Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Myrtle Beach 8.8
Published on August 8, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Source: Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at Segra Park at 6:05 pm. RHP Jose Gutierrez (8-4, 3.94 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters with RHP Riely Hunsaker (3-3, 5.08 ERA).
Tonight is Bluey at the Ballpark presented by Cassell Brothers Home Services. Bluey and Bingo are coming to Segra Park and will meet with fans during the game. Plus post-game there will be an epic fireworks show. Tickets are available at FirefliesTickets.com.
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RASMUSSEN WALK-OFF LEADS FIREFLIES TO DOUBLEHADER SPLIT: The Fireflies split a doubleheader with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans thanks to a Connor Rasmussen walk-off sacrifice fly Friday night at Segra Park. The Fireflies won game one of the twin bill 6-5 before falling 14-3 in game two. The walk-off win was Columbia's third of the 2026 season and the first since Angel Ramirez hit a walk-off single July 11 vs Salem. After Sam Mettert walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, Connor Rasmussen lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Sean Gamble to win the game 6-5 for the Columbia Fireflies. Columbia dropped game two of the doubleheader 14-3. The bullpen allowed nine runs over the final three innings of the contest. Myrtle Beach hopped on the board in the first inning of game two. Caden Sorrell lined his first professional homer to right field to break the scoreless tie. Later, Derniche Valdez skied his eighth homer of the season to left to push the Pelicans to a 3-0 lead. Prior to this game, Coleman Picard had only surrendered one homer in his first seven starts of the season prior to tonight.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the top ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 23-22 record combined with a 3.67 ERA over 456.1 innings through the first 104 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 453 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .238 AVG on the season. The Hickory Crawdads have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.86 through 424.2 innings pitched this season.
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Wednesday, he etched eight strikeouts over 4.2 innings of work. Lombardi is second in the Carolina League with 109 strikeouts. That's tied with Jose Butto for the fifth-most strikeouts for a Fireflies pitcher in a single season in franchise history. Tony Dibrell owns the Fireflies single-season strikeout record at 147. Kevin Canelon has the fourth-most strikeouts in a single season in franchise history. He wrung up 119 batters 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 .279 across 56 games. He leads the team in stolen bases (22) and is second in OBP (.399), runs scored (41) and OPS (.830) during the stretch. He is also one of five Fireflies to notch at least five homers since May 21.
'NO' PROBLEM: In game two of Wednesday's doubleheader, Michael Lombardi and Jhon Reyes combined to throw the Fireflies second no-hitter in franchise history. The first came in the team's third game in their inaugural season April 9, 2016 at Charleston. Thomas McIlrath got the start and Alex Palsha and Johnny Magliozzi worked in relief in the nine frame no-no. Lombardi and Reyes faced three more than the minimum in the seven innings. Lombardi walked a pair and allowed one runner to reach on a strikeout wild pitch. Lombardi threw 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts and Reyes worked 2.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
HISTORIC HAMMOND: Josh Hammond is currently tied for the second-most hits in a season in Fireflies franchise history. The infielder has 111 hits over his first 94 games including 22 doubles, three triples and five homers. The 111 hits match J.C. Rodriguez, who had 111 hits in 2016. Ronnie Mauricio leads the way for Columbia. The current New York Mets infielder had 126 hits during the 2019 season.
Carolina League Stories from August 8, 2026
- Crawdads Crush GreenJackets, 10-1 - Hickory Crawdads
- Jackets Blasted by Crawdads in Lopsided Loss - Augusta GreenJackets
- RidgeYaks Take Down Woodpeckers, 6-2, to Claim First Place - Salem RidgeYaks
- Conrad Smashes Homer, Birds Clipped by Fireflies 10-8 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Four Home Run Night Powers FredNats to 9-5 Win Over Shorebirds - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Wilson Cruises to Saturday Win over Howlers - Hill City Howlers
- Antunez Drives in Two, RiverDogs Fall 8-5 to Cannon Ballers - Charleston RiverDogs
- Shorebirds Outslugged by Fred Nats in Defeat - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Warbirds Score Eight Unanswered in Blowout Win - Wilson Warbirds
- Hammond's Four-Hit Night Propels Columbia to Win - Columbia Fireflies
- First Group of Orioles' Draft Picks to Arrive in Delmarva on Tuesday - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Myrtle Beach 8.8 - Columbia Fireflies
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