Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Fredericksburg 7.1
Published on July 1, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Fredericksburg Nationals tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Shane Van Dam (2-5, 5.09 ERA) takes the bump for Columbia and Fredericksburg counters with RHP Grant Manning (3-1, 3.14 ERA).
Tonight is a CVETS Dog Days of Summer. With the purchase of a lawn ticket, fans can bring their dog with them to the game for free. 16 oz Whiteclaw Seltzers are also available for $5 at concessions stands. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
---------------------------------
FIREFLIES RALLY FALLS SHORT IN 4-2 LOSS: The Fireflies pulled a late inning rally together, putting the go-ahead run on the basepaths in the eighth, but couldn't climb the mountain as they fell to the Fredericksburg Nationals 4-2 Tuesday night at Segra Park. Ryan McDonagh (L, 1-1) closed out the longest start of his career with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings. He allowed three runs off two hits and a pair of walks before moving the ball to the bullpen. Jhon Reyes spun 1.2 hitless innings for the Fireflies before Hunter Alberini spun a scoreless eighth inning to keep Columbia within a pair.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the second-best ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 15-16 record combined with a 3.33 ERA over 332.0 innings through the first 76 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 331 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .235 AVG on the season. The Fredericksburg Nationals have the top mark in MiLB with a 3.30 ERA through their first 76 games. As a whole, the Fireflies staff has the fifth-best ERA in Minor League Baseball at 3.97.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Saturday, he etched five strikeouts across 4.1 innings of work. Lombardi is tied for the second--most strikeouts (86) in Single-A over 55.1 innings of work. Fresno's Brady Parker leads the way with 88 punchouts over 53.1 innings. Lombardi has the third-best K/9 rate in Minor League Baseball among pitchers with at least 55 innings this season (13.99). Seth Hernandez leads the way at 14.44. Lombardi's K% is fourth among the same group (36.3%), trailing first place Kade Anderson (41.4%).
HIP HIP, JOSE: Friday, Jose Gutierrez worked 6.1 scoreless innings with six strikeouts at Kannapolis. It was his fourth quality start in five starts this month. During June, Gutierrez is 4-0 with a 1.65 ERA. He has 26 strikeouts and only two walks across 27.1 innings to combine with a 0.77 WHIP. Gutierrez leads the Carolina League in IP, has the third-most strikeouts, has the second-best WHIP among those with 15 or more innings of work, has tallied the fourth-best K:BB rate (13.00) and has the fifth-best ERA of those with at least 15 innings of work this month.
HEROIC HAMMOND: After the promotion of Kendry Chourio in June, Josh Hammond became the Fireflies top-rated prospect according to both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. Since June 15, the infielder went on an absolute tear to celebrate. Over his last 12 games, Hammond is hitting .404 through 47 at-bats with a double and two homers. He has also scored eight runs and tallied four RBI. He has the second-best batting average in the Carolina League in that span, trailing only Matthew Boughton, who's hitting .415.
RANDY'S ROCKING: Randy Ramnarace hasn't allowed an earned run over his last six appearances for Columbia. The Islap, New York native has spun 11.1 innings since May 29 and has worked around three hits to lower his ERA from 6.00 to 4.10. Brandon Herbold isn't too far behind. The Netherlands product hasn't allowed an earned run over his last five outings spanning 5.1 innings.
DOG DAYS: The Columbia Fireflies lost their final three games in June, but still finished the month 15-10. It was the Fireflies' best record in a month since they went 15-8 last April en route to a first-half South Division title.
Carolina League Stories from July 1, 2026
- Former RiverDogs Continue Rise with Futures Game Selections - Charleston RiverDogs
- Eli Willits and Miguel Sime Jr. Named to the NL Futures Game Roster - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Fredericksburg 7.1 - Columbia Fireflies
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.
