Wahoos Shutout BayBears 4-0
June 17, 2013
Shaun Ellis shut down a red-hot Mobile BayBears lineup and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored all four of their runs in the fifth inning in a 4-0 shutout on Sunday evening at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Wahoos and prevented Mobile from winning the first-half South Division title.
Making his fourth professional start, Ellis (2-1) dominated in 6.1 shutout frames. The Wahoos hurler never allowed a runner past second base as the BayBears mustered just three singles and a walk against Ellis. It was the longest appearance of the season for the right-hander, as he struck out two to pick up his first win as a starter this year.
Pensacola would get all the offense it needed in the fifth inning against Mobile’s Archie Bradley (5-2). Bradley entered the fifth with a no-hitter, but three straight Wahoos reached on singles finished off by a Travis Mattair RBI base knock to give Pensacola a 1-0 lead. The hit extended Mattair’s on-base streak to 19 games, the longest active streak in the league.
After a flyout, Brodie Greene reached on a perfect suicide squeeze bunt to score Tucker Barnhart and double Pensacola’s lead. A passed ball moved runners to second and third before a fielder’s choice plated two more runs for the Wahoos. Second baseman Mike Freeman attempted to throw out Mattair at the plate, but the catcher Raywilly Gomez mishandled his throw, allowing both runs to score.
That ended up being the only inning Pensacola would record a hit, but it was plenty as Drew Hayes and Trevor Bell combined to record the final eight outs of the contest to close the door on the Wahoos’ sixth shutout of the season.
Bradley took just his second loss of the season in 14 starts. He went seven innings and struck out seven while allowing four runs, two of which were earned.
The series and first half wrap up on Monday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium at 7 p.m. Josh Smith (5-5, 3.45) takes the ball for Pensacola against Mobile’s David Holmberg (3-3, 2.45).
story by Kevin Burke
Five Injured In Blue Angel Crash
June 16, 2013
Five people were injured in a two vehicle crash Saturday night on Blue Angel Parkway.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 27-year old Elissa Anne Barnes was eastbound on Blue Angle Parkway just west of Mobile Highway about 11:20 p.m. in a 2008 Mitsubishi SUV. She was traveling too fast for the approaching curve and drifted into the oncoming traffic lane where she struck a 2003 Chevrolet SUV driven by 38-year old Karimah Dayo Harris of Pensacola.
Harris’ SUV overturned several times, ejected rear-seat passengers Hannah Peasant, 14, and Varian Peasant, 19. Both received minor injuries. Harris and her passenger, 39-year old Frank W. Peasant of Pensacola, were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Barnes was transported to Sacred Heart in critical condition. Charges against her are pending, according to FHP.
Driver Flips Into Field In Hwy 97 Crash
June 16, 2013
One person was injured in a single vehicle rollover accident Sunday morning in Walnut Hill.
The accident happened about 8:35 a.m. on Highway 97 just south of Arthur Brown Road. The driver of a Chevrolet pickup truck was northbound on Highway when the driver said he fell asleep as he was returning home from a night shift. He ran off the roadway, clipped a sign post, slid across both lanes of Highway 97 and overturned in a field. The truck came to rest upright in the field.
The driver was transported to Atmore Community Hospital by Atmore Ambulance with non-life threatening injuries.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
Pictured above and below: One person was injured in this accident Sunday morning on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Happy Father’s Day: Dad’s Best Advice
June 16, 2013
For Father’s Day, NorthEscambia.com invited our Facebook fans to answer the question “What’s the best advice your dad ever gave you?”. Responses are below.
Feel free to add a comment to this story to answer the question or just wish your dad a (belated) Happy Father’s Day.
What’s the best advice your dad ever gave you?
Dad Bubba Griffith — The best advice my Dad has given me would be “You will catch more bee’s with sugar than salt” meaning always be kind to others even in a bad situation, being kind and respectful will get you farther in life than being mean bitter or spiteful. He always has little sayings that he tells me when he thinks I should hear them. They get stuck in my head and I carry those words with me. “Words of Wisdom” I like to call it. He is a great father, person, friend, and neighbor. He volunteered his time for years and years at Cantonment Ball Park when we was growing up. All of the kids loved him and he was a great mentor, and person in the community. We love you Dad, Happy Fathers Day from Jody,Cody and Ashley.
Scott Lunsford — “You can let the bad stuff that happens to you turn you bad or you can use it to make yourself a better person. The choice is yours but no matter what you choose, I will always love you.” - (advice myd Dad gave me the day we buried my son)
Ace Ellis — “Son, if you are going to be dumb, you need to learn to be tough.”
Shawn Moyers – Lester Walker was truly the rock of our family. We lost him 1992. I was his stepdaughter but from the time he married my mother I never felt like anything but his daughter. The best advice he ever gave me was “to never let other people tell you who you are”. I love and miss him today as much as ever.
Casey Pritchett — “To have things others don’t have you have to be willing to do things others won’t do.”
Renee Barfield — “Thank God every morning that you wake up and every night when you go to sleep and for the family and friends that you have because every second you’re still alive is a gift”.
Tina Fowler – Very wise words from a very Godly man – “Put God first in your life and everything else will fall in place.”
Sandy Wiggins – My dad, Earney Lambert, always said do people the way you want to be done. He was a great man.
Brittany Peebles — Throughout the trails and tribulations of my life my father Ronald Peebles has been my shoulder to lean on. When things get tough I always seek his wisdom to help me through. The most memorable advice my father ever gave me came about one day when we were discussing the pains of the past. His advice was this — “Brittany it’s like a fishing trip. It’s as if you hooked a big one and you’re reeling as fast as you can. Then it leads you into a log which puts you into a hang. You can snatch your pole a hundred times trying to get your spinner bait back. You can even back up and try to get it out. It’s stuck though. You’ll never get it back. While you’re worried about your spinner bait and beating yourself up about the big one you just lost, there is surely an even bigger one right down the way that’s just waiting for you. However, if you don’t cut your line (cut your loses), you’ll never know what other big ones (opportunities) are out there’. - I still carry these words today. My daddy is truly my best friend.
Your Blueberry Best: Blueberry Cooking Contest
June 16, 2013
Do you have a blueberry recipe that makes people drool? Are your blueberry muffins or pie the best in town? If you’re a talented chef or just have a favorite blueberry recipe, head for the kitchen and create a dish for the Blueberry Cooking Contest, sponsored by the ARC Santa Rosa and UF/IFAS Santa Rosa County Extension.
Just bring your dish, recipe, registration form, and entry fee to the Extension Office at 6263 Dogwood Drive between noon and 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 21. Registration is only $3 and forms can be obtained by calling (850) 623-3868 or emailing ginnyh@santarosa.fl.gov. Entries will be judged on appearance, complete recipe, taste and nutritional content. Winners will be announced at the ARC Santa Rosa Blueberry Festival on Saturday, June 22. Both youth and adult winners will receive cash prizes and Simply Florida cookbooks.
High in fiber and vitamin C, blueberries make a tasty low-calorie addition to many recipes. They add color and great taste to salads, pancakes, cakes and muffins. Blueberries have grown wild in North America for thousands of years. They were a staple food for Native Americans, who dried and smoked the berries, pounding them into venison to flavor the meat. Fresh berries can be refrigerated for up to 10 days or frozen for later use. Thawed blueberries should be kept refrigerated and used within three days.
For more information about blueberries or the cooking contest, call the UF/IFAS Santa Rosa County Extension Service at (850) 623-3868. For information about the Blueberry Festival or the blueberry recipe cookbook, call the ARC Santa Rosa at (850) 623-9320.
Vanderhoff Named Senior NCO For 307th Maintenance Squadron
June 16, 2013
Air Force Reserve Senior Master Sgt. Lisa K. Vanderhoff has been named Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Quarter for 307th Maintenance Squadron.
Selection was based on the individual’s exemplary duty performance, job knowledge, leadership qualities, teamwork, significant self-improvement, personal achievements, notable accomplishments, and community service and support.
Vanderhoff is an aircraft structural maintenance supervisor assigned to the 307th Maintenance Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. The senior master sergeant has served in the military for 23 years.
She is the daughter of Albert and Carol Vanderhoff of Cantonment.
Vanderhoff graduated in 1984 from Tate High School and received a bachelor’s degree in 2011 from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona.
MLB Debut: Molino’s Gindl Thrilled To Get The Callup To The Brewers
June 16, 2013
Outfielder Caleb Gindl of Molino arrived from Triple-A Nashville on Saturday and became the sixth Milwaukee Brewer to make his Major League debut in a season yet to hit its halfway point.
Previous MLB debuts included Khris Davis (April 1), Josh Prince (April 6), Hiram Burgos (April 20), Donovan Hand (May 26) and Scooter Gennett (June 3).
“It’s the best feeling of my life,” Gindl said before the game.
The Brewers promoted Gindl after placing left fielder Ryan Braun on the 15-day disabled list. At 24, Gindl became the youngest of the Brewers’ six players to debut when he struck out against the Reds’ Homer Bailey in the seventh inning.
He is used to that label. Gindl was a Brewers’ fifth-round Draft pick in 2007 out of Pace High School in Florida, and he was 22 when he debuted in Triple-A in 2011. He had been waiting there patiently for a promotion.
“The last two weeks, he has really swung the bat well,” Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. “He hangs in there, gives you a nice at-bat. Especially right now, because he’s got a lot of at-bats under his belt [from Triple-A], I think he’ll be a good pinch-hitter for us for a while. Now, how long that lasts, that he’s good without me starting him, I don’t know. That’s always hard to predict. But he does all the things well that you want from a bench player.”
Gindl was batting .274 at Nashville with eight home runs and a team-best 38 RBIs. He hit .364 over his last 10 games and got the call over Davis, who was hitting .125 over his last 10 contests.
“We try to go by whoever is doing the job, and [Gindl] is swinging the bat the best down there, and we know he plays pretty good defense,” Roenicke said.
The Brewers won a shutout for the first time this year on Saturday, 6-0 over the Cincinnati Reds.
By Adam McCalvy
Courtesy Milwaukee Brewers, MLB
Jay’s Hope Miller To Perform At Disney On Thankgiving Day
June 16, 2013
Hope Miller from Jay High School is one of more than 500 cheerleaders and dancers from across the country that will perform in the 2013 UCA/UDA Thanksgiving Tour Walt Disney World in Orlando.
Miller will perform with the UCA/UDA All-Americans group in the pre-parade at the Magic Kingdom on Thanksgiving Day.
Pictured: Hope Miller with her All American Thanksgiving Tour packet which was presented to her during the UCA Cheer Camp Awards Ceremony held at Auburn University on Saturday. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Three Die In Fiery Crash On I-10; FHP Seeks Identities
June 16, 2013
Three people died in a fiery head-on collision early Sunday morning in Santa Rosa County.
Callers reported a vehicle traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-10 prior to the crash.. The vehicles collided head-on at the 36 mile marker, and both vehicles burst into flames. The vehicles were fully engulfed before first responders arrived on scene.
The first vehicle was an unknown year Jeep Wrangler in which the driver died. The second vehicle was an unknown year Jeep Cherokee in which the driver and passenger died.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Cpl. Brian Davis at (850) 484-5000 ext. 306.
Democrats Almost Don’t Care Who Takes On Rick Scott
June 16, 2013
Democrats gathering for their annual fundraising dinner at the Westin Diplomat Resort on Saturday were certain of one thing: They will defeat Republican Gov. Rick Scott in a little more than a year.
“Rick Scott will be a one-term governor,” declared Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant to the 1,300 who gathered in a ballroom for the dinner. “Come January 2015, Rick Scott will hand the keys to the Governor’s Mansion over to Democratic hands.”
But which hands will receive those keys, should Tant’s vision of the future come true, remains unclear.
Democrats have a few potential candidates to take on Scott in 2014, when the so-far unpopular governor goes back before voters. But they have a shortage of declared candidates; the only one who has currently said she’s running is former state Sen. Nan Rich, whose exclusion from the speaker’s list at Saturday’s event drew publicity. (Tant said she was going to send an in-kind contribution reporting form to Republican Party Chairman Lenny Curry for calling attention to the flap — and the dinner.)
The three other candidates most often mentioned — former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, who has since switched parties; former Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who came up just short of beating Scott as the party’s nominee in 2010; and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the only remaining Democrat in statewide office — have said they haven’t made up their mind yet or, in Nelson’s case, denied any interest at all.
And so what appears to be unprecedented enthusiasm among Democrats to win in 2014, with the dinner raising a record of $850,000 in confirmed contributions, is so far pointed against Scott even with the lack of a single candidate who has cleared the field.
“What it shows you is that people are so anxious for a change they almost don’t care who the person is,” Tant said shortly before the event.
National party officials are also, so far, unconcerned.
“I think whoever the Democratic nominee is will beat Rick Scott,” said Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who doubles as chair of the Democratic National Committee. “…It’s just going to be a matter of who is going to be able to get organized and focused and build the momentum.”
The undeclared candidates are so far playing things close to the vest.
“Obviously, I’m giving it very serious consideration, and I’m looking forward to making a decision before too long,” Crist told reporters who asked about a potential run.
And while he might demur on whether he’ll take on Scott, Crist was ready when asked about the incumbent’s focus on the job losses of Crist’s term and the job gains in more recent years.
“I’m not going to take credit for the global economic meltdown, and I don’t think he should take credit for the jobs that are coming in thanks to President Obama,” Crist said.
Sink said she hasn’t ruled out taking another shot at Scott, but said one of the largest factors in her decision right now is whether she could see herself taking on the race without the late Bill McBride, her husband.
“He very much wanted me to run again,” she said. “But, you know, he’s not here to go home to every night and be my cheerleader.”
The one who has been most emphatic about his intentions is Nelson, who once again told reporters that he wasn’t looking to throw his hat in the ring.
“First of all, you’ve heard me say it 100 times, and I’ll say it again: I have no plans to run for governor. I have no intention of running for governor,” he said.
But Nelson ripped into Scott during his speech at the dinner, and has continued to draw rumors about a possible bid — something he dismissed as a result of some of the unpopular stances Scott has taken.
“That’s why people are upset,” Nelson said. “And they’re looking for someone that can take him on and win.”
Others seem more than happy to float trial balloons for Nelson. During her remarks to the dinner, Wasserman Schultz noted that Nelson had gone from a state legislator to congressman to Florida insurance commissioner to U.S. Senator.
“Now, there seems to be a pattern here,” she said. “Tallahassee, DC, Tallahassee, DC. Hmm. Just saying. Just an observation.”
There were laughs and some scattered applause.
By Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida