Fireflies Defeat Crawdads 6-4 Behind McDonagh’s Pitching

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Hickory, NC- Columbia scratched across three runs in the tenth inning, giving the Fireflies a 6-4 win over the Hickory Crawdads on Thursday night at LP Frans Stadium.

Crawdads fell to Columbia 6-4 in 10 innings on Thursday night.
📰: https://t.co/3nhvqR78vC pic.twitter.com/4zM29rUfZj
— Hickory Crawdads (@HickoryCrawdads) June 19, 2026

The game was highlighted by two very solid pitching performances and some clutch hitting by Columbia’s Stone Russell.

With tonight's game in the books, Dash Albus is now the winningest pitcher in Fireflies franchise history! #LetsGlow pic.twitter.com/XVdsgd0v7a
— Columbia Fireflies (@ColaFireflies) June 19, 2026

Columbia starter Ryan McDonagh, making his Single-A debut, pitched five innings, surrendering just two runs on one hit for the Fireflies. The Ontario, Canada native had four separate 1-2-3 frames, retiring his final 11 batters in the effort.

Five innings. Four strikeouts. One heck of a Carolina League debut for Ryan McDonagh. 👏🔥 pic.twitter.com/lEJyGWlmlC
— Columbia Fireflies (@ColaFireflies) June 19, 2026

Hickory starter Jesus Lafalaise, not to be outdone, went six innings, allowing two runs while striking out five for Hickory. The Dominican right-hander walked a single Columbia batter on 79 pitches, 51 for strikes.

Breaking: A baseball was last seen leaving the ballpark after Hyungchan Um got ahold of it. pic.twitter.com/ohyFnDHb90
— Columbia Fireflies (@ColaFireflies) June 18, 2026

Neither pitcher, however, factored in the decision on the final night of the Carolina League’s first half. Russell doubled home Josh Hammond for the go-ahead run against Hickory reliever Jake Jekielek in the eighth inning. With Columbia holding a 3-2 lead through eight innings, a storm rolled through the Unifour, putting the game into a 53-minute delay.

Welcome to the Carolina League, Ryan McDonagh.
Strikeout No. 1 is in the books. pic.twitter.com/3xMKla2ory
— Columbia Fireflies (@ColaFireflies) June 18, 2026

The Crawdads returned to action in the ninth, as Aneudis Mejia tossed a frame to give the ‘Dads a chance to come back. In the bottom half of the ninth, Deward Tovar singled to left-center, plating Luis Marquez, knotting the score at 3-3.

The hit for Tovar was part of a multi-hit game that saw the outfielder drive home two runs in the contest for Hickory (34-30). Russell slugged a two-run double in the tenth to put the game out of reach for the Fireflies, who finished the first half with a 34-32 record. Dash Albus (2-1) claimed the win for Columbia, as the Fireflies have taken two of the first three games in the six-game set. Mejia suffered the loss for Hickory, dropping his record to 1-5 in 2026.