Columbia Fireflies Game Notes 9.5 at Myrtle Beach
Published on September 5, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at Pelicans Ballpark at 7:05 pm. RHP Jose Gutierrez (1-4, 6.62 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters with southpaw Victor Zarraga (1-1, 4.26 ERA).
Columbia will play their first home playoff game at Segra Park Thursday, September 11 at 7:05 pm. The night is presented by BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, who will give away neon rally towels to the first 1,000 in attendance. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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FIREFLIES RALLY LATE TO BEAT PELICANS 4-3: The Fireflies rallied late behind 6.1 scoreless innings from the bullpen to beat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans 4-3 at Pelicans Ballpark Thursday night. The Fireflies started their rally in the sixth. JC Vanek drew a two out walk to spark the rally. After that, Connor Rasmussen lifted a double to the left-center gap to tie the game 3-3. After that, both teams were scoreless until the top of the ninth. Asbel Gonzalez legged out his second two bagger of the night to set the table for Luke Nowak. The left fielder sprinted out an infield single bounced to first. On the play, Gonzalez motored around from second to push The Fireflies in front 4-3. It was Ethan Bell's (L, 1-4) first inning in relief.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Last Saturday night, Gonzalez broke the Fireflies career steals record in one season. Jean Ramirez had 68 steals from 2021-23 with the Fireflies. Gonzalez currently has the league lead with 75 steals. Columbia's center fielder also now owns the single-season runs scored record for the Fireflies. August 21 he scored his 71st run of the season to pass Erick Torres' 2024 mark.
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.
CAREER WEEK FOR RUSSELL: Last Tuesday, Stone Russell plated six RBI in the first four innings against the Hickory Crawdads. The productive evening powered Columbia to their first double-digit performance since May 3 against the Crawdads. It was Columbia's third six RBI performance of the season. Both Ramon Ramirez and Derlin Figueroa have also had a six RBI game this year. Ramirez and Figueroa both used the help of a grand slam to get their six RBI game in the first half. Russell followed it up with another pair of great outings Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday he drew three walks and drove in two runs and Thursday he plated four RBI for the Fireflies. Overall last week, Russell is 5-12 with six walks and 12 RBI in only three contests. Russell kept his hot streak rolling with three RBI in the opener with Myrtle Beach. He has 15 RBI in his last seven games.
THE BIG PICTURE: The Fireflies have three games remaining in the 2025 season. They'll close out the year with six on the road at Myrtle Beach. The final series of the year just so happens to serve as a playoff preview for the South Division. The Fireflies will play a best-of-three series against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans beginning with a 7:05 pm game one at Pelicans Ballpark Tuesday, September 9. After that, the Fireflies will play game two at 7:05 pm September 11 at Segra Park. If a game three is necessary, it will be played Friday, September 12 at Segra Park. The winner of the three-game series will play against the North Division Champion in a best-of-three series from September 14-17.
NOWAK, RUNNING OUT OF THE GATES: Tuesday, Luke Nowak continued his torrid stretch to kick-off his professional career. The outfielder is currently riding a six-game hitting streak and has started to find the gap more frequently. In his last 10 games, Nowak is batting .368, but thanks to six doubles and nine walks, he has a 1.039 OPS during the run, which is the 13th-best mark in the Carolina League.
Carolina League Stories from September 5, 2025
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- Fireflies Top Pelicans 6-1 on Friday Night - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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- Columbia Fireflies 2025 Playoff Preview - Columbia Fireflies
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