Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7.25 vs Kannapolis
Published on July 25, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers tonight at Segra Park at 6:05 pm. RHP Shane Van Dam (2-6, 5.16 ERA) toes the rubber for Columbia and Kannapolis counters with LHP Nick Pinto (Debut).
Tonight is Dino Night at Segra Park! Ed's Dinosaurs will roam the concourse and interact with fans during the game and post-game the team will host a fireworks show. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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LATE RUSH LEADS FIREFLIES TO 6-3 WIN: The Fireflies scored four runs with two outs in the sixth after a strikeout wild pitch to upend Kannapolis 6-3 for the club's fourth consecutive win Friday night at Segra Park. The bases were loaded with Josh Hammond at the dish and Anthony Patterson (L, 2-3) struck out Hammond who reached on a wild pitch. On the play, Roni Cabrera scored from third and Ivan Sosa trucked around from second to give Columbia a 3-1 advantage. Next, Sean Gamble doubled to score Henry Ramos and Hammond to make it 5-1 before the end of the frame. The next inning, Connor Rasmussen scored on a Sosa single to give the Fireflies their final run of the game. Sosa closed out the night 3-4 with three singles, two RBI and a run scored.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the top ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 22-19 record combined with a 3.40 ERA over 416 innings through the first 94 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 412 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .237 AVG on the season. The Frederick Keys have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.72 through 380 innings pitched this season. Overall, the Fireflies hold the fourth-best team ERA in Minor League Baseball at 4.06. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers lead the way with a 3.79 mark.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Sunday, he etched three strikeouts over 3.1 innings of work. Lombardi leads the Carolina League in strikeouts with 99. Lombardi is on the doorstep of becoming the seventh Fireflies pitcher to strikeout 100 batters in a season. Tony Dibrell owns the Fireflies single-season strikeout record at 147. The last Fireflies player to notch 100 strikeouts in a season was Felix Arronde, who struck out 103 in 2024.
THE GAMBLER: Sean Gamble struggled out of the gates at the plate this season. The first rounder hit just .118 across 21 games in April, but near the end of May, the centerfielder turned the page. Since May 21, Gamble is hitting .280 across 48 games. He is second on the team in OBP (.408), runs scored (36) and OPS (.813) and leads the club in stolen bases (20) during the stretch.
RICARDO RIPPING: Yandel Ricardo is on a red-hot stretch right now. Columbia's infielder has had multiple hits in six-consecutive games. On the run, Ricardo is 15-22 (.682) with a double, two triples and a homer. He has driven in nine RBI and scored seven runs. Ricardo is tied with Shervyen Newton for the longest multi-hit game streak in franchise history. Newton had six-consecutive games from July 5-12, 2019. On the run, Newton was 14-27 (.519) with three doubles and a homer. He also scored four runs and drove in six RBI.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: The Fireflies bullpen gave up their first run since the ninth inning of Tuesday's game in the seventh inning Friday. The run snapped a streak of 12.2 frames without surrendering a run. Overall, the bullpen worked four innings and gave up two earned runs in Friday's game.
WELL NEEDED REST: The Fireflies have been surging since the All-Star Break. The club has won six of seven games since the break. In the lone loss, the club pushed out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. After the team finishes this series with Kannapolis, they hit the road to start a fresh series with the Augusta GreenJackets.
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- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7.25 vs Kannapolis - Columbia Fireflies
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