Gutierrez Throws Gem in 7-3 Win at Hickory

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Fireflies used a dominant Jose Gutierrez quality start to beat the Hickory Crawdads 7-3 Tuesday night at L.P. Frans Stadium.

Jose Gutierrez (W, 4-2) rolled through the top of the order for Columbia. The starter retired the first seven batters he faced, but then Marcos Torres slammed a solo homer to left-center to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning.

The next inning, Marco Argudin bounced a single off Gutierrez’s leg then Paulino Santana clubbed his sixth homer of the season to right to give the Crawdads their first lead of the game, 3-1.

After that, it was all Gutierrez as the righty earned his third-consecutive quality start. He has half of the Fireflies quality starts this year. Gutierrez worked seven innings and allowed three runs off five hits while striking out four Hickory Crawdads. He also retired the final seven batters he faced. The last time a Fireflies pitcher spun seven or more innings came in 2024. Jonatan Bernal worked seven frames in a 9-0 drubbing of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at Pelicans Ballpark August 14.

Roni Cabrera tied the game for Columbia in the top of the fifth. JC Vanek led the frame off with a ground-rule double before Cabrera scorched his fifth homer of the season to left to match Hickory’s score. On the homer, Cabrera scored a run in his seventh-consecutive streak. Luke Pelzer was the last Fireflies player to score in seven consecutive games. He did so August 20-29, 2025.

Columbia drove ahead in the top of the eighth inning. Josh Hammond set the table with an infield single and after Yandel Ricardo sent a flare to left, Stone Russell bunted the runners to second and third for Sean Gamble. The center fielder laced a double down the first base line to score the pair and push Columbia in front 5-3. Later in the inning, JC Vanek singled to score Gamble to give Columbia a three-run advantage.

The Fireflies earned some insurance in the top of the ninth. Roni Cabrera drew a lead-off walk and stole second. Then he advanced to third on a groundout to second and scored from a Hammond sacrifice fly to push Columbia to a 7-3 lead.

Henson Leal (S, 4) closed out the contest with two scoreless innings for Columbia. The reliever had a pair of strikeouts in his 20th outing of the season.

The Fireflies took advantage of some Hickory miscues in the first to get on the board. Josh Hammond drew a one-out five pitch walk to set the table. After that, he advanced to second on a balk and third on a wild pitch. Next, Yandel Ricardo sent a sacrifice fly to left to score Hammond to give Columbia a 1-0 lead.

Alejandro Chiquillo spun 5.2 innings of three-run baseball for the Crawdads, but Hickory needed to use three pitchers to cover the final 3.1 innings. Louis Marinaro (L, 2-2) allowed three runs over his 1.2 innings and earned the loss.

Columbia continues their series with the Hickory Crawdads tomorrow afternoon at 12:05 pm. LHP Darwin Rodriguez (2-4, 4.78 ERA) takes the ball for Columbia and the Crawdads have not yet named their starter for the contest.

The Fireflies return home for 12 games in 13 days from June 30-July 12. The team will celebrate America’s 250th birthday with the biggest fireworks show of the year, Saturday, July 4 and will continue with fireworks and a patriotic theme all weekend thanks to SC 250. The next weekend, the club is throwing it back to the 90s for the return of the Capital City Bombers thanks to Cassell Brothers Home Services. Join the team for a bobble plane giveaway Friday, July 10 and a drone show Saturday, July 11. Buy your tickets now at FirefliesTickets.com.