Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Hickory 6.19
Published on June 19, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies kick-off the second-half of the 2026 season tonight with a 7 pm match-up against the Hickory Crawdads at L.P. Frans Stadium. RHP Coleman Picard (debut) gets the ball for Columbia and Hickory counters with RHP Daniel Keaney (debut).
The Fireflies return home for 12 games in 13 days from June 30-July 12. The team will celebrate America's 250th birthday with the biggest fireworks show of the year, Saturday, July 4 and will continue with fireworks and a patriotic theme all weekend thanks to SC 250. The next weekend, the club is throwing it back to the 90s for the return of the Capital City Bombers thanks to Cassell Brothers Home Services. Join the team for a bobble plane giveaway Friday, July 10 and a drone show Saturday, July 11. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
-------------------------------------
ALBUS SETS FRANCHISE RECORD IN EXTRA INNINGS WIN: After a 52-minute rain delay entering the ninth inning, things got interesting at L.P. Frans Stadium. The Crawdads tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, before Columbia scored three in the 10th to set down Hickory 6-4 Thursday night. Dash Albus (BS, 2;W, 2-1) allowed the tying run to score in the ninth, but then buckled down and allowed just the placed runner to score in extras to earn his 11th win with the Fireflies. He passes 2017 Fireflies pitcher, Jordan Humphreys for the most wins in Fireflies franchise history. Columbia rallied with two outs in the top of the 10th inning. JC Vanek scored on an Ivan Sosa strikeout where Aneudis Mejia (L, 1-5) threw a wild pitch and then catcher Sebastian Baquera had a throwing error to first that put Sosa into scoring position. After Josh Hammond drew a five-pitch walk, Stone Russell clobbered his second double in three innings to left to score Sosa and Hammond to give Columbia a 6-3 advantage.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the third-best ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded an 11-12 record combined with a 3.43 ERA over 283.2 innings through the first 66 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 293 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .236 AVG on the season. The Jupiter Hammerheads lead the way with a 3.29 ERA over 276.1 innings in their first 66 contests.
TWO OUT MAGIC: The Fireflies have been on a roll with their back against the wall. Last night, Columbia scored three runs with two outs in the game, but that isn't an isolated incident. In their last eight games since June 10, the Fireflies are leading the league with a .257 average with a pair of outs. They have scored 19 runs in 90 opportunities.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Friday, he etched six strikeouts across 4.2 innings of work. Lombardi has the second-most strikeouts (74) in Single-A over 46.1 innings of work. Palm Beach's Cade Crossland is first with 78. Lombardi has the second-best K/9 rate in Minor League Baseball among pitchers with at least 45 innings this season (14.37). Seth Hernandez leads the way at 15.04. Lombardi also has the fourth-best strikeout percentage in Minor League Baseball among players with at least 45 innings pitched this season. Arkansas's Kade Anderson leads the way. He has struck out 43.2% of batters faced this season.
HIP HIP, JOSE: Tuesday, Jose Gutierrez worked seven innings and allowed three runs off five hits while striking out four Hickory Crawdads. It was the righty's third-consecutive quality start. The last time a Fireflies pitcher spun seven or more innings came in 2024. Jonatan Bernal worked seven frames in a 9-0 drubbing of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Pelicans Ballpark August 14. In the month of June, Gutierrez is 3-0 with a 2.37 ERA. He has 17 strikeouts and only one walk across 19 innings to combine with a 0.84 WHIP.
IT'S HOT IN COLUMBIA: The Fireflies have won nine of their last 11 games dating back to June 6. The club turned on the heat in June after finishing both April and May below .500. Columbia carries an 11-4 record over the first half of their June slate.
ROLLING RONI: Over his last 11 games, Roni Cabrera has kicked it up a notch. The outfielder is hitting .333 with six walks to give him a .413 on-base percentage. He has scored 10 runs and driven in eight on the tear.
Carolina League Stories from June 19, 2026
- Vasquez's Winning Homer Completes Big Comeback in Start of Second Half - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Poteet's Late-Inning Homer Not Enough, Pelicans Fall to Shorebirds, 8-4 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Clutch Offense Lifts Delmarva to Win in Second-Half Opener - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Comeback Effort Comes up Short, FredNats Fall to Salem 7-6 in 2nd Half Opener - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Bats Shine as Soul Debut with Big Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Crawdads Pummel Columbia 10-0 - Hickory Crawdads
- Wilson Bats Quieted in Second Half Opener - Wilson Warbirds
- Fireflies Bested 10-0 in First Game of Second Half - Columbia Fireflies
- Morgan Delivers Another Quality Start, RiverDogs Earn 4-2 Win in Wilson - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes at Hickory 6.19 - Columbia Fireflies
- Pelicans Use 12 Run Eighth Inning Comeback to Rout Shorebirds 21-10 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
