Chattanooga Beats The Blue Wahoos 7-4
May 4, 2017
Named the Southern League-MiLB Player of the Month for April, Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Tyler Mahle has had sharper games this season.
Although, the righty pitched a good game, the Cincinnati Reds’ No. 10 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.com, gave up season highs in hits (7), runs (3), walks (2) and tied his season-low for innings pitched (5), as the Chattanooga Lookouts rallied Wednesday from four runs down to win, 7-4, at AT&T Field.
Mahle turned the game over to reliever Alex Powers, who struck out five but gave up two solo home runs in his two innings of work that gave Chattanooga a, 5-4, lead that they never relinquished. Powers is 1-2 on the season with a 3.55 ERA.
Mahle gave up a homer — his first of the season — to Lookouts right fielder Edgar Corcino, his first of the year, in the fifth inning. The three earned runs raised the ERA of Mahle, who threw a nine-inning perfect game two starts ago, from 0.55 to 1.19.
Then Powers took over from Mahle and allowed solo shots to Chattanooga’s second baseman Nick Gordon, his second of the season, in the sixth inning and the game-winning blast to leftfielder LaMonte Wade, his third, in the seventh inning. Wade was 3-4 in the game with two runs scored.
Tyler Goeddel, who was playing his first game for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, scored two of the Blue Wahoos four runs in the game. The Cincinnati Reds moved Goeddel down from Triple-A Louisville Bats Wednesday to replace the injured Taylor Sparks, who was hit by a pitch in the palm of his hand and placed on the disabled list.
Goeddel, who played his 2016 season in the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies where he hit .192 in 56 outfield starts, was 1-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base.
Meanwhile, the Blue Wahoos had three starters with multi-hit games, including center fielder Gabriel Guerrero, who was 2-5 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. It was his 12th multi-hit game and fourth in the last five games.
Pensacola shortstop Blake Trahan was 2-4 with a walk, run and RBI, while first baseman Angelo Gumbs was 2-4 with a walk.
The Blue Wahoos went ahead, 4-0, of Chattanooga through the first four innings. Pensacola scored one run in the second inning when Guerrero scored on Alex Blandino’s single to centerfield. Guerrero then hit a double to left field in the third inning that drove in both Goeddel and Trahan. Finally, Trahan knocked in Goeddel on a single to right field.
Pensacola fell to 15-11 on the season but still owns first place in the Southern League South Division. Chattanooga evened its record to 13-13 in the North Division.
Northview, Jay Out of District Tournament
May 3, 2017
In the District 3-1A high school baseball tournament Tuesday, both Northview and Jay were eliminated. Chipley and South Walton will face off for the district championship.
Chipley 5, Northview 3
The Chipley Tigers eliminated the Northview Chiefs from the district tournament 5-3 Tuesday at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
Northview took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third and added two more runs in the top of the fifth before Chipley answered with five runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Wilson took the loss for Northview. He pitched two innings, surrendering four runs, four hits, striking out three, and walking zero. Mascaro started the game for Northview. He went for four innings, giving up one run, one hit, and striking out six.
For Northview: Quentin Sampson 1-4, R, 2B; Chandler Lowery 1-4; Jared Aliff 1-2, R, RBI; Zach Payne 1-3, RBI, 2B; Devin Stabler 2-3, R.
South Walton 9, Jay 5
Pictured: Northview takes on Chipley Tuesday in Niceville. NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Chiefs, Jay Earn Wins In District Tournament
May 2, 2017
In District 3-1A high school baseball Monday:
Northview 10, Baker 5
The Northview Chiefs beat the Baker Gators 10-5 Monday night at South Walton High School.
Quenton Sampson went 3-3 for the Chiefs with two runs, two RBIs and a home run. Also for the Chiefs: Zach Payne 1-3, 4 RBI, 2B; Josh Neese 2-3, 2R; Seth Killam 1-3, 2B; John Chivington 2 R; Devin Stabler 3 R.
Northview will next play Chipley at 5:00 Tuesday at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.
Jay 2, Freeport 1
The Jay Royals beat Freeport 2-1 in extra innings. Up next, Jay will take on South Walton.
Molino 16U Hot Shots Tops In Tournament
May 2, 2017
The Molino 16U Hot Shots won the 16U “B” mid-season tournament at Pace recently. The Hot Shots went undefeated in six games. Coaches are Karen Odom, Phillip Boutwell and Darrin Bridges. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win 4-1 Over Biloxi
May 2, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos right-hander Austin Ross threw seven scoreless innings and right fielder Aristides Aquino flashed why his nickname is “Punisher” when he crushed a solo homer out of Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The stars of Monday’s game helped Pensacola snap a four-game losing streak to the Biloxi Shuckers and pull out a, 3-1, victory in front of 3,459 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly also monkeyed with his batting order for the second night in a row, putting left fielder Leon Landry in the leadoff spot.
Kelly said winning the final game of the five-game series was important. They improved to 15-10 on the year and lead the Southern League South Division by four games over the other four teams in their division.
“There was a time when being 14-10 in the month we would be really excited,” Kelly said. “Now we’re kind of disappointed. You hate to get swept in a five-game series.”
Pensacola got on the scoreboard first when Aquino sent the ball speeding out of the ballpark over the right center fence in the second inning. The 22-year-old’s second home run of the season put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 1-0.
Pensacola centerfielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a fly ball deep to center field in the sixth inning that allowed Blue Wahoos shortstop Blake Trahan to tag up from third, giving Pensacola a 2-0 lead.
The Blue Wahoos scored for the third time in the eighth inning when second baseman Josh VanMeter hit a towering fly ball to center that allowed right fielder Leon Landry, who had a leadoff double, to score from third.
Kelly said he watched some video on the Internet of Landry playing in 2015 for the Tacoma Rainiers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
“He has really come on,” Kelly said of Landry, who is hitting .318 in his last six games after starting the season 0-18. “I’ve tried to find a place for him. I saw this really skinny guy running the bases and hitting home runs and thought, ‘he can do that for us.’”
Meanwhile, Pensacola starter Austin Ross cruised through seven scoreless innings, tying his career-high with nine strikeouts. The 28-year-old allowed a leadoff double to Biloxi second baseman Mauricio Dubon to start the game but then retired 12 of the next 13 benefited from two double plays that came in the second and sixth innings.
Ross, who played his previous seven seasons in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, allowed just three hits and two walks to improve his record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.79. That is the second highest ERA on the Pensacola pitching staff that features five hurlers with sub-1.00 earned-run averages.
“I’m sure he liked to get a little revenge” against his former team, Kelly said.
Ross said the pitching staff is constantly trying to top each other.
“People say hitting is contagious. Throwing the ball well is contagious,” said Ross, who spent the past two seasons in the Milwaukee organization as a reliever. “You want to go out there and throw six or seven scoreless innings. There’s a little bit of I want to have a good outing, too.”
Biloxi pitcher Angel Ventura also turned in a good start, working six innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking two and striking out three. He retired 11 in a row from the second through sixth innings.
Shuckers Beat The Wahoos
May 1, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly shook up his lineup Sunday to try to squeeze more hits and runs out of it.
It seemed like it would work with Pensacola ahead of the Biloxi Shuckers, 3-2, heading into the ninth inning in front of 4,301 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
But Blue Wahoos’ save leader Jimmy Herget blew his second chance to close out the game this season giving up a two-run double to Biloxi right fielder Clint Coulter to give the Shuckers their fourth straight win over Pensacola, 4-3.
Pensacola has now lost seven of its last eight games but still leads the South Division in the Southern League with a 14-10 record.
“We got nine hits and took the lead into the ninth,” Kelly said about his changed batting order. “We had a couple opportunities where we could have added on. “
Kelly put second baseman Josh VanMeter in the leadoff spot followed by right fielder Aristides Aquino. Shortstop Blake Trahan moved down in the order from first to sixth and third baseman Taylor Sparks batted cleanup.
The Blue Wahoos did score two runs in the first three innings to go ahead, 2-0.
In the first inning, VanMeter lead off with a double and came around to score on a double by Gabriel Guerrero whose hit landed just inside the left field foul line. VanMeter scored a second time in the third inning when he earned a leadoff walk. With the bases loaded and two outs Biloxi reliever Forrest Snow walked Trahan to force in VanMeter.
For the game, VanMeter was 2-4 with a double, walk and two runs scored and is now 8-18 or .444 in this series against Biloxi. In the two series against the Shuckers, he is 12-34 or .352.
“He’s a good hitter,” Kelly said. “In spring training, we liked the way he swung the bat. He keeps going up there and swinging the bat well.”
Biloxi rallied in the sixth inning to tie the game, 2-2, when Shuckers left fielder Dustin DeMuth doubled in third baseman Blake Allemand. Biloxi first baseman Art Charles then pulled a single to right field to score DeMuth with the tying run.
Biloxi had runners on second and third with one out in the third inning but Pensacola starter Deck McGuire, a former first-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010, struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning unscathed. He ended up retiring the next eight batters in a row, striking out five.
McGuire ended up pitching six innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking one and striking out seven. He is 1-1 with a 3.54 ERA this season.
“He battled out there,” Kelly said. “His command was off a little bit but was aggressive and stayed after guys. He kind of ran out of gas there.”
Pensacola left fielder Angelo Gumbs had knocked in catcher Adrian Nieto in the seventh inning with the go ahead run, 3-2, when he drilled a grounder into left field.
But Biloxi came back with two runs in the ninth off Herget, who picked up his first loss and is 0-1 with eight saves. He did have two strikeouts and now has 23 in 13 innings or 15.9 Ks per nine innings.
NEP’s Show Stoppers Win 16U Tournament
April 30, 2017
The Northeast Pensacola’s 16u Show Stoppers won the recent Gulf Coast Girls Softball Association Mid-Season 16u “A” Division Tournament held in Pace.
The Show Stoppers went 4-0, winning two games Saturday and two games on Sunday to bring the title back to NEP ball park. The girls played great defense and ran the bases aggressively in beating teams from Pace, Navarre, Perdido, and Gulf Breeze. The Annual GCGSA tournament has teams from 16 area ballparks, with over 70 teams participating in this year’s tournament. Next up for the association is three more weeks of friendship games and ending with the GCGSA All Star Tournament from June 2-4 at the Molino ballpark.
Pictured: (front, L-R) Savannah Marshall, Courtney Adams, Hannah Halfacre, Abbie Burks, Taylor Greene, (back row) Asst. Coach Greg Holland, Madison Holland, Brianna Folmar, Natasha Halfacre, Payten Showalter, Michayla Kent and Head Coach Eric Showalter. Not pictured: Asst. Coach Phillip Folmar and Mattie Cochran. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Falll To Biloxi In 15 Innings
April 30, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos loaded the bases in the 11th and 12th innings and had two runners in scoring position in the 14th inning but failed to get the winning run across the plate to break a 3-3 tie Saturday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Biloxi Shuckers loaded the bases in the top of the 15th inning and scored twice to pull off a, 5-3, victory in 5 hours and 11 minutes in front of the Blue Wahoos sixth sellout of 5,038 this season. Biloxi has won the first three games to clinch the five-game series against Pensacola.
The 15-inning game tied the Pensacola franchise record for the longest extra inning game at home in team history. It was also the longest game of the season, surpassing the 4 hour, 46 minute 17-inning loss to Mobile last week.
Biloxi scored its winning runs when reliever Domingo Tapia loaded the bases on three walks. The big righty then gave up a two-out walk to Biloxi catcher Dustin Houle, which scored center fielder Michael Reed and gave the Shuckers a 4-3 lead. Pitcher Bubba Derby then slapped a line drive single to left field to drive in right fielder Clint Coulter to go ahead, 5-3.
Up until the 15th inning, Pensacola’s relief corps retired 15 of 16 Biloxi hitters, only giving up a bunt single to Shuckers pinch hitter Johnny Davis in the 11th inning.
Not only did Derby, knock in a run to help his cause he worked the last five innings and struck out five of the last six batters he faced. Derby picked up his first win (1-0) and has a 1.59 ERA.
But the Biloxi reliever looked shaky at first. He worked out of bases loaded jams in the 11th and 12th innings and prevented Pensacola from scoring a run in the 14th with men on second and third.
In the 12th inning, Pensacola loaded the bases with left fielder Leon Landry smashing a one-out triple to the right center gap but didn’t score. And in the 11th inning with one out and the bases loaded Derby got first baseman Eric Jagielo to strike out and third baseman Taylor Sparks to pop out to short left field.
Pensacola second baseman Josh VanMeter hit a double into the right center gap with two outs that drove in both Sparks and shortstop Blake Trahan for a 3-2 Pensacola lead in the fifth inning. Van Meter also lined a two-out single to right field in the third inning that scored catcher Joe Hudson from third base to tie the game, 1-1.
VanMeter was 3-3 at bat with two outs and 2-2 Saturday with runners in scoring position and two outs. On the season, the 25-year-old is hitting 7-14 or .500 in that situation and has driven in nine of his 12 RBIs. It’s by far the best average with the team collectively hitting .200 with RISP and two outs.
However, Biloxi came back in the top of the sixth inning to knot the game, 3-3. Shuckers pinch hitter Art Charles launched a deep fly ball to center field that easily scored Biloxi left fielder Victor Roache from third base.
With the scored tied, 3-3, with two outs and a Biloxi runner on second base, Kelly called for righty Ariel Hernandez. Hernandez’s last outing was Monday when he made his Major League debut for the Cincinnati Reds where he pitched two scoreless innings and struck out five. He joined two other Reds’ relievers who struck out five in their big league debuts from the bullpen.
His combination of a fastball that touches 100 mph and a curveball considered the best among Reds’ farmhands pitched two innings of scoreless relief allowing one hit, two walks and struck out two.
Biloxi scored first, going up 1-0, when catcher Dustin Houle singled to left field in the third inning and then scored when first baseman Dustin DeMuth walked with the bases loaded. A bank of lights right of home plate went out during Biloxi’s at bat in the inning and delayed the game 15 minutes.
Pensacola starter Keury Mella worked five innings, allowed five hits, gave up two runs, one earned, walked three and struck out three. He had pitched seven scoreless innings in his last outing against Mobile. In his first start against Biloxi, the righty lasted just 1.2 innings giving up five runs on six hits.
The Blue Wahoos have now lost six of its last seven games and three in a row to the Shuckers but remain in first place in the Southern League South Division with a 14-9 record.
Biloxi Beats The Wahoos
April 29, 2017
For a change, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, who have the best ERA in the Southern League, lost the pitching duel against the Biloxi Shuckers Friday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos has lost five of its last six games and two in a row to the Shuckers, falling 1-0 to Biloxi in front of 4,465 fans.
Pensacola starter Luis Castillo worked six innings and gave up only one run in the first inning but picked up the loss to even his record, 1-1, even though, his ERA dropped to 2.08 on the season. He gave up seven hits and one walk and struck out four.
In his first five starts this season in Double-A, Castillo has lasted at least 5.0 innings and has allowed two runs or less in each game.
However, Biloxi right-hander Jorge Lopez was even better, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, and striking out 10 Blue Wahoos batters. He struck out five in a row and Lopez separately also retired 12 in a row.
On the night, Pensacola got just four hits and struck out 14 times as they got shutout for the second time this season.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said his hitters have to remain upbeat at the plate despite their struggles at the plate with a .210 team batting average, which is ninth in the Southern League.
“They got to stay positive because it’s a long season,” Kelly said. “This is a tough league. Some of the managers think the pitching is better this than last year. This is a tough league to hit in.”
Kelly pointed out the Pensacola offense has scored 66 runs in its 22 games this season but still has the second-best record in the Southern League at 14-8 and is in first place in the Southern Division.
He complimented 24-year-old Biloxi pitcher Lopez, who was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Year in 2015 when he went 12-5 with a 2.26 ERA. That year, Lopez even started two games for the parent club, Milwaukee Brewers. Last year, though, he was 3-11 between Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox and Biloxi.
Pensacola did have a chance to score in the seventh inning. Gabriel Guerrero, who was 2-4, got thrown out at third by Biloxi catcher Jacob Nottingham. Kelly argued the call because he thought the throw pulled Shuckers third baseman Blake Allemand off the bag on the close play. If Guerrero reached third safely, Pensacola would have had the bases loaded with no outs.
But Biloxi reliever Josh Uhen bore down and struck out the next two Pensacola batters to get out of the jam.
Biloxi scored first in the top of the first inning to go ahead, 1-0, when Allemand scored from third on a passed ball by Adrien Nieto. The Shuckers then loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk but Castillo go out of the jam on a fly ball to right field.
Tate Beats Escambia For District Title
April 28, 2017
The Tate High School Lady Aggies won their fourth straight district title Thursday night with a 3-0 defeat of Escambia’s Lady Gators.
Shelby McClean went 3-3 for the Lady Aggies with a run and two RBI’s. Syndni Solliday was 1-3.
Hannah Brown pitched a complete game for the Aggies, allowing one hit, no runs, no errors and striking out eight.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
