Dirt Sharks Youth Mountain Bike Club Wrap Up Successful Season (With Gallery)
May 20, 2022
The Gulf Coast Composite Mountain Bike Club, The Dirt Sharks, have wrapped up a successful season.
The Dirt Sharks finished seventh overall at the Alabama State Championship in Anniston out of 23 Division 2 teams.
For a photo gallery, click here.
The Dirt Sharks are part of the Alabama Interscholastic Cycling League, which is composed of 34 teams and over 700 student athletes from across Alabama, Southern Mississippi, and the Florida panhandle.
During the season, Ransom Middle School student Eli Forehand won the 8th Grade Boys State Championship; he was the point leader for four out of five races during the season.
Three area athletes were awarded coveted spots in the league’s Varsity category.
Sophomores Avery Strother, Kayla Liles, and Landon Forehand competed against the very best in the league throughout the season. These riders finished the season with top 10 rankings. Avery and Kayla finished ninth and tenth in varsity girls, while Landon finished tenth in varsity boys.
Ransom Middle’s Branden Ruiz finished ninth in the sixth grade boys division.
The 2022 Dirt Sharks consisted of 21 student athletes from grades 6-11 along with the support of 10 coaches. Organizers said the Dirt Sharks culture is one of family centered fun that consists of camping, team dinners, and organized rides for everyone. No cycling experience is required, and racing is not an expectation to join. The certified coaching leadership will teach the fundamental biking skills to the athletes and coaches. Parents are highly encouraged to participate, either as coaches or as volunteers.
For more information, contact club director Brett Liles at gulfcoastcomposite@gmail.com.
Tate Aggies Spring Game Is Friday Versus W.S. Neal
May 19, 2022
Are you ready for some Aggies football?
The Tate High School Aggies will host the W.S. Neal Eagles Friday night in a spring game.
Gates open at 5 p.m., and the Showband marches in at 6 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Pete Gindl Stadium.
There will be three food trucks to choose from.
Admission is $7, and parking is $2.
Tickets must be purchased on GoFan.
Blue Wahoos Cruise To Seventh Consecutive Win
May 19, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos didn’t let a pair of off days disrupt their winning streak, as they defeated the Montgomery Biscuits 7-1 on Wednesday night for their seventh win in a row.
Cody Mincey (W, 3-1) received his third straight winning decision, allowing only one run on six hits over 5.0 innings.
Montgomery, playing with only 20 players on their active roster after Tuesday’s game was postponed due to health and safety protocols, got length out of starter Zack Trageton (L, 0-2). The righty pitched into the sixth inning, though a persistent effort from the Blue Wahoos offense kept the momentum on Pensacola’s side.
In the third inning, the Blue Wahoos scored three runs to take an early lead. J.D. Orr reached on a bunt single in his 2022 Double-A debut, then scored on a Luis Aviles Jr. RBI single. José Devers, also newly added to the Pensacola roster, lined a double to right-center before Griffin Conine brought home a run with an RBI groundout. With runners at the corners, Paul McIntosh broke from first and got in a rundown to allow Devers to score from third and give the Blue Wahoos a 3-0 advantage.
Aviles hit a solo homer, his fourth of the year, in the fifth inning. Cobie Fletcher-Vance hit an RBI single in the sixth, and McIntosh brought home a pair of insurance runs with a double in the ninth.
Mincey handed things off to the Pensacola bullpen in the sixth, and Anthony Maldonado, Jefry Yan and Josh Simpson combined to strike out 10 Montgomery batters over 4.0 scoreless innings. For Simpson, his 18.2 consecutive scoreless innings marks the longest active streak in the minors.
The Blue Wahoos have now won seven in a row, their longest streak since 2018, and lead the South Division by 2.5 games after Biloxi’s loss to Mississippi.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Montgomery Biscuits on Thursday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Jay Lady Royals Headed To 1A Final Four
May 18, 2022
The Jay Lady Royals are returning to the 1A Final Four for the second straight year. Jay beat Paxton 3-0 Tuesday night in Jay for the 1A regional championship.
Mattie Cochran earned the win for Jay in the circle. In seven innings, she allowed two hits and no runs while striking out three and walking none.
Alayna Lowery led the Royals in the plate, going 3-3 with two RBIs and two runs. She knocked in her 13th home run of the season, a new school record.
Jay (20-5) will ride a 16-game winning streak into the state semifinals May 24 against Liberty County (17-13) at Legends Way Ball Fields in Clermont.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Tate Lady Aggies Hold Softball Banquet
May 17, 2022
The Tate High School Lady Aggies celebrated their 2022 season Monday night at their annual end of season banquet. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Football’s Mekhi White Signs With Omega Prep
May 17, 2022
Northview High School’s Mekhi White has signed with Omega Prep to continue his football and school career. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate High Cheerleader Makayla Hartley Signs With University Of West Georgia
May 16, 2022
Tate High School cheerleader Makayla Hartley has signed with the University of West Georgia Wolves. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Walk-Off With Series Sweep Over Trash Pandas
May 16, 2022
After a three-hour rain delay, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth for a dramatic 6-5 walk-off win and a series sweep over the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Sunday night.
Victor Victor Mesa singled into the right field corner to score pinch runner Thomas Jones from third base, handing the Blue Wahoos their sixth win in a row and the first six-game sweep in team history.
Rocket City scored four early runs in the first inning against Jeff Lindgren, capped by a three-run homer from Ryan Aguilar. Lindgren settled down with three perfect innings afterwards, but only a Cobie Fletcher-Vance RBI single in the fourth inning against Coleman Crow prevented the Blue Wahoos from being blanked in the first half of the game.
Trailing 4-1 after four innings, persistent rain became too much to play through and the tarp was pulled. As the game was not official yet, the two teams waited two hours and 55 minutes before play resumed after 8 o’clock.
Rocket City added an insurance run in the fifth with an RBI double from Orlando Martinez, but the Blue Wahoos got an RBI double from Fletcher-Vance in the sixth to draw to within three runs.
Eli Villalobos and Josh Simpson each turned in scoreless innings before Colton Hock (W, 2-2) worked a scoreless ninth. Trailing 5-2, Griffin Conine led off the ninth with a double before Fletcher-Vance blooped an RBI single, his third run-scoring hit of the night. Bubba Hollins coaxed a walk before Santiago Chávez brought the Blue Wahoos within a run with an RBI single up the middle. Pinch-runner Hayden Cantrelle scored on a Luis Ledo (L, 2-2) wild pitch, setting the stage for Mesa’s walk-off single.
The Blue Wahoos have now won six in a row, their longest streak since May of 2021, and lead the South Division by 2.0 games.
After an off day on Monday, the Blue Wahoos hit the road for a six-game series against the Montgomery Biscuits on Tuesday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Molino Dirt Road Divas Win 8U Alabama League Championship
May 15, 2022
The Molino Dirt Road Divas won the Gulf Coast Sports 8U Alabama League Championship Saturday in Robertsdale. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
McCambley Leads Blue Wahoos To Fifth Win In A Row
May 15, 2022
Zach McCambley struck out eight batters over 6.0 scoreless innings as the first-place Pensacola Blue Wahoos defeated the Rocket City Trash Pandas 2-1 Saturday night.
McCambley (W, 2-2) completed 6.0 innings for the second start in a row, and has now allowed only one run on six hits over 12.0 innings in the month of May.
Rocket City starter Ky Bush (L, 2-1) matched McCambley zero for zero until the bottom of the sixth, when Thomas Jones led things off with a double and took third on a Victor Victor Mesa bunt. Jones scored on a Troy Johnston sacrifice fly, and Mesa scored from second on Griffin Conine’s two-out infield single to put the Blue Wahoos ahead 2-0.
Jefry Yan pitched a scoreless seventh, and Anthony Maldonado (S, 1) worked around back-to-back two-out doubles from Braxton Martinez and Preston Palmeiro in the ninth to earn his first save.
The Blue Wahoos have now won five in a row, and on Sunday will aim for their first six-game winning streak since May of 2021. They have not swept a series since taking five straight from Mobile in July of 2019, and have never swept a six-game series in team history.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their homestand against the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Sunday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos