Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 7.26 vs Kannapolis
Published on July 26, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies close out their series with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers tonight at Segra Park at 5:05 pm. RHP Michael Lombardi (2-3, 3.44 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Kannapolis counters with RHP Alexander Martinez (1-6, 5.36 ERA).
Tonight is Women in Sports Night at Segra Park. Join the Fireflies as they honor women who have paved the way for future generations to continue to impact the sports world. After the game, the Fireflies will host a full-team autograph session thanks to E.F. Martin and kids can run the bases courtesy of Bang Back Pinball Lounge.
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VAN DAM START, VANEK POWER GIVES FIREFLIES 5-1 WIN: The Fireflies used a quality start from Shane Van Dam and a two-homer game from JC Vanek to beat the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 5-1 Saturday night at Segra Park. Columbia has taken the first five games against Kannapolis and will try for the series sweep tomorrow evening at Segra Park at 5:05 pm. Shane Van Dam (W, 3-6) worked a career start. The righty spun a career-best 6.2 innings with a career-high seven strikeouts. He allowed only one run off four hits before transferring the ball to Dash Albus who struck out Adrian Gil with runners on first and second to send it to the stretch. After that, Brandon Herbold and Yeri Perez both spun an inning without allowing a run to close out the game. Columbia got on the board first again Saturday. Jhosmmel Zue walked to lead-off the frame and then JC Vanek pummeled a 411 foot homer to right-center to push Columbia to a 2-0 lead. It was Vanek's team-leading ninth round-tripper of the season.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the top ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 23-19 record combined with a 3.36 ERA over 422.2 innings through the first 95 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 419 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .236 AVG on the season. The Frederick Keys have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.71 through 387.2 innings pitched this season. Overall, the Fireflies hold the fourth-best team ERA in Minor League Baseball at 4.03. The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers lead the way with a 3.76 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 .273 across 49 games. He is second on the team in OBP (.400), runs scored (36) and OPS (.795) and leads the club in stolen bases (20) during the stretch.
WELL NEEDED REST: The Fireflies have been surging since the All-Star Break. The club has won seven of eight 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.
A CLEAN SLATE: The Fireflies have won their first five games against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Since MiLB has moved to six-game series, Columbia has notched one sweep. They won six-consecutive against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers at Segra Park June 4-9. Over this week, Columbia has outscored Kannapolis 24-9 through the first five games. Columbia is hitting .292 as a team and the pitching staff has spun a 1.80 ERA to start the series. The bats have been even better with runners in scoring position. They're 16-51 (.314) through five games.
Carolina League Stories from July 26, 2026
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