Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Salem 7.7
Published on July 7, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Columbia Fireflies kick-off a fresh series with the Salem RidgeYaks tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Ryan McDonagh (1-1, 2.93 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Salem counters with RHP Leighton Finley (4-3, 4.25 ERA).
Tonight is a Miller Lite $2 Tuesday where fans can enjoy $2 hot dogs, popcorn, fountain sodas and 12 oz cans of Miller Lite while at the game. Tickets are available starting at $6 at FirefliesTickets.com.
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PICARD LEADS THE WAY IN ONE-HIT WIN: The Fireflies used a dominant pitching performance to set down the Fredericksburg Nationals 3-0 in one-hit fashion Sunday night at Segra Park. Coleman Picard (W, 1-1) dominated in the start. The righty was perfect through four innings and finished the game with five one-hit innings paired with six strikeouts before he handed the ball to the bullpen. Hunter Alberini worked 1.1 innings and hit one batter, but allowed no other base runners. Dash Albus finished the seventh and worked a clean eighth inning before Yeri Perez (S, 3) spun a scoreless ninth inning to keep Columbia in front 3-0. The pitchers combined for the Fireflies second one-hitter of the season. Kendry Chourio, Jhon Reyes and Jordan Woods combined for a one-hitter April 9 vs Myrtle Beach. It is also the Fireflies third shutout of the season.
STERLING STARTERS: The Fireflies starting rotation has the top ERA in Minor League Baseball this season. The group has recorded a 17-17 record combined with a 3.31 ERA over 356.2 innings through the first 81 games of the season. Fireflies starters have 360 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .233 AVG on the season. The Fredericksburg Nationals have the second-best mark in MiLB with a 3.47 through 288.0 innings pitched this season. As a whole, the Fireflies staff has the fourth-best ERA in Minor League Baseball at 3.95
LUMINOUS LOMBARDI: Michael Lombardi has been a master of the strikeout this season. Friday, he etched six strikeouts across five innings of work. Lombardi is tied for the most strikeouts (92) in Single-A over 60.1 innings of work. He's tied with Fresno's Brady Parker who has accomplished the feat in 57.2 innings. 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 in fourht place in the Carolina League with a .256 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Fredericksburg Nationals lead the way with a .266 average. Over the course of the last week, Columbia's bats have slowed down though. The team is hitting just .200 (13-65) with runners in scoring position over their last eight games.
ALMOST UNHITTABLE: Sunday, Coleman Picard, Hunter Alberini, Dash Albus and Yeri Perez combined for the Fireflies second one-hitter of the 2026 season. Kendry Chourio, Jhon Reyes and Jordan Woods combined for the first in a 1-0 victory over the Myrtle Beach Pelicans April 9. The FredNats lone hit came to lead off the fifth inning. Brandon Bossiere hit a lead-off infield single that first baseman JC Vanek was unable to handle. The club was a couple additional batters shy of a perfect game. Coleman Picard walked one batter, Hunter Alberini and Dash Albus each hit one batter and Yeri Perez walked two opponents.
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.
Carolina League Stories from July 7, 2026
- Zue Homers in Fireflies 14-5 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- FredNats Walked Off in Series Opener Against Myrtle Beach - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Shorebirds' Offense Goes Quiet in Defeat to Kannapolis - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Di Turi Secures Walk off Win over Fayetteville - Wilson Warbirds
- Arestigueta's Return Punctuates Augusta's Series-Opening Win - Augusta GreenJackets
- July 7th Game Postponed; Doubleheader Friday - Hill City Howlers
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Salem 7.7 - Columbia Fireflies
- Waner Luciano Named Carolina League Player of the Week - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
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