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Wahoos End Homestand With Three Homers, Blowout Win Over Clingstones
June 9, 2025
written by Willie Phaler
An offensive explosion carried by three home runs combined with stellar pitching helped put the Blue Wahoos on top Sunday afternoon, as they defeated the Columbus Clingstones 9-2 for their largest margin of victory this season.
With home runs from Johnny Olmstead, Grant Richardson and Nathan Martorella adding up to seven of the team’s nine runs, it was a high-flying day for the Blue Wahoos offense as they have pushed their winning streak to four.
“The boys are feeling good,” reliever Alex Williams said. “We’re swinging the bats well, we’re pitching well. Hopefully, we can continue this streak and make a little noise here at the end of this first half.”
Williams, who was awarded the win to improve to 2-0 on the season with Pensacola, provided three innings of shutout pitching, while moving to a streak of 11 scoreless innings.
“Trusting the defense, and filling it up (the strike zone),” Williams said. “I know we’ve got a lot of guys behind me that are working hard and getting better every day. Just filling it up and giving my guys the best chance to win and continue what the starter’s doing.”
That was something Williams was certainly able to do on Sunday. After four innings of two-run ball from Orlando Ortiz-Mayr, Williams bridged the gap in the fifth, sixth and seventh, while Ricky DeVito cleaned things up with a scoreless eighth and ninth to secure the Wahoos’ win.
“Learning from a lot of the other guys that have been here and trying to continue what’s been going well all year, the bullpen’s been great,” Williams said. “The starters have been great, and just trusting the process and keep going.”
The Blue Wahoos’ bats got going early, putting up two runs in the first inning. The first baseman Martorella picked up an RBI with a single to right, scoring Cody Morrissette, while Richardson drove in a runner as he beat out a groundball to second to break up a potential double play, allowing Kemp Alderman to score.
These were the first runs given up by Columbus starter Brett Sears at the Double-A level, after dealing ten innings of shutout pitching in his first two starts in the Southern League.
Richards was unable to continue the success he had found in his first two starts, as his final line consisted of 5.0+ innings while allowing seven earned runs.
A three-run home run from Olmstead in the fourth, along with a two-run home run from Richardson, were catalysts in driving Richards out of the game. Olmstead’s was a team-leading seventh of the year, while Richards hit his second in as many days.
Martorella added insurance in the seventh with a two-run home run of his own, pulling one out to right field against Amos Willingham.
Columbus’s lone two runs of the day both came off solo home runs from Designated Hitter David McCabe. His first two at-bats in the second and fourth against Ortiz-Mayr provided runs for the Clingstones, but were the extent of the offense for the Braves affiliate.
After winning five of six at home to get back above .500, including four in a row, the Blue Wahoos will take their lone trip of the season to Madison, Alabama, to take on the Rocket City Trash Pandas for six.
GAME NOTABLES
— With the conclusion of Sunday’s game, there are now just two series and 12 games left in the first half schedule. The Biloxi Shuckers hold a commanding lead in the Southern League South Division race with a 34-22 record prior to Sunday’s game. The Blue Wahoos entered Sunday six games back in the division standings in third place. The Montgomery Biscuits (29-27) are in second place, trailing by five games before Sunday. The second half schedule along with a new divisional race, will begin June 24.
— Injuries and roster moves had the Blue Wahoos scrambling for additional players. The team added infielder Jesus Hernandez, 21, a third baseman from the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Miami Marlins’ Class-A affiliate. He joined the team on Saturday.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos at Rocket City Trash Pandas.
WHEN: Tuesday through Sunday, June 15.
GAMETIMES: The games on Tuesday through Saturday all start at 6:35 p.m. The game on Sunday, June 15, is a 2:35 p.m. start time.
WHERE: Madison, Alabama.
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