Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 9.14 at Lynchburg
Published on September 14, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies take on the Lynchburg Hillcats in Game One of the Carolina League Championship Series (a best-of-three series) tonight at Bank of the James Stadium at 6:30 pm. RHP Blake Wolters (2-2, 3.99 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Lynchburg counters with RHP Jacob Zibin (0-5, 3.62 ERA).
Columbia returns home to Segra Park Tuesday for Game Two of The Carolina League Championship Series at 7:05 pm. The series will be decided at Segra Park either Tuesday evening or Wednesday evening and the Fireflies need fans to pack the park to cheer the team to the Midlands' first championship since 1998. To thank fans for their support all season long, ALL TICKETS are available for only $5. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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ABOUT THE HILLCATS: The Hillcats finished last in the Carolina League this season with 39 homers. Columbia was eighth with 54 long balls and Fayetteville led the pack with 82. The Hillcats were near the bottom of the League in nearly every significant hitting category for the 2025 season. The pitching staff was dominant. They finished third in the League with a 3.76 ERA and held a 1.34 WHIP as a team. The Hillcats reinvented their roster many times this season. There was only one player on the team (Luis Merejo) who played more than 100 games for Lynchburg. And only six players tallied at least 80 appearances on the year. The Hillcats have 13 players on their playoff roster who were selected in the 2025 draft. That includes three of Cleveland's top five selections this season.
ABOUT THE FIREFLIES: The Fireflies clinched a first-half playoff berth as a host of four teams were within a pair of games of eachother heading into the final week of the half. A couple of individuals paved the way for Columbia's success this season. Asbel Gonzalez set franchise records in steals (78) and runs scored (82). Ramon Ramirez took advantage of him being on-base, leading the club with 11 homers and 56 RBI. Dash Albus finished 2nd in the circuit in wins (9) and fifth in saves (6).
THE DIVISIONAL ROUND: Both The Fireflies and The Hillcats swept their opponents in the Divisional Round. Columbia utilized excellent pitching, particularly from the bullpen, who spun eight scoreless innings in the first pair of playoff games to beat Myrtle Beach 4-1 and 2-1 to advance to The Carolina League Championship Series. For Lynchburg, they used some late inning theatrics to pave their path. Nolan Schubart hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to give The Hillcats a 2-1 win in game one and then Lynchburg rallied from down 4-1 in the seventh, to win 5-4 thanks to a throwing error in the ninth inning of game two.
IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW YOU START THE SEASON, IT'S ABOUT HOW YOU FINISH: After clinching first-half playoff berths, both Columbia and Lynchburg finished near the bottom of the pack in their dicision for the second half. After playoff-clinching hangovers, both teams were able to grab momentum near the end of the season and make a statement by winning their first playoff series against the two second-half division winners. The two teams will play a best-of-three series beginning at Bank of the James Stadium Sunday, September 14 at 6:30 pm. After that, the series shifts to Segra Park, which will hold Game Two Tuesday, September 16 at 7:05 pm. If necessary, Columbia will host Game Three Wednesday, September 17 at 7:05 pm to close out the 2025 Carolina League slate and crown the circuit's next champion.
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.
ROCK THE BIRD TO SLEEP: The Fireflies bullpen has been nearly perfect this postseason. The relief corp has went eight scoreless innings. Kamden Edge tallied three perfect innings with five strikeouts in game one before Augusto Mendieta had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout to earn the save. In game two, Dash Albus and Bryson Dudley both went two, one-hit innings and combined for six strikeouts without surrendering a run.
Carolina League Stories from September 14, 2025
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 9.14 at Lynchburg - Columbia Fireflies
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