Tate, Jay Softball Disrict Championship Games Postponed Due To Weather
April 14, 2016
Softball district championships scheduled for tonight have been delayed to Friday night due to weather.
The Jay Royals and South Walton game has been moved to Friday at 6 p.m. at Northview in District 3-1A.
The Tate Lady Aggies and Pace at Escambia game has been moved to 6:30 p.m. Friday in District 1-7A.
Wahoos Lose To Jacksonville 2-1 In Nine
April 14, 2016
On paper it was a matchup of the top pitching prospects in the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins organizations.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos southpaw Amir Garrett and Jacksonville Suns lefty Jarlin Garcia delivered on the suggested pitching duel between the two No. 3 prospects in the Southern League Double-A match up.
In the end, though, the Jacksonville Suns pulled out a 2-1 victory Wednesday over Pensacola in a dramatic ninth inning when both teams scored all their runs at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Both teams are 5-2 on the season and tied with the Biloxi Shuckers for first place in the Southern League South Division.
Garrett struck out Jacksonville’s first four batters and got nine of the first 10 hitters out in his six shutout innings. He allowed only four hits and struck out seven.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s Garcia allowed a single in his 5.2 innings and struck out six Blue Wahoos before walking two batters in the sixth and being lifted for reliever Tyler Bremer.
Pensacola Manager Pat Kelly said the fireworks between the hurlers was to be expected.
“Garcia was good but Garrett was just as good, if not better,” Kelly said. “We had two pretty good lefties out there.”
Garrett said he has faced Garcia a few times during their minor league careers and was “pumped” to be facing him in his first game in front of the Blue Wahoos crowd.
“I was feeling really good tonight,” Garrett said. “I was pretty pumped up and wanted to make a statement.”
Long after the superb performances by Garrett and Garcia, Jacksonville first baseman Brady Shoemaker scored on a deep fly ball by third baseman Matt Juengel to Pensacola right fielder Tony Renda to make it, 1-0, in the top of the ninth inning.
Suns right fielder Moises Sierra then put Jacksonville up, 2-0, when he tagged from third on a line drive by second baseman James Roberts to left fielder Phillip Ervin, who barely missed throwing Sierra out at the plate.
The game looked over but Pensacola came back to load the bases. Blue Wahoos first baseman Ray Chang hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Ervin from third base, pulling the Blue Wahoos within one run, 2-1, with two outs.
Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson, who had a single, walk and double in his first three at bats, then hit a chopper to third that looked like it was heading to left field. However, the Suns third baseman Juengel cut it off, stumbled but made a force out at second in the nick of time to end the game.
“This team shows a lot of grit,” Kelly said. “They came right back at the end.”
Wahoos Open At Home With 4-3 Win Over Jacksonsville
April 13, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos first baseman Donald Lutz made up for his slow start to the 2016 season.
He was the hero in the Blue Wahoos sold out season opener at home Tuesday when he slapped a screaming groundball to right field in the fifth inning to score two runners and give Pensacola a 4-3 victory over the visiting Jacksonville Suns 
at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Lutz said it was comforting playing in front of the Blue Wahoos fifth straight season opening sellout crowd. He went 0-15 with nine strikeouts, including striking out five times in five at bats Monday against the Mississippi Braves the day before. But against the Suns, Lutz got some extra work in the batting cage before the game.
“It’s baseball,” Lutz said. “I’m a big believer that it doesn’t matter if you get angry and throw stuff. You can’t get too high or too low.”
He enjoyed breaking out of his slump with two singles in three at bats and the game-winning hit. “When you take the lead it gives you a little phhhh (relief). It loosens you up a little bit.”
The Wahoos came back and scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth off of Esch and chased him from the game.
Lutz had the big hit when his two-out single scored both Amaral and Vincej to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 4-2. Pin-Chieh Chen got the rally started with a lead-off walk and then scored the first run of the inning to tie the game, 2-2, when with the bases loaded Esch hit left fielder Phillip Ervin with a pitch.
Pensacola improved its record to 5-1 to remain atop the Southern League South Division.
Kelly said this game was a test to see how good the Wahoos are. Jacksonville entered the game with a 4-1 record, too.
“Playing another 4-1 club was a good challenge,” Kelly said. “I wanted to see how we would rise to the occasion.”
The game also featured the right field lights going out in the third inning. They never came back on. However, the umpires decided to continue the game when both team’s right fielders said they could still see the ball.
Jacksonville did get a run back in the sixth when second baseman Avery Romero singled to center field to score third baseman J.T. Riddle from second base.
The Suns loaded the bases in the eighth inning off Pensacola reliever Alejandro Chacin. But with one out, he struck out the final two batters to get out of the inning unscathed.
“Those were tremendous,” Kelly said. “That’s why we love this kid. He’s not afraid. If you’re going to pitch late in the game you can’t have any fear.”
The Blue Wahoos wasted little time to score the first run of the game, when center fielder Beau Amaral led off the first inning by pulling the ball over the right field wall into the Hill Kelly Hill area. Amaral went 2-4 with two runs scored and a solo home run.
Jacksonville shortstop Peter Mooney doubled to lead off the third inning, moved to third on a bunt single by pitcher Esch and scored on a fielder’s choice by center fielder Yefri Perez to tie the game, 1-1.
Northview Out Of District Tourney, Series Continues Tonight
April 12, 2016
The Northview Chiefs were knocked out of the District 3-1A softball tournament Monday night at the hands of Freeport, 8-1 at Northview.
The season is also over for Baker after the Gators lost to Chipley Monday night. In Tuesday’s game, #2 seed South Walton will play Chipley at 5:00 and #1 Jay will take on Freeport at 7:00.
Pensacola Rains On Mississippi’s Day To Capture Series
April 12, 2016
More than two hours of rain delays couldn’t stop the Pensacola Blue Wahoos bats from belting out 13 hits to defeat the Mississippi Braves, 5-1, at Trustmark Park in Pearl, MS.
The Blue Wahoos won the opening-season series by taking four of the five games with stellar pitching and clutch hitting. Pensacola, which is in first place in the South Division at 4-1, leads the Southern League in team ERA at 1.88.
Pensacola took the lead for good, 2-1, in the sixth inning after the second rain delay. The Wahoos went ahead when center fielder Phillip Ervin singled, stole second and then scored on second baseman Brandon Dixon’s line drive single.
The Blue Wahoos then padded its lead with three more runs in the seventh inning. Right fielder Sebastian Elizalde led off the inning with a triple to right field and catcher Chad Wallach singled to left to drive him in to put Pensacola ahead, 3-1.
Shortstop Zach Vincej then doubled to left field to bring in Wallach, giving the Blue Wahoos a 4-1 lead. Vincej scored for the second time in the game when third baseman Eric Jagielo knocked him in again with a doubled to right field, making it a 5-1 game.
Jagielo, who went 2-5 with two doubles and two RBIs, doubled to drive in Vincej, who had singled, in the third inning to put the Blue Wahoos on the scoreboard first, 1-0.
Vincej capitalized by going 3-5 and scoring twice Monday and hitting .381 for the series.
Meanwhile, Jagielo, a 2013 first round draft pick by the New York Yankees who came over to the Cincinnati Reds in a trade for closer Aroldis Chapman, drove in six RBIs and clobbered Pensacola’s only homer in the series.
The Blue Wahoos also learned as thought that they have a strong rotation. This time it was Rookie Davis, who showed why his high school retired his number 24, when he shutout Mississippi through four innings. The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder mowed down the lineup in order twice and started the game by getting the first five Braves hitters out.
Davis earned his first victory for the Blue Wahoos this season, allowing just one earned run on four hits and two walks, and striking out four.
Mississippi finally got to Davis in the fifth inning, tying the game, 1-1. With two out in the fifth inning shortstop Ozzie Albies doubled. Albies, who hit .364 in the five-game series, then scored when Pensacola shortstop Vincej dove and knocked down a sharp grounder by left fielder Dustin Peterson but failed to hang on to the ball, allowing Albies to score from second.
It then started to rain, stopping the game for the second time and lasting more than an hour.
Pictured: A rain delay Tuesday in Pearl, MS. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
McGahan Signs Cross Country Scholarship With Southeastern University
April 11, 2016
Northview High School senior Moriah McGahan has signed a cross country scholarship with Southeastern University in Lakeland. She is the daughter of Greg and Candy McGahan of Molino. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Clinch Five Game Series Over Braves
April 11, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly likes his talented young starters but one of his hurlers that stood out to him before the season started was 21-year-old Jackson Stephens.
Stephens put himself on the radar of Blue Wahoos fans by striking out a career high nine batters Sunday to lead Pensacola to a 4-2 victory at Trustmark Park in Pearl, MS. The right hander’s first victory in his Double-A debut helped the Wahoos to a 3-1 lead to clinch its season-opening five-game series with the Braves that ends Monday.
Stephens, who’s from Oxford, Ala., and has fished Pensacola’s waterways in the past, tied his career high in strikeouts in the fourth inning with eight when he whiffed Mississippi left fielder Dustin Peterson to start the inning. He then set a new career high at nine when he struck out Braves center fielder Sean Godfrey three batters later.
Stephens struck out the side in order in the second inning and then recorded three more strikeouts in the third inning. He left the game in the 5th inning having allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks.
In a shaky first inning in which the first two batters singled off him, Stephens benefited from Blue Wahoos catcher Joe Hudson, who threw out both runners trying to steal second base. Hudson entered the season as the Cincinnati Reds best defensive catcher by Baseball America.
Blue Wahoos third baseman Eric Jagielo, who hit Pensacola’s first home run of the season Sunday, gave Pensacola a 4-2 cushion in the ninth inning when his sacrifice fly scored Beau Amaral from third. Amaral started the inning with a double.
Pensacola went ahead, 3-2, in the sixth inning when pinch hitter Brandon Dixon drove in right fielder Sebastian Elizade, who was hit by a pitch, on a deep fly ball to center field.
The Blue Wahoos scored first when third baseman Eric Jagielo smacked a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to put Pensacola up 2-0. Jagielo’s homer to center knocked in shortstop Zach Vincej, who had singled to shortstop and advanced to second on a throwing error by Ozzie Albies.
The Braves evened up the game, 2-2, in the bottom of the fourth inning when catcher Willians Astudillo doubled to center with two outs to drive in first baseman Jacob Shrader and third baseman Carlos Franco. Schrader was hit by a pitch and Franco walked.
The Blue Wahoos bats have come alive in the series, with 11 hits on Saturday and nine on Sunday. Leading Pensacola at the plate Sunday were Jagielo who was 2-4 with three RBIs, second baseman Tony Renda who went 3-4 and Amaral who was 2-5 with a double and scored a run.
The Pensacola bullpen also performed well against the Braves. El’Hajj Muhammad threw two hitless innings and struck out two in relief of Stephens. Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos reliever Carlos Gonzalez allowed one hit in two innings of work and set the Braves down 1-2-3 on strikeouts in the ninth to earn his first save of the season.
Tate Lady Aggies Support The Miracle League
April 10, 2016
The Tate High School Lady Aggies showed their love and support Saturday morning as they served as “buddies” for the players at the Miracle League of Pensacola. The Miracle League is for disabled and special needs persons of all ages. Some of the players are in wheelchairs and walkers. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com., click to enlarge.
Wahoos Pull Out 5-4 Win in 13 Innings
April 10, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos came from two runs down to overcome the Mississippi Braves, 5-4, Saturday in 13 innings at Trustmark Park in Pearl, MS.
Minor league veteran Ray Chang scored the winning run for Pensacola in the top of the 13th inning, showing rare speed for a 32-year-old as he scored from second base. Chang led off the inning with a line-drive single to centerfield and scored when Pin-Chieh Chen smacked a ball to left field that was mishandled by Mississippi’s Dustin Peterson.
The Blue Wahoos now lead the five-game series, 2-1.
It looked as if Pensacola would win the game in the 12th inning when Tony Renda, Baseball America’s No. 12 prospect in the Washington Nationals’ chain last season, lined a two-out double into right field. He drove in both centerfielder Beau Amaral and shortstop Zach Vincej to give Pensacola a 4-2 lead over the Braves.
But Mississippi came right back with two runs of its own in the bottom of the 12th off of Pensacola reliever Kyle McMyne. Braves center fielder Matt Lipka scored when Renda committed an error on first baseman Levi Hyam’s grounder to second.
Mississippi’s third baseman Emerson Landoni then singled to left field to score Peterson to tie the game again, 4-4.
But with the bases loaded and one out, Blue Wahoos reliever Kyle McMyne got a strike out and ground out to work out of the 12th inning. Mississippi stranded 31 runners on base during the Southern League game.
McMyne ended up getting the win, his first of the season, and Alejandro Chacin was credited with his first save for the Blue Wahoos.
The Blue Wahoos had tied the score, 2-2, in the sixth inning to send the game into extra innings. First baseman Ray Chang smashed a grounder up the middle to center field that scored second baseman Tony Renda, who hit a ground-rule double to left center.
Mississippi got on the scoreboard first in the first inning when right fielder Jody Lara hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored shortstop Ozzie Albies from third base.
The Braves upped its lead, 2-0, in the third inning when Lipka doubled to center field and then scored on Hyams’ groundball to shortstop.
But the Blue Wahoos fought back to score a run and cut Mississippi’s lead to, 2-1, in the fifth inning when center fielder Beau Amaral singled sharply to right field to score Pin-Chieh Chen, who walked, from second base.
Sal Romano, the Cincinnati Reds No. 9 prospect according to Baseball America, pitched 5.1 inning and allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out three batters.
Meanwhile, Mississippi starter Sean Newcomb gave up one run in five innings on four hits and two walks, and he struck out five.
Senior Night: Northview Beats Chipley In Eight
April 9, 2016
Roman Manning drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 8th inning for the Northview Chiefs on Senior Night to defeat the Chipley Tigers 6-5.
Northview started off hot Friday night with four runs in the first inning to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Chipley, ranked #4 in 1A in Florida, cut into the lead in the 4th inning with two runs in the top half of the inning, but the Chiefs responded with one in the bottom of the 4th for a 5-2 lead. Chipley added one run in the 6th inning and two runs in the 7th inning to tie the game at 5-5 and force the extra inning.
Leading hitters for the Chiefs were Quentin Sampson (2-5, 1 RBI); Zach Payne (1-1, 1 RBI, 1 run); Jared Aliff (1-2, 1 RBI); Roman Manning (1-4, 1 RBI, 1 run); Thomas Moore (1-3); Seth Killam (1-3, 2 runs, including the game-winning run). John Chivington and Devin Stabler also had a run each for Northview.
Daniel Mascaro earned the win for Northview, throwing one inning and allowing no hits or no runs. Thomas Moore threw seven innings, striking out 10 batters while allowing five hits and five runs.
Northview improved to 7-9 on the season and 4-6 in the district. The Chiefs finished tied for #3 in District 3-1A, but a tiebreaker will move them to the #4 seed in the upcoming district tournament.
Northview returns to action in their regular season finale Tuesday at Laurel Hill.
Pictured: Northview seniors and their parents (L-R) Jacob Dunsford, Zach Holland and Roman Manning. Not pictured: Thomas Moore. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.