Columbia Fireflies Roster Moves and Game Notes 8.13
CarL Columbia Fireflies

Columbia Fireflies Roster Moves and Game Notes 8.13

August 13, 2025 - Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release


The Kansas City Royals have made the following roster moves affecting the Fireflies active roster:

INF JC Vanek has been placed on the 7-day IL

SS Tyriq Kemp has been added to the active roster

Kemp will wear jersey #45.

The Fireflies active roster now sits at 30.

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The Fireflies continue their series with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans tonight at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. LHP David Shields (3-1, 1.68 ERA) takes the hill for Columbia and Myrtle Beach counters wtih RHP Kevin Camacho (0-1, 1.15 ERA).

Tonight is Purr at the Park! Fans can bring their cat with them to the game. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.

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NOWAK GETS FIRST PRO HIT IN 10-1 LOSS: Luke Nowak got his first pro hit in his Fireflies debut as the Fireflies lost 10-1 to the Pelicans Tuesday night at Segra Park. The Pelicans broke through first. In the first inning, Matt Halbach lined a single to plate Ty Southisene to make it a 1-0 game. The next frame, Hiro Wyatt (L, 1-6) issued a bases-loaded walk to Kane Kepley that brought Alexis Hernandez home to double the Pelicans lead. Halbach came through again in the third inning. The first baseman clubbed his eighth homer of the year to left to increase Myrtle Beach's lead to 3-0. Wyatt allowed six hits and two walks across three innings where he ceded three runs. The righty also had a pair of strikeouts before giving the ball to the bullpen.

THE YOUTH MOVEMENT: David Shields put together another good start for the Fireflies Thursday. The southpaw faced the minimum through five frames while striking out a career-high eight batters. Shields was perfect through the first 12 batters he faced. Since the start of July, Shields has a 0.75 ERA in six starts with 24 innings under his belt. The lefty has 28 strikeouts and a 0.83 WHIP on the run. He is one of four Fireflies pitchers with an ERA beneath 2.00 during the month. The other three are Jordan Woods, Dash Albus and Henson Leal.

ACOSTA'S AUGUST: Infielder Angel Acosta is turning it on at the plate over his last 10 games. Acosta is batting .333 with three walks over his last 10 contests, which is good for a .389 on-base percentage. It's the highest mark for a Fireflies player currently. In the month of August, Acosta is 5-13 with a double and an RBI.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Gonzalez has a chance to break the Fireflies career steals record in one season. Jean Ramirez had 68 steals from 2021-23 with the Fireflies. Gonzalez currently is tied for the league lead with 63 steals. Columbia's center fielder isn't far from the single-season franchise runs scored record either. Eric Torres set the mark with 70 runs scored last year. Gonzalez has scored 66 runs heading for the final full month of the season.

NUMBERS BEHIND THE CLINCH: The Fireflies finished the first-half 36-30 to win the South Division Title for the first time in team history. It is the Fireflies first playoff berth in team history. The club will play their first home playoff game September 11 at Segra Park.

RUSHFORD REACHING: Milo Rushford is currently riding a team-best 17-game on-base streak. While the lefty is only hitting .196 on the run, he has drawn 12 walks to earn a .354 on-base percentage since July 8. The streak is tied for the second-longest active on-base streak in the Carolina League. It is also tied for longest on-base streak for a Fireflies player in 2025. The other stretch belongs to Hyungchan Um. Um reached in 17-consecutive games from April 8-June 26.

FRESH FACES: The roster move carousel has continued for the Fireflies this week. Yesterday the team added outfielder Luke Nowak and today shortstop Tyriq Kemp has been added to the active roster.

TOUGH BREAK: Last night, the Fireflies were held to a single run for the second-consecutive game. This year, the Fireflies have scored one run or less in 25 of their 107 games (23%).

Check out the Columbia Fireflies Statistics



Carolina League Stories from August 13, 2025


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