Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Hickory 5.15
Published on May 15, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Hickory Crawdads tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Kendry Chourio (0-0, 1.77 ERA) takes the slab for Columbia and Hickory counters with RHP Kamdyn Perry (0-0, 2.70 ERA).
Tonight is Touch-a-Truck Night presented by E.F. Martin. The concourse at Segra Park will be filled with big rigs to interact with and the first 1,000 fans will receive a free hard hat thanks to E.F. Martin. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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THREE-HOMER SEVENTH SETS DOWN FIREFLIES THURSDAY: The Fireflies surrendered three homers in the seventh inning and fell to the Hickory Crawdads 7-2 Thursday night at Segra Park. Roni Cabrera got the Fireflies on the board for the second-consecutive night. Cabrera smacked a solo homer to left field in the second inning to break the scoreless tie. Hickory landed a quick counter blow in the top of the third inning. Angel Arredondo reached on a fielding error from center fielder Sean Gamble and then Wady Mendez lined an RBI single to tie the game 1-1. Later in the inning, Yolfran Castillo got a two out single before he stole second. Then, Deward Tovar lined a base knock down the left field side to give the Crawdads their first lead of the series, 2-1.
STERLING STARTERS: This series the Fireflies rotation has kicked it into another gear. The Fireflies starting rotation has been one of the best units in professional baseball this season. After the first five full series of play, the Fireflies rotation is 3-7 with a 2.75 ERA over 147.1 innings this season. Their ERA is the 2nd-best in Minor League Baseball. The Lakeland Flying Tigers lead the way with a 2.62 ERA in 110.0 innings as a group.
RUN TO DAYLIGHT: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Wednesday, he etched eight punchouts across four innings. All-in-All, Lombardi has the second-most strikeouts (47) in the Carolina League over 25.2 innings of work. Charleston's Aidan Cremarosa leads the pack with 49 punchouts this season. Jordan Woods isn't far behind the pace of the top two. Columbia's lefty is in third with 43 strikeouts in 2026.
VICTORY FOR VANEK: JC Vanek is hitting his offensive stride for the Columbia Fireflies. The first baseman has reached safely in 16-consecutive games, a streak that began April 18. Over the run, Vanek is hitting .320, but what's been most impressive is that he's averaging nearly a walk per game. After adding 16 walks, Vanek's on-base percentage jumps to .485 on the run. The Fireflies longest on-base streak this season belongs to Josh Hammond, who reached in his first 17 games of the year. Columbia has three on-base streaks of 10 or more games currently. Brooks Bryan has reached in 13 straight and Jhosmmel Zue has made it aboard in each of his last 10 games.
ROCKING RUSSELL: Stone Russell is in his second season as a super utility player for the Fireflies. The infielder has played third, second and first so far this season. Russell has played 30 games without an error this season, which is tied for the third-best mark in the Carolina League. Hector Osorio leads the way with a 31-game streak.
CHOURIO CRUISES: Saturday, Kendry Chourio continued his strong start in his second season in the Carolina League. The Venezuela native spun 4.0 two-run innings with three strikeouts in his last start Saturday. The righty was recently added to MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects list. He is currently listed as the 87th-best prospect. With the news, 2022 Fireflies catcher Carter Jensen has graduated from Pipeline's Top 100 List and 2024 catcher Blake Mitchell currently sits in the 58 slot. It's the second time in three years Columbia has had an active member on the list.
ROAD GRAYS: This year the Fireflies have had trouble when they wear the road gray uniforms. After last night's 7-2 loss on Reverse Night at Segra Park, the Fireflies are 1-6 this season when they wear their gray jerseys. The Fireflies best jersey by record this season is the powder blue jerseys. The team is 2-0 wearing the powder blues.
Carolina League Stories from May 15, 2026
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- Pitching Powers Wilson Past Hill City - Wilson Warbirds
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- Vanek Extends On-Base Streak in 8-4 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
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- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Hickory 5.15 - Columbia Fireflies
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