Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Augusta 8.21
Published on August 21, 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 Coleman Picard (1-2, 3.78 ERA) takes the bump for Columbia and Augusta counters with LHP Landon Beidelschies (2-9, 6.25 ERA).
Tonight is Grateful Dead Night. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a Grateful Dead t-shirt. There will also be live music from the band Stillhouse and a drum circle to entertain fans during the game. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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RASMUSSEN GETS TWO RBI SINGLES IN 4-3 WIN: Connor Rasmussen lined a single up the middle to score Roni Cabrera in the bottom of the eighth, giving the team a 4-3 lead. After that, Brandon Herbold closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth to earn the save in Columbia's 4-3 win over the Augusta GreenJackets at Segra Park Thursday night. It was the second-straight night that the Fireflies scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Columbia scored three in the eighth last night to win 6-3.
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 .263 across 67 games. He leads the team in stolen bases (30) and runs scored (46) and is second in OPS (.787) and third in OBP (.384) 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 34-23 record at home and a 24-35 record on the road this season. With last night's win, the Fireflies have clinched an above-.500 record at Segra Park this year.
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: Wednesday 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.
BACK TO .500: After back-to-back wins, the Fireflies are back to even with a 58-58 record across the club's first 116 games in 2026. The Fireflies are 24-26 in their first 50 games of the second half and have 15 games left in the 2026 season.
GRATEFUL: Tonight is Grateful Dead Night. The Fireflies will have live music and a t-shirt giveaway for the first 1,000.
Carolina League Stories from August 21, 2026
- Pelicans Toppled by Woodpeckers, 12-3, in Weather-Shortened Contest - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Homers and Caught Stealings Hand Augusta Third Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- Howlers Walked off After Ninth Inning Comeback - Hill City Howlers
- Three-Run 7th Inning Pushes FredNats Past Cannon Ballers, 6-3 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- RidgeYaks Rally from Deficit for Second Straight Night, Fall, 7-5, to Warbirds - Salem RidgeYaks
- Crawdads Blank Delmarva on Friday Night - Hickory Crawdads
- Silva's Two Homer Night Propels the Fireflies to Victory - Columbia Fireflies
- Warbirds Score Early, Hold on Late to Beat Salem - Wilson Warbirds
- Gray Strikes Again! RiverDogs Earn 13th Walk-off Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Shorebirds Blanked by Crawdads on Friday Night - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Augusta 8.21 - Columbia Fireflies
- Cannon Ballers Announce 2027 Schedule - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
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