Fireflies Rally Falls Short in 4-2 Loss
Published on June 30, 2026 under Carolina League (CarL)
Columbia Fireflies News Release
Columbia Fireflies pitcher Jhon Reyes
(Columbia Fireflies)
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The Fireflies pulled a late inning rally together, putting the go-ahead run on the basepaths in the eighth, but couldn't climb the mountain as they fell to the Fredericksburg Nationals 4-2 Tuesday night at Segra Park.
Ryan McDonagh (L, 1-1) closed out the longest start of his career with six strikeouts over 5.1 innings. He allowed three runs off two hits and a pair of walks before moving the ball to the bullpen.
Jhon Reyes spun 1.2 hitless innings for the Fireflies before Hunter Alberini spun a scoreless eighth inning to keep Columbia within a pair.
On the other side, Liam Sullivan (W, 4-2) struck out seven over five frames. He allowed three hits and one run to give his bullpen a lead to work with. After that he handed the ball to Gus Hughes who allowed one-run over three frames before LJ Waco (S, 1) closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
The FredNats got on the board first in the top of the second inning. Brandon Boissiere started his rehab appearance with a single up the middle and came around on Hunter Hines' fourth homer of the year to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Hines homered again in the ninth inning to stretch the FredNats lead to 4-2.
Fredericksburg added insurance in the top of the fifth inning. Dashyll Tejada walked to lead-off the frame before stealing both second and third to set the table for the bottom of the order. Nate Rombach lifted a sacrifice fly deep to center to score Tejada to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
Columbia struck back in the bottom of the fifth. Angel Ramirez singled to left field with a pair of outs to start the rally. Next, Jhosmmel Zue clubbed a double 100 MPH down the left field line to score Ramirez to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The final rally for Columbia came in the eighth frame. Roni Cabrera mashed a one out double to set the table. After that, Josh Hammond singled to move runners to the corners for Sean Gamble to lay down a perfect squeeze bunt to plate Cabrera while everyone reached safely to make it a one-run game.
The Fireflies continue their series with the Fredericksburg Nationals tomorrow night at Segra Park at 7:05 pm. RHP Shane Van Dam (2-5, 5.09 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and Fredericksburg counters with RHP Grant Manning (3-1, 3.14 ERA).
Tomorrow night is a CVETS Dog Days of Summer at Segra Park. With a purchase of a lawn ticket, fans can bring their pup with them to the game. Don't forget-the Fireflies are home with three-straight nights of Fireworks Friday-Sunday. Reserve a seat now at FirefliesTickets.com.
Images from this story
 Columbia Fireflies pitcher Jhon Reyes |
Carolina League Stories from June 30, 2026
- Birds Surrender Two Homers, Stifled by Crawdads 6-3 in Series Opener - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Wilson Outlasts Kannapolis in 11-Inning Marathon - Wilson Warbirds
- Fireflies Rally Falls Short in 4-2 Loss - Columbia Fireflies
- Smith-Shawver Returns to Play as Augusta Crushes Salem 11-3 - Augusta GreenJackets
- Shorebirds Blanked by RiverDogs to Begin Homestand - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Fritton Delivers Quality Start, Leads RiverDogs to 5-0 Victory - Charleston RiverDogs
- Hunter Hines 2 HR Game, Strong Pitching, Leads FredNats to 4-2 Series Opening Win Over Columbia - Fredericksburg Nationals
- Howlers Survive Late Game Run from Fayetteville - Hill City Howlers
- Columbia Fireflies Game Notes vs Fredericksburg 6.30 - Columbia Fireflies
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