Snyder Lifts Wahoos To Walk-Off 4-3 Win

July 21, 2025

written by Willie Phaler

A Michael Snyder walk-off double capped a comeback 4-3 Pensacola Blue Wahoos victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Sunday afternoon.

With 5.0 innings of perfect relief and a one-run lead heading into the ninth, it seemed inevitable that the Lookouts would come out on top over the Blue Wahoos. The Wahoos’ bats had fallen silent after a two-run third inning, but came back to life in the bottom of the ninth.

A leadoff walk from Cody Morissette and a bunt single from Shane Sasaki to begin the ninth inning quickly signaled that this game was far from over. Josh Zamora came off the bench to work a pinch-hit walk and set the stage for Snyder.

“Hitting’s hard,” Snyder said. “Sometimes it takes a couple walks and finding a way on base. One good swing can change the course of a game.”

One good swing did change the course of the game, as Snyder connected on the third pitch from right-hander Arij Fransen (L, 2-3) to lace a line drive just inside the left field line. Morissette crossed home to tie it, and Sasaki’s run won it to give the Wahoos their 12th win of the second half and grow their division lead to 1.5 games.

“I was looking for a pitch to drive, something middle of the zone,” Snyder said. “Pretty simple right there. Just put bat on ball and good things happen.”

The Wahoos’ first two runs were put on the board in the third inning. Sasaki sent a line drive to center, driving in Jared Serna from third. Sasaki then swiped second as part of a double steal with Morissette, who beat a throw home for the tenth steal of home in Blue Wahoos history. This was Morissette’s third run-scoring thievery as a Wahoo after doing it in both 2023 and 2024.

Chattanooga’s offense got on the board in the top of the first for the third time this series, as Cam Collier drove in Edwin Arroyo with an RBI single up the middle.

The Lookouts also scored two runs in the third as Leo Balcazar and Jay Allen picked up RBI in the inning against Pensacola starter Jacob Miller.

Miller made his 14th start of the season for the Wahoos, and his first daytime start. Across 4.2 innings of three-run ball, the righty struck out six Lookouts. Miller’s outing ended on a sharp groundball to second by Collier, which Morissette gloved and fired home to prevent Arroyo from scoring an additional Chattanooga run in the fifth.

Former Blue Wahoos reliever Zach Willeman made the start for Chattanooga. A member of the 2023 Blue Wahoos, Willeman worked 3.0 innings of two-run ball in his return to Pensacola.

Both teams’ bullpens were excellent on Sunday afternoon. The Pensacola trio of Justin King, Nigel Belgrave and Josh Ekness (W, 3-1) compiled 4.1 innings of shutout work, while Brandon Komar tossed 4.0 perfect innings in relief for Chattanooga prior to Fransen’s difficulty in the bottom of the ninth.

The Blue Wahoos will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a six-game set with the Knoxville Smokies for their first trip to Covenant Health Park, the new stadium of the Cubs’ affiliate.

“[We] have a long road trip to Knoxville tomorrow, so [we] get some rest,” Snyder said. “[We are looking to] carry the momentum into the next week and have another good one.”

The Wahoos took four of six from the Smokies in late April in the first series between the teams. Right-hander Alex Williams (3-0, 2.10 ERA) is scheduled to get the ball in game one of the series for Pensacola.

WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Knoxville Smokies.
WHEN: Tuesday Thru Sunday
WHERE: Knoxville, Tennessee.
BACKGROUND: This will be the Blue Wahoos’ first trip to the Smokies’ new ballpark in downtown Knoxville, located near the campus of the University of Tennessee. It opened in April, after the team formerly played in Kodak, Tennessee, located about 21 miles east. The team was known as the Tennessee Smokies, the Chicago Cubs’ affiliate.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports