Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Fredericksburg 7.5
Published on July 5, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies close out their series with the Fredericksburg Nationals tonight at Segra Park at 5:05 pm. RHP Coleman Picard (0-1, 3.00 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Fredericksburg counters with LHP Liam Sullivan (4-2, 4.59 ERA).
Tonight is the final night of America's 250th Birthday Celebration presented by SC250 at Segra Park. Fans can enjoy $2.50 hot dogs and $5 Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra during the game. Post-game kids can run the bases, there will be a full-team autograph session and a fireworks show. Tickets are available now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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GAMBLE MASHES TWO EXTRA-BASE HITS IN 7-1 WIN: Sean Gamble led the way as the Fireflies bats scored in five separate innings to set down the Fredericksburg Nationals 7-1 in front of a sell-out crowd Saturday night at Segra Park. Columbia got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning. Sean Gamble drilled a double to the right field wall to set the table for JC Vanek who drove the centerfielder in on an RBI single to break the scoreless tie before the frame closed out. The bats weren't done there. Jhosmmel Zue walked and Roni Cabrera hit a single with one out in the second before the two advanced via a balk. Later, Zue had a straight steal of home off Marlon De La Cruz to give the Fireflies a 2-0 lead. Cabrera came around on an Ivan Sosa double to give Columbia a 3-0 advantage and Sosa closed out the scoring as he came around on a wild pitch to make it 4-0 after the second.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the topERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 16-17 record combined with a 3.35 ERA over 351.2 innings through the first 80 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 354 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .235 AVG on the season. The Fredericksburg Nationals have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.41 through 285.0 innings pitched this season. As a whole, the Fireflies staff has the fourth-best ERA in Minor League Baseball at 4.00.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Friday, he etched six strikeouts across five innings of work. Lombardi has the most strikeouts (92) in Single-A over 60.1 innings of work. Rancho Cucamongo's Dylan Jordan and San Jose's Keyner Martinez are tied for second with 91. Lombardi has the second-best K/9 rate in Minor League Baseball among pitchers with at least 60 innings this season (13.72). Seth Hernandez leads the way at 14.59. Lombardi's K% is third among the same group (35.8%), trailing first place Kade Anderson (41.4%).
RISPY BUSINESS: The Fireflies enter today's game tied for third place in the Carolina League with a .259 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Fredericksburg Nationals lead the way with a .269 average. Over the course of the last week, Columbia's bats have slowed down though. The team is hitting just .207 (12-58) with runners in scoring position over their last seven games.
WALK THIS WAY: Yesterday, Sean Gamble hit a double and a homer to notch his first multi-hit game of the homestand. More impressive than that, the outfielder drew a walk in his fourth-consecutive game. Gamble has a .444 on-base percentage over the series thanks to his five walks. It is tied for the fifth-longest active walk streak in the Carolina League.
HERBIE, FULLY LOADED: Thursday, Brandon Herbold spun 1.2 scoreless innings vs the Fredericksburg Nationals. The southpaw hasn't allowed a run in his last six appearances in a stretch that began June 6. Over the run, Herbold has spun seven innings and allowed just one hit. He has also struck out seven batters. During the stretch, he has decreased his ERA from 5.28 to 3.74. Herbold is the third Fireflies reliever to span six appearances without allowing an earned run this season. He joins Randy Ramnarace and Max Martin who also accomplished the feat.
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