Wahoos End First Half With 11-4 Win Inbox

June 22, 2026

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos secured the series victory over the Birmingham Barons by a final score of 11-4 on Sunday evening.

Besting the Barons (26-43) in four of six games, the Blue Wahoos (36-33) earned their fifth series win as the first half of the season came to a close. It is their first series victory over Birmingham, who they tied 3-3 in the teams’ first meeting at Regions Field in late May.

Standout Cam Cannarella batted a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a career-best five RBI as well as two runs scored. He’d increase his hitting streak to seven games and manage his second home run in as many days, earning his first three-hit game at the Double-A level.

Over the course of the series, Cannarella batted .534 (11-for-21) against the Barons. He’s slashing .378/.439/.543 heading into a road trip at Chattanooga.

The Blue Wahoos managed their 11 runs on 12 hits, drawing eight walks. All but one Pensacola starter recorded a hit in the win. Juan Matheus and Dillon Lewis each posted 2-for-5 days at the plate, each driving in and scoring at least one run.

The Pensacola pitching staff, led by starter Luis Moreno (W, 3-3), allowed only four earned runs on a combined nine hits and a single walk while striking out nine Baron bats. Moreno delivered 5.0 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits while picking up three strikeouts. A free base wasn’t issued to the Birmingham battery until the ninth inning.

Pensacola made a statement in the first inning as three hits led to three runs. The one-two punch of Cannarella and Aiva Arquette showed just how much damage they can do, as Cannarella got himself aboard with a single and was sent home immediately after Arquette powered his fifth home run over left field.

Matheus added to the lead moments later, scoring from third on a Ryan Ignoffo sacrifice fly into deep center. Pensacola would round out the impressive first inning with a 3-0 lead, and bring an early end to the day for Barons starting pitcher Phil Fox (L, 2-3) who would be saddled with the loss.

Patience at the plate paid off in the second inning for the Blue Wahoos. Garret Forrester, Payton Green and Arquette each drew walks to load the basepath, setting the table for Matheus to single through the left side and bring home Forrester.

Cannarella padded the lead for the third straight inning, sending a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center to give Ignoffo room to score from third. Birmingham stopped the bleeding as third baseman Alec Briley pulled off a diving catch on a liner by Arquette, but the Blue Wahoos held a comfortable 5-0 lead

The Barons answered back in the fifth with a solo home run from Jorge Corona, but it wouldn’t take long for the Blue Wahoos to respond with two of their own. After a lengthy battle at the plate, Cannarella launched an opposite field two-run home run over left. It’d be his second home run at the Double-A level, his first coming a night prior in Saturday’s victory.

Lewis then hammered a first-pitch no-doubter over left center, driving in Matheus to spike the lead to 9-1. Lewis tied Columbus’s David McCabe for the Southern League lead in home runs with 16 on the season.

Birmingham got two back with an Anthony DePino two-run homer in the top of the sixth, but the Pensacola offense kept rolling. Ignoffo kicked off the bottom of the frame with a single, followed by a walk issued toIan Lewis Jr. Both pulled off a double steal, paving the way for Cannarella to blast a two-RBI double to the left-center warning track.

Though the Barons would manage another run on a solo homer in the seventh, it’d be the final score from either side as the Blue Wahoos pitching staff struck out four through the remaining innings.

The Blue Wahoos will take Monday off before hitting the road for a series with the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, beginning on Tuesday.

written by Maddy Branning

Comments





Have a comment on this story?

We welcome your comments on this story, but there are some rules to follow::

(1) Be Nice. No comments that slander another, no racism, no sexism, no personal attacks.

(2) No Harrassing Comments. If someone says something bad about you, don't respond. That's childish.

(3) No Libel. That's saying something is not true about someone. Don't do it.

(4) Keep it clean. Nothing vulgar, obscene or sexually related. No profanity or obvious substitutions. Period.

(5) NorthEscambia.com reserves the right to remove any comments that violate our rules or we think to be inappropriate. We are not responsible for what is posted. Comments may not appear right away until they are approved by a moderator.

(6) Limit your comments to the subject in this story only, and limit comments to 300 words or less. Do not post copyrighted material. Comments will not be added to stories that are over 30 days old.

(7) No posts may advertise a commercial business, political candidate or political group, or link to another commercial web site or political site of any kind.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FRONT FEATURE, Sports, TOP sports