Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Salem 7.10
Published on July 10, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Fireflies continue their series with the Salem RidgeYaks tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Michael Lombardi (2-3, 2.39 ERA) gets the ball for Columbia and Salem counters with RHP Christian Foutch (0-5, 6.18 ERA).
The Fireflies Capital City Bombers Celebration Weekend presented by Cassell Brothers Home Services continues tonight with a Bobble Plane giveaway for the first 1,000 fans in attendance. Gates open at 6 pm, fans will want to come early to claim their collectible! Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
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BOMBERS START WEEKEND ON HIGH NOTE IN 10-5 WIN: Roni Cabrera and Hyungchan Um both tallied four RBI in the Fireflies 10-5 win over the Salem RidgeYaks Thursday night at Segra Park. The game marked the first night of the club's Capital City Bombers Celebration weekend, where the Fireflies will play as the Bombers. The Fireflies gained the lead in the fourth inning. Jacob Mayers (L, 2-1) hit JC Vanek with a pitch and then walked Yandel Ricardo to set the table. With two outs, Roni Cabrera mashed his sixth homer of the season to push Columbia back in front 5-3. The next inning, Sean Gamble drew a lead-off free pass, then Josh Hammond singled and Yandel Ricardo walked to set the table for Hyungchan Um. Columbia's catcher scorched a single off the glove of shortstop Avinson Pinto and into left field on a 3-2 pitch with two outs where the runners started to clear the bases and give Columbia an 8-4 advantage. After that, Cabrera singled to plate Um to make it 9-4 heading to the sixth.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the top ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 18-19 record combined with a 3.43 ERA over 369.2 innings through the first 84 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 373 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .238 AVG on the season. The Frederick Keys have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.57 through 340.1 innings pitched this season. As a whole, the Fireflies staff has the fourth-best ERA in Minor League Baseball at 4.06.
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 third-most strikeouts (92) in Single-A over 60.1 innings of work. Rancho Cucamonga's Dylan Jordan leads the way with 100 strikeouts this season. Lombardi has the third-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 14.48. Lombardi's K% is fifth among the same group (35.8%), trailing first place Kade Anderson (41.4%).
RISPY BUSINESS: The Fireflies enter today's in third place in the Carolina League with a .257 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 .223 (19-85) with runners in scoring position over their last 10 games.
THE GAMBLER: Sean Gamble struggled out of the gates at the plate this season. The first rounder hit just .118 across 21 games in April, but near the end of May, the centerfielder turned the page. Since May 21, Gamble is hitting .269 across 40 games. He leads the team in OBP (.411), OPS (.829), R (30) and SB (17) on the run.
DON'T SLEEP ON THE PEN: Despite having the seventh-best bullpen ERA in the Carolina League (4.74), the Fireflies have been cruising since June 15. The group has the circuit's third-best ERA at 3.83, just behind Kannapolis (3.54) and Augusta (3.58).
6-7: Last night Hyungchan Um and Roni Cabrera hit back-to-back in the six and seven spots in the order for Columbia. The two powered Columbia's offense with a 4-8 showing and eight combined RBI. Um's big hit was a bases loaded single with the runners in motion and Cabrera mashed a three-run homer in the fourth.
Carolina League Stories from July 10, 2026
- Espinoza's Homer Not Enough, Birds Fall to Nationals, 9-7 - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Warbirds Mount Remarkable Comeback to Beat Fayetteville - Wilson Warbirds
- RiverDogs Take Full Control of Hill City with Dominant Doubleheader Sweep - Charleston RiverDogs
- Ramos Reaches Five Times in 9-8 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Hill City Swept in Doubleheader against Charleston - Hill City Howlers
- Early Miscues Doom Augusta in First Loss of the Week - Augusta GreenJackets
- FredNats Offense Puts up Four Crooked Numbers in 9-7 Win Over Pelicans - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Shorebirds Swept by Cannon Ballers in Doubleheader - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Salem 7.10 - Columbia Fireflies
- Four Baseball Standouts Named to Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 - Charleston RiverDogs
- Home Runs Hurt Pelicans in 6-3 Loss to Nationals - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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