Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.9 at Hickory
Published on August 9, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Hickory Crawdads at L.P. Frans Stadium tonight with a doubleheader beginning at 5 pm. RHP Jose Gutierrez (0-2, 5.82 ERA) takes the hill for game one for the Fireflies and they hand the ball to LHP Dash Albus (6-1, 2.89 ERA) for game two. The Crawdads counter with RHP Kamdyn Perry (1-3, 6.10 ERA) in game one and LHP Aidan Deakins (0-0, 27.00 ERA) for game two.
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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LONG BALL BEATS COLUMBIA 8-2: The Fireflies surrendered three homers, resulting in six runs for the Crawdads in a 8-2 loss at L.P. Frans Stadium Friday night. Pablo Guerrero broke the scoreless tie with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. The first baseman clobbered his sixth homer of the season to score Josh Springer and give the Crawdads a 2-0 lead.The next inning, Mason Martin struck again-this time for his third two-run homer of the series. The left fielder's 12th homer of the season scored Yeremy Cabrera to push Hickory's lead to 4-0. Martin wasn't done there, the next inning, he hit an RBI single to push Hickory to a 6-0 advantage and end Kendry Chourio's (L, 0-2) evening.
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.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: JC Vanek was the first player from the 2025 draft to get added to the Fireflies roster and he's had an explosive first five games for Columbia. Vanek is hitting .316 (6-19) with a double and three RBI in his introduction to professional baseball.
ACOSTA'S AUGUST: Infielder Angel Acosta is turning it on at the plate over his last 10 games. Acosta is batting .343 with three walks over his last 10 contests, which is good for a .395 on-base percentage. It's the highest mark for a Fireflies player currently. In the month of August, Acosta is 4-8 with a double and an RBI.
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.
Carolina League Stories from August 9, 2025
- Team Effort Propels Salem Over Kannapolis, 6-3, On Saturday Night - Salem Red Sox
- FredNats Need Just Three Hits for 7-6 Extra-Innings Win Over Myrtle Beach - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Pelicans Fall, 7-6, to Nationals in 10 Innings - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Crawdads Sweep Columbia, Gain Ground on Myrtle Beach - Hickory Crawdads
- Woodpeckers Edge Shorebirds to Take Series Lead - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Mudcats Split Doubleheader with Lynchburg - Carolina Mudcats
- Rushford's On-Base Streak Reaches 17 Saturday - Columbia Fireflies
- RiverDogs Can't Contain Gil, GreenJackets in Lopsided Loss - Charleston RiverDogs
- Gil Homers Twice as Augusta Hammers RiverDogs - Augusta GreenJackets
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 8.9 at Hickory - Columbia Fireflies
- Despite Early Momentum, Kannapolis Powers Past Salem 7-3 - Salem Red Sox
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