Big Inning Downs Wahoos In 16-6 Loss To Rocket City
July 3, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell to the Rocket City Trash Pandas in a marathon game by a final score of 16-6 on Thursday night.
The Wahoos started off hot. Cam Cannarella, Cristian Hernández, and Fenwick Trimble all reached in the first inning to load the bases for new-comer Brandon Compton. And Compton delivered by crushing an opposite field grand slam to give Pensacola a quick 4-0 lead. It was the second grand slam of the season for the Blue Wahoos and the second grand slam of Compton’s career.
After the first inning was played, the game would go into a rain delay that would last one hour and 43 minutes before the game would resume again. Once the field was ready for action, Rocket City grabbed two of those runs back on an RBI single from David Calebrese and a run-scoring single from Nick Rodriguez. That made the score 4-2.
The Wahoos extended their lead in the 4th when Cristian Hernández hammered a 2-run homer, his second straight game with a longball, to bring the lead back to four and the score to 6-2. This would be the last of the Pensacola offense for the night.
The Trash Pandas grabbed a run in the 4th thanks to a sac-fly from Jake Munroe and then proceeded to unload an 8-run inning in the 6th, punctuated by a grand slam from former Blue Wahoo Jake Thompson. This blast made it an 11-6 ballgame at the time, but Rocket City wasn’t done. They would put two more up in the 7th and three more up in the 8th to bring the score to a merciful 16-6. Because of the rain delay, Eliazar Dishmey, Pensacola’s starter, did not return after the first inning, meaning all 16 runs were allowed by the Wahoo bullpen. Colby Martin (L, 2-4, BS, 2) took the loss while Lucas Mahlstedt (W, 2-0) grabbed the win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Friday night.
written by Charlie Hobert
Hernández’s Homer Not Enough In 7-1 Wahoos Loss
July 2, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on Wednesday, falling 7-1 to the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
Cristian Hernández opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo homer, but that would be one of only three hits mustered by the Pensacola offense on the night. Ryan Costeiu (W, 6-4) worked 6.0 solid innings, allowing two hits and striking out five, in a dominant start for the Trash Pandas.
Rocket City ambushed Blue Wahoos starter Alex Williams (L, 4-7) in the home half of the first inning, as Nick Rodriguez doubled and came in on a Jake Munroe RBI single. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Caleb Bartolero and Jake Thompson with two outs in the inning put the Trash Pandas ahead 3-1.
Neither team scored again until the bottom of the seventh, when the Trash Pandas loaded the bases against Jack Sellinger. Tucker Flint was hit by a pitch to force in a run, and Thompson lashed a two-run single that ended up emptying the bases thanks to a throwing error from third baseman Juan Matheus. Thompson, who played for the Blue Wahoos from 2023-25 and was recently signed by the Angels out of independent ball, was 2-for-3 with three RBI in his Trash Pandas debut.
Blake Weiman, Chris Cortez and Luke Murphy finished off the Blue Wahoos with an inning each of scoreless relief from the Trash Pandas bullpen.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Thursday night.
Blue Wahoos Blast Rocket City For Fourth Straight Win
July 1, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos continued to punish Southern League pitching on Tuesday night, opening up their six-game road series with a 9-2 win over the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
After scoring 12 runs in each of their past three games last weekend in Chattanooga, the Blue Wahoos didn’t quite live up to that pace. They did, however, add four more home runs and made a couple of stellar defensive plays to win their fourth game in a row.
Rocket City struck first in the bottom of the second, as Juan Flores lined an RBI double off the warning track in center field for a 1-0 Trash Pandas lead. The Blue Wahoos would counter in a big way in the top of the third, racking up four runs on six hits against Trash Pandas starter Eybersson Polanco (L, 3-4) to take the lead for good.
Payton Green led off with a double, and scored on a long two-run homer from Dylan Jasso. Cam Cannarella followed with a solo homer of his own, his sixth in the past week and a half, to give the Blue Wahoos a 3-1 lead. Consecutive singles from Juan Matheus, Fenwick Trimble and Brandon Compton added another for a 4-1 advantage.
Flores greeted Blue Wahoos reliever Holt Jones (W, 2-0) with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, but that would be the extent of the damage against the Pensacola bullpen. Cannarella made a leaping catch at the right field wall to rob Mac McCroskey and end the fourth, and catcher Ryan Ignoffo picked off Nick Rodriguez straying too far from third base to end the fifth. The Trash Pandas collectively went 0-for-12 with men in scoring position on the night, leaving nine men on base.
Green added a solo homer in the sixth inning, and Compton capped a three-hit night in his Double-A debut with a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the eighth. With two walks and a hit batsman to load the bases, Juan Matheus contributed a finishing kick later in the inning with a two-run single for a 9-2 lead.
Jones, Kade Bragg and Livan Reinoso all protected the lead with effective relief for the Blue Wahoos before Huntsville native Christian MacLeod ended the game with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Wednesday night.
written by Erik Bremer
Northview Athletic Director Obreonne Parker Wins Prestigious State Sportsmanship Award
June 29, 2026
Northview High School Athletic Director Obreonne Parker has been honored with the prestigious Chris Hixon Exemplary Sportsmanship Award from the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA).
Parker is one of only four athletic administrators selected for the honor across the entire state of Florida for 2026, representing FHSAA Section 1.
Presented in conjunction with the goals and missions of the NIAAA, FIAAA, FHSAA, and FACA, the annual award recognizes athletic leaders who have distinguished themselves by promoting and exemplifying the true “Spirit of Sportsmanship” within their schools and communities. One administrator is chosen from each of the state’s four FHSAA sections.
Parker has served as the athletic director for the Northview Chiefs since 2017. 1 Her career at the school spans over two decades. She was also named the Northview High School Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025.
Wahoos Wallop Lookouts In Series-Clinching Finale
June 29, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos didn’t need a comeback to win their Sunday series finale against the Chattanooga Lookouts, scoring early and often in a 12-2 victory.
After overcoming a seven-run deficit on Friday and a six-run deficit on Saturday in a pair of impressive wins, the Blue Wahoos jumped ahead in the second inning against Lookouts starter Bryce Hubbart (L, 1-1). Connor Caskenette and Jay Beshears each drew walks, setting the stage for Emaarion Boyd. In his first at-bat since hitting a dramatic game-tying homer in the ninth inning on Saturday night, the Blue Wahoos left fielder launched a three-run shot for an early 3-0 lead.
Fenwick Trimble added a two-run homer in the third inning, his third home run in as many days, to extend the lead to 5-0. Three batters later, Ian Lewis Jr. ripped an automatic double over the right-center wall on a bounce to put Pensacola ahead 6-0.
Blue Wahoos starter Luis Moreno (W, 4-3) took that lead and ran with it, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and ultimately turning in a season-high 6.0 innings of two-hit, one-run ball.
Cam Cannarella saw his team-high hitting streak end at 12 games, but he did contribute an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to extend the Pensacola lead to 8-1. A Cristian Hernández three-run homer in the eighth added more distance, and Trimble ended the scoring by coming in from third base on a passed ball in the ninth inning.
Moreno was relieved by Josh Hejka, Christian MacLeod and Livan Reinoso, who totaled 3.0 effective innings of relief to seal a 12-2 final.
The Blue Wahoos have now won three straight games and scored 12 runs in each of them, ultimately taking four of six in their series against the Lookouts.
After an off day Monday, the Blue Wahoos continue their 12-game road trip on Tuesday as they open up a six-game series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
written by Erik Bremer
Blue Wahoos Score 12 Unanswered Runs In Wild Comeback Win
June 27, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos pulled off the comeback of the season on Friday night, winning 12-7 over the Chattanooga Lookouts after trailing 7-0.
Things started out about as poorly as possible for the Wahoos. With Orlando Ortiz-Mayr on the mound, the Lookouts put up three runs in the 2nd inning on a 2-run double from Julio Cerreras and an RBI single from Carlos Jorge. Then, two innings later, four more runs came around to score when the first 6 batters reached, officially ending Ortiz-Mayr’s day at 3.1 innings, with 9 hits, and 7 runs allowed.
Trailing 7-0 and with only one hit through the first five innings, Pensacola had some work to do. And they slowly started chipping away in the 6th. A solo homer from Aiva Arquette got the scoring started. Juan Matheus followed with a walk and Fenwick Trimble followed that with a double. With two men in scoring position, Brendan Jones slapped a double down the third baseline to cut the deficit to 4 and make it a 7-3 game.
When the top of the 7th inning rolled around, Pensacola kept their momentum rolling. Following a leadoff single from Ian Lewis Jr., Cam Cannarella ripped a two-run opposite field homer, his 4th of the year. With the score now 7-5, Juan Matheus singled with two down to bring Fenwick Trimble to the plate representing the tying run. And Fenwick took full advantage, sending his 9th home run of the year over the left field wall and tying the game up at 7-7.
The Wahoos bullpen, which consisted of Holt Jones, Livan Reinoso, and Jack Sellinger (W, 1-2) would go on to pitch the next 6.2 innings scoreless and hitless after the 4th to send the game to extras.
Emaarion Boyd pinch-ran for Connor Caskenette to begin the 10th. Following an Ian Lewis Jr. sacrifice bunt that moved Boyd to third, Jay Beshears sent a high chopper over the first baseman to give Pensacola their first lead of the night at 8-7. But that was just the beginning. Jay Beshears stole second to get into scoring position, just in time for Aiva Arquette to bloop a single into center to score Beshears and make the lead 9-7.
Juan Matheus then drew a walk to put two men on with two outs for Fenwick Trimble. And Trimble pounced. Fenwick crushed a ball well over the left field fence for a three-run dinger, his second homer of the game, and, after once trailing 7-0, gave the Wahoos a 12-7 lead. Jack Sellinger would set the Lookouts down in order to complete the comeback and send Pensacola to victory.
Taylor Floyd (L, 2-2) was charged with the loss. The Blue Wahoos improved to 38-35 while the Lookouts fell to 39-34.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Saturday night.
written by Charlie Hobert
Ibarra’s Big Night Lifts Lookouts Over Wahoos
June 25, 2026
Despite homers from Cam Cannarella, Dillon Lewis and Aiva Arquette, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos were outslugged by Ruben Ibarra and the Chattanooga Lookouts in a 13-5 loss on Wednesday night.
Ibarra hit a pair of three-run homers, a game-tying blast in the third inning and a go-ahead shot in the fifth, to help the Lookouts overcome an early deficit and even up the weeklong series at one game apiece.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead 1-0 in the first without the benefit of a hit. Cannarella drew a leadoff walk, took second on a wild pitch from Lookouts starter Johnathan Harmon (W, 8-2), and scored on a Juan Matheus sacrifice fly. In the third, Emaarion Boyd hit an RBI single and Cannarella blasted a solo homer for a 3-0 Blue Wahoos lead.
Ibarra tied the game with one swing in the third against Blue Wahoos starter Alex Williams (L, 4-6), launching a tape-measure homer to even the score 3-3. Lewis countered in the fourth with a solo homer, his league-leading 17th of the season, to briefly put the Blue Wahoos back in front 4-3.
Williams almost got through the bottom of the fifth inning with the lead intact, but issued a two-out walk to Cam Collier to bring up Ibarra once more. Reliever Luis Palacios then served up Ibarra’s second three-run homer in three innings, putting the Lookouts ahead 6-4.
Things got out of hand in the sixth, as the Lookouts scored five more against Palacios and Christian MacLeod. They tacked on two additional runs in the seventh against Josh Hejka with a Carlos Jorge two-run triple.
Arquette went deep in the top of the ninth for the Blue Wahoos, but it was not nearly enough as Brody Jessee finished off a 13-5 Lookouts victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Thursday night.
Blue Wahoos Eke Out 4-3 Win to Start Second Half
June 24, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos opened up the second half of their Southern League schedule on Tuesday night with a nailbiter, beating the Chattanooga Lookouts 4-3.
Cam Cannarella, fresh off being named Southern League Player of the Week on Monday, started the game with a leadoff single against Lookouts starter Nick Sando (L, 1-3) and quickly stole second base. He came in two batters later on a Juan Matheus RBI single, putting Pensacola ahead 1-0.
Jacob Miller, making his second start since coming off the injured list, worked 3.0 scoreless innings for the Blue Wahoos. Relievers Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (W, 2-2) and Nigel Belgrave took the game into the seventh with only three hits allowed, only one of which left the infield.
Sando was abruptly pulled with an apparent injury in the fourth inning, and reliever Bryce Hubbart kept the Blue Wahoos in check for 2.2 innings. The next Lookouts reliever, Easton Sikorski, didn’t fare as well. Aiva Arquette hit a two-run single in the seventh, and Fenwick Trimble and Ryan Ignoffo hit back-to-back doubles in the eighth to extend the lead to 4-0.
Holt Jones, who hadn’t allowed a run in his first seven relief appearances for the Blue Wahoos, ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth. Carlos Jorge doubled, Leo Balcazar singled and Cam Collier doubled to get the Lookouts on the board and bring up the potential tying run. Though Ruben Ibarra brought home a run on an RBI groundout and Jones fired a wild pitch to bring the score to 4-3, the righty escaped the inning with the lead intact.
In the ninth, Jack Sellinger (S, 4) worked around a leadoff single to earn the save and seal a 4-3 win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Wednesday night.
written by Erik Bremer
FHSAA Spring Sports Realignment Brings Shifts for Northview and Tate
June 23, 2026
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has released its tentative spring sports classifications for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, triggering a major landscape shift for local athletic programs. The new biennial block brings significant changes to both Northview High School and Tate High School, highlighted by major classification drops for the Aggies and a permanent district home for the Chiefs.
The new alignments for Northview and Tate across the FHSAA spring sports lineup feature several key changes:
Baseball
Tate will drop down from Class 6A to Class 5A for the next two seasons. The Aggies will join a highly competitive District 1-5A lineup that features local rivals Gulf Breeze and Milton, alongside defending district champion Niceville. Meanwhile, Northview’s baseball program will see stability, remaining in the Rural classification where District 1 stays completely unchanged from the previous two seasons alongside Central and Jay.
Softball
Mirroring the baseball adjustments, Tate is dropping down to Class 5A. The Aggies will compete in District 1-5A with Gulf Breeze, Milton, Niceville, and Mosley, which bumps over from District 2-5A. This move shifts Tate away from Class 6A, which now features defending state champion Hagerty as well as Navarre and Pace. Northview softball will remain in the Rural classification, where District 1 remains unchanged.
Flag Football
Northview officially joins a state series district after spending the last two seasons competing as an independent program. The Chiefs will now compete in Class 1A. Tate will navigate a reconfigured District 1-3A; while Niceville remains a district opponent, panhandle power Choctaw has jumped up to 3A and Mosley bumps over to join the district.
Track and Field
Both schools are experiencing classification shifts for their boys and girls track and field programs. Tate is bumping up from Class 3A to Class 4A, joining a powerful District 1-4A field that includes Navarre, Pace, Crestview, and five-time state champion Niceville. Conversely, Northview is moving down from Class 2A to Class 1A, joining District 1-1A alongside Central, Jay, L.E.A.D. Academy, and Pensacola Christian.
Boys Weightlifting
Tate will remain in District 1-3A alongside Navarre, Pace, Crestview, and Niceville. The Aggies’ district rivals, Pace, will be chasing a fourth straight state sweep but will do so without their longtime head coach. Northview will continue competing in Class 1A, staying in District 1-1A with Central, Jay, and Pensacola Catholic.
Girls Lacrosse
Tate remains in Class 2A, where the district alignment is completely unchanged from the past two years alongside Gulf Breeze, Milton, and Navarre. Northview does not field a team in lacrosse.
Girls Tennis
Both programs will see total stability for the next two years. Tate remains in Class 3A alongside Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Pace, and Booker T. Washington. Northview remains in Class 1A with East Hill Christian, Jay, and Pensacola Catholic.
Boys Tennis
Just like the girls’ programs, the boys’ tennis teams for both schools will experience complete stability over the next two years. Tate remains anchored in Class 3A alongside Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Pace, and Booker T. Washington. Northview will continue to compete in Class 1A, sharing a district with East Hill Christian, Jay, and Pensacola Catholic.
These classifications remain tentative pending the FHSAA appeals process, which runs through July 3, after which all classes will be finalized.
Survivor: Tony deGraaf Honored As Florida Little League Volunteer of the Year
June 22, 2026
Tony deGraaf, the long-serving president of the Tri-County Little League and Jay Recreation Association, has been named the Volunteer of the Year by the Little League Florida State District Administrators Association.
The prestigious honor highlights more than 15 years of unwavering dedication to youth sports in the community, the majority of which deGraaf has spent leading the organization as its president.
His contribution stands out not just for its longevity, but for his extraordinary resilience. In 2021, deGraaf was diagnosed with brain cancer. Over the last five years, he has endured three brain surgeries, two separate rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and numerous other medical treatments.
While the illness eventually prevented him from continuing his duties as a head coach, it did not stop his involvement. Through surgeries and ongoing treatments, deGraaf has continued to maintain fields, attend board meetings, make decisions for the league, and assist with coaching whenever his health allows.
Local organizers expressed their deep gratitude for his enduring spirit and commitment to the area’s youth.
“He inspires us daily with his strength, faith, and selflessness. The impact he has made on the children he has coached and the families he has served through the years is immeasurable, and our community is better because of his dedication,” Florida District 1 Little League said in a statement.
Those who work alongside deGraaf noted that he has dedicated most of his adult life to serving young athletes, always prioritizing the needs of the league over his own and never seeking individual praise. His philosophy remains rooted in the fundamental value of hometown youth sports, the character-building lessons they provide, and the opportunities they create for children to grow in confidence.
Tony was surprised Sunday with the honorable recognition.
“Today was so special,” said his wife, Amanda Carnley DeGraaf. “Thank you, to everyone, that surprised Tony today with such an honorable recognition.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
