Columbia Fireflies Roster Moves and Game Notes 8.29
Published on August 29, 2025 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
The Kansas City Royals have made the following roster moves affecting the Columbia Fireflies active roster:
INF Josi Novas has been placed on the development list
INF JC Vanek has been activated from the injured list and added to the active roster
Vanek will wear jersey #2.
The Fireflies active roster stands at 30.
-----------------
Columbia kicks-off their weekend with a 7:05 pm contest with the Hickory Crawdads at Segra Park. RHP Blake Wolters (2-2, 4.20 ERA) takes the hill for the Fireflies and Hickory counters with RHP Josh Owens (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
Tonight is Grateful Dead Night at Segra Park. There will be live music and a drum circle at the game tonight and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a Grateful Dead t-shirt. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.
---
BATS CARRY FIREFLIES TO 11TH WIN IN LAST 15 GAMES: The Fireflies bats continue to roll as they beat the Hickory Crawdads 8-5 Thursday night at Segra Park. The Fireflies fired first Thursday evening. Asbel Gonzalez and Jose Cerice drew walks around a Henry Ramos walk to load the bases with just one out. After that, Aneudis Mejia balked to plate Gonzalez to break the scoreless tie. Next, Stone Russell poked a single up the middle to plate Ramos and Cerice to make it 3-0 in favor of Columbia. The Fireflies weren't done there. In the third, Ramos walked and moved up to third on a Cerice single. Russell came to the dish again and chopped a ground out to third that allowed Ramos to come around for his 11th RBI of the series. It gave the Fireflies a 4-2 advantage heading out of the first third of the game.
THE YOUTH MOVEMENT: David Shields put together another good start for the Fireflies Tuesday. The southpaw worked 5.1 frames without surrendering an earned run. The Pennsylvania native hasn't allowed an earned run since July 9 over 26.1 innings. It is the fourth-longest streak (by innings) without allowing an earned run in franchise history. Ryan Ramsey owns the record (30.2 innings), which he accomplished from June 24-August 3, 2023.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Saturday night, Gonzalez broke the Fireflies career steals record in one season. Jean Ramirez had 68 steals from 2021-23 with the Fireflies. Gonzalez currently has the league lead with 73 steals. Columbia's center fielder also now owns the single-season runs scored record for the Fireflies. August 21 he scored his 71st run of the season to pass Erick Torres' 2024 mark.
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.
CAREER WEEK FOR RUSSELL: Tuesday, Stone Russell plated six RBI in the first four innings against the Hickory Crawdads. The productive evening powered Columbia to their first double-digit performance since May 3 against the Crawdads. It was Columbia's third six RBI performance of the season. Both Ramon Ramirez and Derlin Figueroa have also had a six RBI game this year. Ramirez and Figueroa both used the help of a grand slam to get their six RBI game in the first half. Russell followed it up with another pair of great outings Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday he drew three walks and drove in two runs and Thursday he plated four RBI for the Fireflies. Overall this week, Russell is 5-9 with four walks and 12 RBI in only three contests.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION: The Fireflies have scored double-digits runs back-to-back nights for the first time this year. Prior to Tuesday, the last time Columbia had scored 10 or more in a game was May 3, when they beat the Crawdads 10-0 in five innings at Segra Park.
THE BIG PICTURE: The Fireflies have 9 games remaining in the 2025 season. They'll close out the year with three at home against Hickory before six on the road at Myrtle Beach. The final series of the year will serve as a playoff preview after the Pelicans clinched the playoffs Thursday evening.
Carolina League Stories from August 29, 2025
- Ballers Pummel Red Sox for Four Runs Late in 10-7 Win Friday - Kannapolis Cannon Ballers
- Call's Career Night Propels Woodpecker Win - Fayetteville Woodpeckers
- Pooser Strikes out Season-High, RiverDogs Fall to Augusta - Charleston RiverDogs
- Woodpeckers Rout Pelicans 8-1 to Tie Series - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- FredNats Bite Back Late for 3-1 Win at Lynchburg - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Hillcats Fail to String Hits; Lose to FredNats - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Delmarva Pulls Away Late to Beat Mudcats - Carolina Mudcats
- Late Runs Help Shorebirds Secure Third Win over Carolina - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Columbia Fireflies Roster Moves and Game Notes 8.29 - Columbia Fireflies
- GreenJackets Homestand Preview 9/1-7 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Fireflies Announce 2026 Season Schedule - Columbia Fireflies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
