Back from All-Star Break - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Mudcats Open Second Half with Shutout Victory - Carolina Mudcats
- FredNats and Hillcats Postponed - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7.18 vs Kannapolis - Columbia Fireflies
- Adamczewski Reinstated from 7-Day IL; Martinez to Biloxi - Carolina Mudcats
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