Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.8 at Hickory
Published on August 8, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Hickory Crawdads tonight at L.P Frans Stadium at 7 pm. RHP Kendry Chourio (0-1, 2.25 ERA) makes the start for Columbia and Hickory counters with RHP Aneudis Mejia (3-5, 7.04 ERA).
Columbia returns home for a series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans August 12-17 for a series that includes Toy Story Night and Faith & Family Night with a pre-game concert starring Caleb & John presented by HIS Radio 92.1. Fans can purchase tickets at FirefliesTickets.com.
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SHIELDS DOMINATES GAME TWO IN DOUBLEHEADER SPLIT: The Fireflies split their doubleheader with the Hickory Crawdads Thursday night at L.P. Frans Stadium. The team lost game one 5-1 and took game two 9-0 as David Shields faced the minimum through five frames. Game One The Fireflies lost game one of their doubleheader with the Crawdads 5-1. Yeremy Cabrera drew a four pitch walk before Maxton Martin drilled his 10th homer of the season to give the Crawdads a 2-0 advantage before the first out was recorded. Game Two David Shields (W, 3-1) dominated game two. The lefty faced the minimum over five frames with a career-best eight strikeouts thanks to a 4-3 doubleplay from Stone Russell. After that, Bryson Dudley spun a scoreless sixth and Fraynel Nova ended the contest with a scoreless seventh to lock down the Fireflies eighth shutout of the season. Henry Ramos legged out an infield single with one out to start the rally. After that, Asbel Gonzalez got his second base hit of the game to set the table for the top of the order. Ramon Ramirez drove home Ramos with a two out double to break the scoreless tie. After that, Jose Cerice and Yandel Ricardo hit back-to-back singles to plate Gonzalez and Ramirez to put the Fireflies in front 3-0.
IMMACUL8: Tuesday, Dash Albus threw an immaculate inning thanks to a pitch clock violation. It is believed to be the first 8 pitch, three strikeout inning in MiLB and Major League history. The pitch clock was implemented in 2023 and since then there have been 54 immaculate innings in Minor League and Major League baseball.
THE YOUTH MOVEMENT: David Shields put together another good start for the Fireflies Thursday. The southpaw faced the minimum through five frames while striking out a career-high eight batters. Shields was perfect through the first 12 batters he faced. Since the start of July, Shields has a 0.75 ERA in six starts with 24 innings under his belt. The lefty has 28 strikeouts and a 0.83 WHIP on the run. He is one of four Fireflies pitchers with an ERA beneath 2.00 during the month. The other three are Jordan Woods, Dash Albus and Henson Leal.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Gonzalez has a chance to break the Fireflies career steals record in one season. Jean Ramirez had 68 steals from 2021-23 with the Fireflies. Gonzalez currently is tied for the league lead with 63 steals. 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 66 runs heading for the final full month of the season.
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.
RUSHFORD REACHING: Milo Rushford is currently riding a team-best 15-game on-base streak. While the lefty is only hitting .196 on the run, he has drawn 12 walks to earn a .356 on-base percentage since July 8. The streak is the fifth-longest active on-base streak in the Carolina League. It is the second-longest on-base streak for a Fireflies player in 2025. The longest stretch belongs to Hyungchan Um. Um reached in 17-consecutive games from April 8-June 26.
LOPSIDED WINS: The Fireflies two largest margins of victory have come against Hickory this season. The team beat Hickory 10-0 in five innings May 3 and won game two August 7 9-0.
Carolina League Stories from August 8, 2025
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- FredNats Can't Overcome Eight-Run Inning in 9-7 Loss to Myrtle Beach - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Crawdads Power Way to 8-2 Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Augusta's Fifth-Inning Rally Sinks RiverDogs Friday - Charleston RiverDogs
- Bullpen Brilliant as Augusta Outlasts Charleston - Augusta GreenJackets
- Fayetteville Sinks Delmarva with Early Runs - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Mudcats Down Lynchburg - Carolina Mudcats
- Long Ball Beats Columbia 8-2 - Columbia Fireflies
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.8 at Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Get to Know the Newest Woodpeckers - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Red Sox Win Streak Ends at Five as Kannapolis Sweeps Doubleheader - Salem Red Sox
- FredNats Swept in Doubleheader at Myrtle Beach - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Myrtle Beach Sweeps Doubleheader over Fredericksburg - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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