Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston 8.27
Published on August 27, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Charleston RiverDogs tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Ryan McDonagh (2-4, 6.00 ERA) gets the ball for Columbia and Charleston counters with RHP Jacob Kuhn (1-1, 2.48 ERA).
Tonight the Capital City Bombers return for the club's final Budweiser Thirsty Thursday of the year. Hot dogs are just 25 cents during the game and fans can enjoy cans of Budweiser for $1.50. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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BELEN SPINS 3.1 SCORELESS INNINGS IN 5-3 LOSS: The Fireflies bullpen ripped off 7.1 scoreless innings behind 3.1 innings from Adrian Belen, but the team fell to the Charleston RiverDogs 5-3 Wednesday night at Segra Park. Belen was the first arm to relieve Michael Lombardi. He worked 3.1 innings around two hits without a walk to keep Charleston off the board. Next, Grant Fontenot spun a scoreless inning in his debut. After that Justin LeGuernic went 1.2 innings and Moises Amezquita closed out the night with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief work. The Fireflies bats rallied for three runs in the fifth. Camden Johnson closed out the inning with a two-run single. Johnson has now driven in at least one run in four consecutive contests for Columbia.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Wednesday, he etched one strikeout in 1.2 innings of work. Lombardi leads the Carolina League with 122 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 .264 across 71 games. He leads the team in stolen bases (32) and runs scored (46) and is second in OPS (.787) and third in OBP (.383) 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 124 hits over his first 108 games including 24 doubles, three triples and five homers. The 124 hits trails only Ronnie Mauricio for Columbia. The current New York Mets infielder had 126 hits during the 2019 season.
HOMERING HISTORY: Friday, Gabriel Silva tallied the fourth two-homer game of the season for the Fireflies. It was Silva's second multi-homer game as a Fireflies player and his first since June 8, 2025 when he accomplished the feat at L.P. Frans Stadium. 21 Fireflies players have had multi-homer games over the team's first 10 seasons. Only eight players have had more than one multi-homer game. Gabriel Silva is now tied for the second-most multi-homer games in franchise history. Juan Carlos Negret leads the way. The outfielder had four two homer games in his 23 homer season in 2021.
BANDWAGON BASORA: Tuesday night, Andy Basora earned his team-leading seventh save of the 2026 season. Columbia's righty hasn't allowed an earned run in his last four outings, dating back to August 15. On the run, he is 2-2 in save opportunities and has struck out 10 in 6.1 innings. He's held opponents to a .208 average on five hits and only one walk during the stretch. His ERA has dropped from 5.36 to 4.85 on the run.
ONE LAST RUN: This week is the final series at Segra Park this season. The Fireflies are pulling out all the stops with the promotional slate including the return of the Capital City Bombers and 25 cent hot dog night, Floss Like a Boss night and Harry Potter Night.
Carolina League Stories from August 27, 2026
- Shorebirds Shut out by Fred Nats for Second Straight Night - Delmarva Shorebirds
- FredNats Pitchers Deliver 2nd Shutout in a Row, Beat Shorebirds 9-0 - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Gamble's Homer Charges Fireflies to Victory - Columbia Fireflies
- RiverDogs' Bats Silenced in 8-1 Loss to Fireflies - Charleston RiverDogs
- Sorrell's Three-Run Blast Not Enough, Pelicans Drop Second-Straight to GreenJackets 8-4 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Deja Vu for Kannapolis as Howlers Deliver Dramatic Walk Off - Hill City Howlers
- McMurray Powers Augusta Offense in Breakout Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- Warbirds, Crawdads Postponed on Thursday - Wilson Warbirds
- 18th Annual Guns and Hoses Charity Softball Game at Pelicans Ballpark - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Charleston 8.27 - Columbia Fireflies
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