Five-Run Sixth Sinks Wahoos In Smokies Series Finale

August 3, 2026

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell in their series finale with the Knoxville Smokies to the tune of a 5-3 final.

The Wahoos got on the board first in the usual way: the longball. Ethan O’Donnell went first, smashing his first homer with Pensacola way over the right field wall. Two batters later, Brandon Compton continued his seemingly endless stretch of dingers with, you guessed it, another dinger. This one was a two-run jack that gave the Wahoos a 3-0 lead.

Joey Volini pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and left in-line for the win when Gabe Bierman (L, 3-2) entered in the 6th. The Smokies pounced on the pitching change. Knoxville loaded the bases and, with two outs, Karson Simas beat out an infield single up the third baseline to get his club on the board. This would prompt manager Nelson Prada to pull Bierman in favor of Michael Perez, who gave up a grand slam to Drew Bowser. It was Bowser’s first Double-A homer and the fifth grand slam the Wahoos have given up this year.

When the 6th inning ended, Knoxville had a 5-3 lead. And, despite having men on second and third with nobody out in the top of the 8th, Pensacola failed to score for the rest of the game and ended up dropping the series finale by a score of 5-3. Frankie Scalzo Jr. (W, 3-1) earned the win with Marinos Santy (S, 7) securing his 7th save of the season.

The Wahoos fell to 55-46 overall and 19-13 in the second half while the Smokies improved to 54-48 and 16-17.

The Blue Wahoos have an off-day Monday before beginning a series with the Montgomery Biscuits.

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