Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Augusta 8.20
Published on August 20, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Augusta GreenJackets tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Ryan McDonagh (2-4, 6.44 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Augusta counters with RHP Davis Polo (7-5, 3.19 ERA).
Tonight is Synchronized Hippos Night at Segra Park. The Fireflies are checking to see how far they can take a viral Jeopardy! Moment. Lauren is coming to throw out a first pitch, the team is wearing Synchronized Hippo jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit Congaree National Park and there will be plenty of trivia featured throughout the game. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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LOMBARDI LEADS WAY IN MILESTONE STRIKEOUT NIGHT: Michael Lombardi led the way for the Fireflies pitching staff to etch 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game, which is the second most in a game in Fireflies history, in a 6-3 win over the Augusta GreenJackets Wednesday night. Lombardi struck out seven over four innings, Jesus Oliveira had two punchouts with his pair of outs. After that Randy Ramnarace and Justin LeGuernic both struck out four before Yeri Perez fanned a pair to close out the night. The Fireflies franchise record for strikeouts in a game is 20. David Sandlin, Steven Zobac, Samuel Valerio and Eduardo Herrera combined to do it April 14, 2023 at Charleston. Columbia got a late rally to charge ahead of the GreenJackets in the bottom of the eighth inning. After loading the bases with no one out, back-to-back plays at the plate kept the game tied with Yandel Ricardo stepping up to the plate. Styven Paez threw a wild pitch to score Jhonayker Ugarte to break the stalemate and then Ricardo laced a single to left to score Daniel Lopez and Henry Ramos to knock out the GreenJackets and take a 6-3 advantage.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Wednesday, he etched seven strikeouts over four innings of work. Lombardi leads the Carolina League with 121 strikeouts. That's the fourth-most strikeouts for a Fireflies pitcher in a single season in franchise history. Tony Dibrell owns the Fireflies single-season strikeout record at 147. Chase Ingram has the third-most strikeouts in a single season in franchise history. He wrung up 132 during the 2016 season.
THE GAMBLER: After a slow start to the season, Sean Gamble has turned the page and become one of the top hitters in the Fireflies lineup. Since May 21, Gamble is hitting .266 across 66 games. He leads the team in stolen bases (29) and is second in runs scored (46) and OPS (.794) and third in OBP (.386) on the stretch. He is also one of five Fireflies to notch at least five homers since May 21.
HISTORIC HAMMOND: Josh Hammond has the second-most hits in a season in Fireflies franchise history. The infielder has 121 hits over his first 104 games including 24 doubles, three triples and five homers. The 120 hits trails only Ronnie Mauricio for Columbia. The current New York Mets infielder had 126 hits during the 2019 season.
UNTIL THE END?: This is the Fireflies final homestand of the 2026 season. Columbia has a 33-23 record at home and a 24-35 record on the road this season. With one win, the Fireflies will clinch a .500 record at Segra Park in the 2026 season. The Fireflies start this two-week homestand with four more games against the Augusta GreenJackets followed with six contests against the Carolina League South Division First-Half Champion Charleston RiverDogs.
POWER STROKE: Saturday night, Connor Rasmussen hit his third homer of the season. He's had all three homers since July 18. Only one Fireflies player has more round-trippers than Rasmussen on the stretch, first baseman JC Vanek, who has hit four in that time. Vanek leads the team with 12 homers this season.
RECORD YEAR: Last night, Michael Lombardi, Jesus Oliveira, Randy Ramnarace, Justin LeGuernic and Yeri Perez combined to strikeout 19 Augusta GreenJackets batters. It was the second-most strikeouts in a game in franchise history. The Fireflies struck out 20 in a nine-inning game at Charleston April 14, 2023.
Carolina League Stories from August 20, 2026
- Gray Ties It, Palma Wins It in Ten-Inning Thriller - Charleston RiverDogs
- RidgeYaks Rally Falls Just Short in 11-10 Loss to Warbirds - Salem RidgeYaks
- Ninth Inning Collapse Leads to Walk-Off Loss - Hill City Howlers
- Meyer Tosses Four Scoreless Innings, Pelicans Fall to Woodpeckers 1-0 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Rasmussen Gets Two RBI Singles in 4-3 Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Warbirds Bounce Back to Beat RidgeYaks - Wilson Warbirds
- Siary's Seven Steers Crawdads to Win - Hickory Crawdads
- Eighth Inning Collapse Hands Augusta Second Straight Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- Crawdads Hold off Shorebirds to Reclaim Series Lead - Delmarva Shorebirds
- FredNats Comeback Comes up Short in 9-5 Loss to Cannon Ballers - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Augusta 8.20 - Columbia Fireflies
- RidgeYaks Blank Warbirds in 8-0 Win - Salem RidgeYaks
- Pelicans Drop Game Two to WoodPeckers 19-1 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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