Register Now For Tate Softball’s Summer Camp
June 23, 2021
The Tate Lady Aggies will host their annual softball camp the evening of July 1
The camp is for anyone age six to eighth grade. Pre-register at this link or register at the field on the day of the camp. The cost is $50 which includes a camp t-shirt (sizes are limited).
Burdick Homers, Wahoos Win Again
June 23, 2021
Peyton Burdick clubbed his team-leading 10th home run of the season and Will Stewart W, 3-3) nearly turned in a quality start as the Wahoos took the series opener, 4-3 on Tuesday at Regions Field.
The fireworks began in the second inning for Pensacola, where after a leadoff walk to Riley Mahan, Burdick belted a two-out, two-run home run off Konnor Pilkington (L, 1-3) to put the Wahoos ahead.
However, the Barons had a swift response for the Wahoos. Joel Booker took Stewart deep in the bottom half of the inning to put the Barons within a run.
In the fourth, the Wahoos used small ball to get that run right back. After a walk and hit-by-pitch, the Wahoos used a pair of groundouts to score, which made it a 3-1 game.
The only remaining offense the Barons had left came from Micker Adolofo. He hit a pair of solo homers deep to center, that each time cut the Wahoo lead down to one. In the sixth he led off the inning with a solo blast off Stewart, and in the eighth he took Dylan Bice deep to cut down Pensacola’s lead to 4-3.
However in the bottom of the ninth, Colton Hock worked around a two-out single and struck out Zack Granite to end the ball game. Hock finished with a pair of strikeouts and now has a league-leading 10 saves this season.
The series continues Wednesday night when Max Meyer (3-1, 1.42) gets the start for the Wahoos while he will be opposed by Blake Battenfield (5-1, 3.76), who has already beaten the Wahoos twice this season.
by Chris Garagiola, Blue Wahoos
Blue Wahoos Walk-Off Montgomery For The Third Time This Week
June 21, 2021
The Blue Wahoos have become the drama kings.
All in a great way.
They finished a memorable week in franchise history with a third walk-off win in six days Sunday, this one from Canadian-born catcher J.D. Osborne, who delivered a line-drive rope down the left field line to produce a 10th-inning, 4-3 victory against the Montgomery Biscuits.
In a week that included rain delays, schedule changes, a swipe from Tropical Storm Claudette, the Blue Wahoos won five of six games against the Biscuits and made Father’s Day Weekend special at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
In winning Sunday before a crowd of 4,123, the Blue Wahoos (26-16) won three games in less than 24 hours. Sunday’s game was delayed a half-hour by weather.
“I’ve never seen that honestly,” said Osborne, referring to the weekend weather, including Saturday’s storm and Sunday’s pair of rain showers. “I have lived in Florida for seven years now and I have never seen a torrential downpour like that, and they we go back out there and there’s blue skies.
“It’s hard to stay in it right away when all that’s happening, but then you find that focal point that brings you back to the game.
“We did that all weekend,” Osborne said. “We just grinded. We had really good at-bats there, threw the ball well and good series, there. It just the chemistry and group of guys here.”
So here was Sunday’s scenario.
After winning a pair of seven-inning games, including a walk-off win, in a double-header Saturday that followed arrival of a tropical storm, the Blue Wahoos had just one hit through six innings. They trailed 3-1 in the seventh.
The lone hit was Riley Mahan’s second-inning homer. They again struggled against Montgomery left-hander Faustino Carrera, who kept the Blue Wahoos off-balance with his cutter and control, despite lower-than-normal velocity.
But with Carrera out and the Biscuits bullpen in, things changed in the seventh inning. They were in striking range thanks to another strong performance from their bullpen. Zach Wolf had pitched two scoreless innings following Jeff Lindgren’s five inning start.
“It’s almost like a movie, you can’t really write this stuff,” Mahan said. “But I think it speaks volumes to not only our starting pitching, but also our bullpen, just keeping us in games and not letting them get too far out of hand.
“Even in games when we’re not swinging it too great, we’re kind of battling and it pays off later in the game.”
Peyton Burdick, who blasted a two-run, game-winning walkoff in Saturday’s first game of the doubleheader, led off with a 482-foot poke to left-center trimming the deficit. In the ninth, Burdick led off again and took a pitch on his shouder.
He went to third on Jerar Encarnacion’s double. With one out and the bases loaded, Mahan produced a fly ball to left deep enough to score Burdick with the tying run.
In the top of the 10th, with a runner placed on second to start the inning in pro baseball’s extra-inning format, Blue Wahoos reliever Roberto Guerrero worked his second clean inning. He stranded the Biscuits runner at third with one out with a strikeout against top-of-the-order hitter Garrett Whitley, the got Xavier Edwards to pop out to shortstop Devin Hairston.
Osborne, who was a talented teenage hockey player in Canada, waisted no time when getting his shot.
He jumped on a 1-2 pitch and rifled it down the line for the game winner.
“I was just trying to find any way to contribute to the team,” said Osborne, who joined the Blue Wahoos in a promotion June 6 from the Beloit (Wisc.) Snappers, the Miami Marlins High-A affiliate. “I saw a fastball there. I knew they didn’t have anything crazy to beat me, so just stay within myself and put the bat on the ball and it worked out in my favor. And the rest is history, we walked it off.
The win gave the Blue Wahoos a phenomenal 12-4 record in one-run games and was their seventh come-from-behind-win in late innings.
They now have the best record in the Double-A South with a big road series beginning Tuesday against the Birmingham Barons, who took four of six games in Pensacola in the only series the Blue Wahoos lost this year.
Blue Wahoos Sweep Doubleheader Against Montgomery
June 20, 2021
The day began with some of the worst imaginable tropical weather hitting Blue Wahoos Stadium.
It ended 12 hours or so later Saturday night with the Blue Wahoos producing a pair of memorable wins.
Peyton Burdick created first-game euphoria with his two-run, walk-off homer for a 4-2 win against the Montgomery Biscuits, following a strong start by Miami Marlins touted pitching prospect Edward Cabrera.
Jake Eder followed with six-inning shutout and Josh Roberson earned his first save for the Blue Wahoos in a 2-0 win to complete a doubleheader sweep before the fireworks show. Both games were 7-innings, following Friday’s rainout.
The win clinched another series for the Blue Wahoos (26-16), who now have the best record in the Double-A South and have lost just one series this season.
“It’s good to see how we got the goose eggs on the board, playing some defense and pitching, timely hits and game over,” said Blue Wahoos manager Kevin Randel. “We finished up a long day and glad we finished up on top.”
On Juneteenth, now a national holiday, the Blue Wahoos paid homage to the Pensacola Seagulls, a member of the Negro Southern League, which had its final official season 70 years ago in 1951.
The Blue Wahoos players wore the Seagulls uniforms for the second game of the doubleheader. The jerseys were then auctioned for the Southern Youth Sports Association during the game.
All of this, of course, happened after Tropical Storm Claudette caused morning wrath and early afternoon uncertainty. And then, like magic, the nasty weather parted into a colorful sunset.
“Once we started coming in about 10:30 (morning), we realized how bad this thing and we sent out a text (to players) that said don’t come in till about 2 o’clock,” Randel said. “Everything moved out, the field held up, the field looked immaculate after all that rain and we had to strap it on real quick and get going.”
Incredibly, after the storm made landfall early Saturday less than 200 miles west, thus creating a series of rain squalls, high winds and tornado warnings, the sky then broke into late afternoon sunshine in late afternoon and it became a beautiful night at the ballpark.
“We woke up and it was like a hurricane outside. The tarp crew did a great job. Our field is great, it drains great.. When we got that little window (of dry weather), there was no doubt we were going to play.”
Burdick ended the first game in dramatic fashion with his blast on an 0-2 slider over the left field fence The ball traveled 419 feet and so high that the Biscuits left fielder Garrett Whitley never looked up to see it. He just broke into a slow trot off the field.
“We had opportunities before that and I had opportunities myself to tack on a couple extra runs,” Burdick said. “And I hit on top of it and ran into double play (in fifth inning) and kinda screwed us out of a couple runs.”
The Blue Wahoos had the bases-loaded in the sixth inning of the game with none out and came up empty as well when Riley Mahan hit into a double play.
But in the seventh with two out and catcher Jhon Nunes on third base, following his leadoff double and throwing error on a pickoff attempt, Burdick produced the team’s fourth walkoff win.
“We just have a bunch of competitors up there. We all go out there and try not to make the last out,” Burdick said. “It’s been up and down the lineup abd people have been putting together good at bats, so we are never out of it.”
Two years ago, on July 31, 2019, Edward Cabrera was pitching for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp – then the Marlins Double-A affiliate, when he earned a win against the Blue Wahoos.
Saturday, he made his first start for the Blue Wahoos on an expected road to the big leagues. He was projected to be part of the Marlins’ starting rotation this year before an injury in February.
His first pitch Saturday clocked at 100 mph and he finished four innings and a 65-pitch limit with seven strikeouts, one walk and one earned run allowed. Colton Hock got the win in the seventh with a scoreless inning.
“He’s with us building up his pitch count… he threw the ball well, coming in hot,” Randel said. “But I think the story was his changeup. It got him right back in count
In the second game, Bubba Hollins produced a two-run single in the second inning and that held up. Eder worked six innings, allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts. He got out of a two-on, none out jam in the fourth inning, then retired the last batter in the sixth on a base-loaded situation.
In that inning, JJ Bleday made a spectacular diving catch in right field to rob Biscuits’ shortstop Jake Palomaki of a hit.
“(Eder) really had to battle,” Randel said. “His fastball command wasn’t there again. He just grinded out there. We gave him another inning.
“One of those things where he had to just grind it out and figure it out. But it was a good day for him.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mahan, Bleday Drive in 5 Runs In Wahoos Win
June 18, 2021
Max Meyer pitched on a tightrope, putting himself in difficult situations with seven walks and his earlier-than-planned exit.
But as another progressive sign in his rookie pro career, he didn’t give up a run and his Pensacola teammates, led by fellow top pick JJ Bleday responded at the plate to build a lead that held up for a 5-3 victory Thursday night against the Montgomery Biscuits.
With this being a Thursday, Pensacola transformed into the Mullets with their colorful uniforms in a nod to the fans’ No. 2 choice for a name back in the inaugural 2012 season.
A crowd of 4,403 watched the Blue Wahoos rebound from a 7-3 loss Wednesday and entertain on Thirsty Thursday.
Meyer, 22, the third overall pick in the 2020 draft from Minnesota, threw a pro-career high 90 pitches in just four innings, but only 40 of those were strikes.
It led to those seven walks, plus he hit a batter in the second inning. A week ago against Chattanooga, Meyer’s four walks were his season high.
But despite his erratic location, Meyer battled his way through the four innings, giving up just one hit. In three of those innings, the Biscuits had two baserunners.
That was proved pivotal as the Blue Wahoos improved to 23-16 and took a 2-1 lead in this homestand at Blue Wahoos Stadium
The Blue Wahoos scored runs in the first, second and fourth to build a lead, then added two more in the seventh.
Bleday and second baseman Riley Mahan had big night, both going 2-for-4 at the plate and accounting for all five RBI. Bleday’s two-run single in the seventh-inning proved decisive.
Dylan Bice followed Meyer on the mound with three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to earn his third win. Colton Hock threw a clean eighth inning.
In the ninth, Tyler Mitzel, who joined the Blue Wahoos from the High-A Beloit Snappers, hung on after hitting a batter and giving up a two-run single.
The series is set to continue Friday with Edward Cabrera, the Miami Marlins No. 4 rated prospect, set to make his Double-A debut in Pensacola.
The Blue Wahoos are constantly monitoring the tropical weather system in the Gulf of Mexico that is expected to impact the Pensacola area.
As of early Friday morning, the expectation is to complete the weekend series as scheduled.
The Blue Wahoos gave Meyer immediate support.
With one out in the first inning, Peyton Burdick walked, then went to third on an errant pickoff throw from Biscuits starter Tabias Meyers.
Bleday followed with a run-scoring single to left field.
In the second, Lazaro Alonzo doubled down the left field line. Mahan followed with a RBI single to center.
In the fourth inning, Mahn had an RBI double. He was robbed of a three-hit night in the eighth by a diving catch from left fielder Cal Stevenson.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Biscuits Beat The Wahoos 7-3 In Second Game Of Series
June 17, 2021
A night after a signature, walk-off win, the Blue Wahoos played a game Wednesday they will quickly seek to forget.
They committed five fielding errors and assorted other miscues in a 7-3 loss against the Montgomery Biscuits in the second game of their week-long series.
The game included 312 pitches, including 165 by the Wahoos’ four pitchers. The Blue Wahoos had nine hits, including a 3-for-4 night from first baseman Lazaro Alonso.
It was a contrast to Tuesday when catcher Nick Fortes’ dramatic two-run homer in the ninth produced a 5-4 comeback win and on-field celebration.
Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Will Stewart worked out of a bases-load jam in the first and overcame a leadoff error in the second inning. The biggest damage occurred in the fifth inning when the Biscuits took extended a 2-0 lead with three runs.
Stewart finished the night working 4.2 innings, giving up seven hits and four runs, all off singles.
Jerar Encarnacion got the Blue Wahoos back in the game on a two-run double in the sixth inning. The Blue Wahoos then had the tying run at the plate in the seventh after Nick Fortes and Alonso began the inning with singles.
After coming up empty in that inning, however, the Biscuits added two more runs in the eighth to put the game away.
The series continues Thursday with the Blue Wahoos sending Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, to the mound for his eighth start this season. Meyer has a 1.38 earned run average which is the fourth best in Double-A among starters.
On Friday, Edward Cabrera, the Marlins’ No. 4 rated overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, will make his first start for the Blue Wahoos as he progresses in his fifth minor league season.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Nick Fortes Provides Walk-Off Blast In Ninth For The Blue Wahoos
June 16, 2021
His previous at-bats Tuesday night had left Blue Wahoos catcher Nick Fortes frustrated at himself.
One sweet swing in the ninth inning changed that feeling.
Fortes squared up on a 3-1 fastball and powered it over the left-center wall for a two-run, walk-off, home run that lifted the Blue Wahoos to a dramatic 5-4victory against the Montgomery Biscuits and wowed a bayfront stadium crowd staying around to see it happen.
It was the first time in his career Fortes ended a game with a home-run stroke.
“It is honestly kinda crazy,” said Fortes, who also drove in the Blue Wahoos second run on a fielder’s choice play. “You kinda black out for a little bit rounding the bases.
“I remember hitting first and a snap of the fingers I’m already at home greeting my teammates. It is a pretty cool feeling.”
This became the Blue Wahoos (22-15) third walk-off win in 19 home games. It continued the team’s success in one-run games. They are now 11-4 in that category after Tuesday’s series-opening win. The teams will continue a six-game set at Blue Wahoos Stadium through Sunday.
“It’s exciting. It makes for some really good baseball games,” Fortes said. “You can just tell the intensity picks a little bit once we get to the later innings.
“Obviously we would like to have those at-bats through the entire game, but it is really encouraging to see us not do so well early on, but then be able to lock it in, and put together good at bats later in the game and pull out some wins.”
While Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Jeff Lindgren gave up four runs in his five innings, he avoided worse damage in the second and fourth innings after yielding home runs.
The Biscuits (16-20), the Tampa Bay Rays Double-A affiliate, took a 3-0 lead in the second on shortstop Ford Proctor’s 3-run homer that kept carrying until clearing the left field wall.
Leadoff batter Garrett Whitney hit a solo home in the fifth. Three Blue Wahoos relievers produced shutout innings. Zach Wolf earned his first win by stranding Whitney at third base in the top of the ninth after he was hit by a pitch, advanced on a wild pitch, then moved to third on a groundout.
The Blue Wahoos got a pair of runs in the fourth on JJ Bleday’s double and Fortes’ one-out grounder. They got another in the eighth when Demetrius Sims hit into a double-play with runners on the corners.
In the eventful ninth, after Bleday grounded out, Jerar Encarnacion singled off Biscuits reliever Ivan Pelaez. Up stepped Fortes, who worked a 3-1 count and saw a 88-mph fastball that he left no doubt where it was heading after contact.
“It was a great feeling. My first three at-bats weren’t my best,” Fortes said. “Just really happy to go up there and put a good swing on one and send us home with a win.
“Honestly, we just had a feeling we were going to get ‘em in the ninth. A bunch of the guys were like, ‘Don’t worry about it, we’re going to get them.’
“From the seventh inning on we had some good at-bats. Everyone just had a feeling we were going to make some noise in the ninth.”
The Blue Wahoos had several roster moves prior to the game, led by the arrival of pitcher Edward Cabrera, the Miami Marlins No. 4 rated prospect by MLB Pipeline. The move provides the Blue Wahoos with three of Miami’s top four rated prospects in 2021.
Outfielder JJ Bleday (No. 2) and pitcher Max Meyer (No. 3) are the others.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer.
Register Now For Tate Cheerleaders’ Lil Aggies Summer Camp
June 15, 2021
The Tate High School Cheerleaders’ Lil Aggies Summer Camp is coming up the last week of the month, and now is the time to register.
The registration forms and payment are due by Wednesday, June 23. The camp will take place at Tate Monday, June 28 through Wednesday, June 30 from 8 a.m. until noon each day. The camp Tate Aggies cheerleaders will each atheletes the property stretch techniques, sideline cheers and chants, proper jump techniques and motion placement, as well as stunting and tumbling skill building. There will also be fun games, engaging activities, snacks and drinks.
For registration information, click or tap here.
NWE 8U Baseball Wins District Championship
June 13, 2021
The Northwest Escambia 8U Baseball All-Stars won the district championship Saturday with a 9-3 win over Flomaton. With the win, NWE advances to the state tournament in Theodore, Alabama on June 26. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Offense Sputters In 6-1 Loss At Chattanooga
June 13, 2021
The Blue Wahoos offense sputtered again for the Wahoos as they fell 6-1 to the Lookouts on Saturday night at AT&T Field.
In another highly anticipated pitching matchup, neither starter turned in the performance many expected.
Jake Eder (L, 1-2) battled with his command early in his start and was tagged with a pair of runs in the first inning. Chattanooga would add another run in the second inning to make it 3-0. Eder finished the night with six innings pitched and allowed four runs (3ER) with two walks and five strikeouts. He tied his career-high with 88 pitches.
Eder—who entered today’s start with the lowest ERA in the Double-A South—now has an ERA of 1.26, which is the second-lowest in the league.
Chattanooga starter Nick Lodolo looked poised to turn a solid inning up until an injury derailed his outing. Lodolo had seven strikeouts 3.1 innings before a 2-1 slider to J.D. Osborne forced the former first round pick to exit the game due to injury.
After Lodolo left the game, the Lookouts used four different relievers to hold the Blue Wahoos to one run despite having 10 hits on the night. Pensacola went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base.
Offensively, JJ Bleday led the way for the Wahoos tallying three hits on the night while Nick Fortes went 2-for-5. Pensacola avoided being shutout for the second night in a row courtesy of a sac fly to right field by Jerar Encarnacion in the top of the ninth inning.
The series concludes tomorrow afternoon before the Wahoos return home to Pensacola. LHP Brandon Leibrandt (1-3, 8.17) gets the green light for the Wahoos and he will be opposed by Randy Wynne (1-1, 6.14). First pitch is scheduled for 1:15 PM CT.
by Chris Garagiola, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
