Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Fredericksburg 7.3
Published on July 3, 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 Michael Lombardi (2-3, 2.44 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Fredericksburg counters with RHP Leuris Portorreal (1-3, 5.14 ERA).
Tonight is the Fireflies' Pre-Fourth of July Party presented by SC 250. Fans can enjoy $2.50 hot dogs and $5 Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultras during the game, plus after the game is the first of three-consecutive post-game fireworks shows. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
--------------------------------
FIREFLIES FALL 5-1 TO FREDERICKSBURG: The Fireflies bats fell quiet as they fell 5-1 to the Fredericksburg Nationals Thursday night at Segra Park. Fredericksburg got the party started first for a third consecutive game. Elian Soto and Rafael Ramirez Jr. combined for back-to-back doubles to start the second to break the scoreless tie. With two outs, Jordan Williams added the FredNats third double of the inning to score Ramirez and give Fredericksburg a 2-0 advantage before the break. The Nationals added a run in the top of the sixth inning as Luke Dickerson launched his eighth homer of the season 110 MPH off the bat to left field to make it 3-0. In the eighth inning, Fredericksburg got another two runs of insurance. Yeri Perez allowed back-to-back singles to Coy James and Luke Dickerson before walking Hunter Hines to set the table for Fredericksburg. Elian Soto singled to right to score James and Dickerson to increase Fredericksburg's advantage to 5-1 prior to the end of the frame.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the second-best ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 15-17 record combined with a 3.42 ERA over 341.2 innings through the first 78 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 344 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .236 AVG on the season. The Fireflies trail just the Fredericksburg Nationals who sit at 3.34 through 277.2 innings pitched this season. As a whole, the Fireflies staff has the fifth-best ERA in Minor League Baseball at 3.98.
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 has the fifth-most strikeouts (86) in Single-A over 55.1 innings of work. Rancho Cucamongo's Dylan Jordan and San Jose's Keyner Martinez are tied for the lead with 91. Lombardi has the fourth-best K/9 rate in Minor League Baseball among pitchers with at least 55 innings this season (13.99). Martinez leads the way at 14.89. Lombardi's K% is sixth among the same group (36.3%), trailing first place Kade Anderson (41.4%).
POWER OUTAGE: The Fireflies bats have struggled the first half of the series against the Fredericksburg Nationals. The club has a .245 batting average on the season, but have started the series hitting just .209 in their first three games. Columbia entered the week with the fourth-ranked team batting average in the 12 team circuit.
WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND: The Fireflies have struggled on Fridays this season. The team is just 3-6 in their first nine games on the final day of the week, but when the script flips to the weekend, Columbia has played much better. Columbia is 7-4 to start the season on Saturdays.
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 six outings spanning seven innings.
LET FREEDOM RING: Tonight starts the Fireflies Independence Day Weekend Celebration at Segra Park presented by SC 250. The club will have a post-game fireworks show each of the next three nights.
Carolina League Stories from July 3, 2026
- Lombardi Regains Single-A Strikeout Lead in 8-3 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- FredNats Hit Four Home Runs to Compliment Excellent Pitching in 8-3 Win Over Fireflies - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Lumpuy's Three-Run Blast Powers Birds Past Crawdads, 4-2 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Howlers Shut out in Loss to Fayetteville - Hill City Howlers
- Augusta Can't Overcome Early Hole in Loss to Salem - Augusta GreenJackets
- Delmarva Falls to Charleston to Begin Independence Day Weekend - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Two-Out Hitting Powers Kannapolis over Wilson - Wilson Warbirds
- Aybar's Career Day Leads Charleston to Dominant 9-3 Win - Charleston RiverDogs
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Fredericksburg 7.3 - 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.
