Lynchburg wins 2025 Carolina League Championship
The Lynchburg Hillcats won their first Carolina League Championship since 2017, defeating the Columbia Fireflies 8-2 on Wednesday evening. The win marks the ninth league title in organization history. Following the final out, the ‘Cats were presented with the trophy before pausing for prayer as a team. The moment displayed
The Lynchburg Hillcats won their first Carolina League Championship since 2017, defeating the Columbia Fireflies 8-2 on Wednesday evening.
The win marks the ninth league title in organization history. Following the final out, the ‘Cats were presented with the trophy before pausing for prayer as a team. The moment displayed a microcosm of the teams lifeblood throughout the season, showcasing unity as a brotherhood.
Riley Nelson opened the game with a bang. After a leadoff walk to Juneiker Caceres, Nelson followed with a two-run home run to right field, giving Lynchburg the early 2-0 lead.
Lynchburg would add to it in the third inning as a Dean Curley triple and a Cannon Peebles double would put two more runs on the board. They ran Columbia starter, Kendry Chourio, from the game, as the ‘Cats held the 4-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Hillcats ran into trouble. A few singles and a walk loaded up the bases before Hyungchan Um walked in the Fireflies first run of the game. With only one out, Lynchburg pulled Melkis Hernandez and replaced him with Will McCausland, who struck out the next two Columbia hitters.
After 3.2 innings of work, he picked up seven strikeouts, setting a new professional high.
McCausland would hand the ball over to Cam Schuelke, who was promptly greeted with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth from Ramon Ramirez, cutting the Lynchburg lead down to two. The Fireflies would bring the go-ahead run to the dish but could not scratch across another run.
Lynchburg responded in the top of the ninth. Dean Curley drove in the first run on a line drive to center. Asbel Gonzalez, the center fielder, played it on a hop, and promptly threw the ball away as it slipped out of his hands, allowing Dauri Fernandez to score with ease.
Cannon Peebles followed it up with a line drive single of his own, bringing in both Riley Nelson and Curley. Nolan Schubart ripped a ground-rule double to right to cap of Lynchburg’s four-run ninth.
Tensions boiled over in the ninth inning as Ramirez was plunked in his first at-bat after his solo homer. The dugouts cleared as the teams met in-front of home plate to exchange some jawing. No punches were thrown as cooler heads prevailed.
With two outs, the next batter, Jose Cerice, rolled over to third. Yaikel Mijares, in as a defensive replacement, charged the ball, colliding with the runner sprinting from second. He held on amidst the collision, slapped the tag on the hip of the runner, as the Hillcats stormed the field for their first championship since 2017.
For Lynchburg, it’s the first outright championship since 2012.
The Hillcats now head to the off-season, but will return to action on April 2, 2026, at the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.