Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Fayetteville 6.2
CarL Columbia Fireflies

Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Fayetteville 6.2

Published on June 2, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


The Fireflies kick-off a series with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers tonight at Segra Stadium at 6:05 pm. RHP Kendry Chourio (1-0, 1.71 ERA) takes the bump for Columbia and Fayetteville counters with RHP Juan Fraide (debut).

The Fireflies return home for a six-game series with the Delmarva Shorebirds at Segra Park from June 9-14. It's Copa Weekend at Segra Park, which this year includes a Futbol Fiesta Thursday July 11, a soccer scarf giveaway July 12 and a car show and pig roast Sunday, July 14. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.

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GAMBLE HOMER CAN'T POWER FIREFLIES TO WIN SUNDAY: The Fireflies took their first lead in the eighth inning, but it wasn't enough as they fell 3-2 to the Charleston RiverDogs Sunday at Segra Park. Columbia took their first lead of the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Connor Rasmussen was at second after Sean Gamble was hit by a pitch and Josh Hammond rolled over a ball to short. After a throwing error from second baseman Alberth Palma, Rasmussen came around to score and give Columbia a 2-1 advantage. Charleston rallied in the top of the ninth though. Brandon Herbold walked Brailer Guerrero to start the inning. Next, Brendan Summerhill grounded out to second to move the tying run to second. After that, Andy Basora (L, 1-3; BS, 3) allowed a single to Tom Poole that scored Guerrero to tie the game. Eventually, Poole came around on a two out JD Gonzalez base knock that gave Charleston a 3-2 lead.

STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the second-best ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 5-9 record combined with a 3.00 ERA over 207.1 innings through the first 51 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 218 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .227 AVG on the season. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels currently sit in first place in MiLB. They are 2-8 with a 2.80 ERA over 170.1 innings in their first 51 games.

LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Sunday, he etched seven punchouts across three innings. Lombardi has the most strikeouts (63) in Single-A over 37.2 innings of work. Lombardi has the fifth-best K/9 rate in Minor League Baseball among pitchers with at least 30 innings this season (15.05). Cody Bowker leads the way at 15.35.

BRINGING ON BROOKS: Catcher Brooks Bryan is riding the Carolina League's longest active on-base streak. Bryan has reached in 19-consecutive games since April 24. It's the second-longest active on-base streak for the Fireflies this season behind JC Vanek, who reached in 20-consecutive games. The Alabama native is hitting .333 on the run and has slapped five doubles to help drive in nine RBI. Bryan has walked an additional 11 times to drive his on-base percentage to .436.

THE SKINNY: The Fireflies sit in fifth place in the South Division, six games back from the first place Hickory Crawdads and Augusta GreenJackets with 15 games left to play in the first half. The Fireflies will play their first two series against North Division opponents (Fayetteville and Delmarva) before ending the first half of the season with three games at Hickory.

BRINGING ON THE BATS: Over the course of the last 10 games, the Fireflies bats are gaining momentum. Five players are batting over .300 on the stretch. Brooks Bryan leads the way with a .424 average. Connor Rasmussen and Yandel Ricardo are hitting .379. Sean Gamble is having his best stretch of 2026. The lefty is batting .323 across his last 10 games with two doubles, a triple and a homer along with seven walks to give him a .462 on-base percentage on the run. Finally, Josh Hammond is batting .308 and paces the Fireflies with four stolen bases in his last 10 games.

Check out the Columbia Fireflies Statistics

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Carolina League Stories from June 2, 2026


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