Wahoos Open With Loss To Biloxi
April 10, 2015
Pensacola hosted its second historic season opening game in its four years of existence. This time, it was the Biloxi Shuckers first game in history and the city’s first game since 1908 – nearly 107 years ago.
The Shuckers earned its first Southern League win, 4-0, Thursday against the Blue Wahoos, thanks to shortstop Orlando Arcia’s double that knocked in two runs in the top of the third inning. The Wahoos managed just three hits in the loss.
The Shuckers scored its first runs in the third to go ahead 2-0. That’s when the Brewers’ No. 2 prospect Arcia, who was 3-4 with two doubles and three runs batted in, lined a shot over Blue Wahoos right fielder Kyle Waldrop that drove in both Biloxi’s Adam Weisenburger and Kyle Wren.
The Shuckers added another run in the 6th when Michael Reed smashed a single off Pensacola reliever Chad Rogers down the third base line that scored Arcia for a 3-0 lead. Arcia singled in the 9th inning to score Josh Fellhauer, a former Wahoos player, to put the Shuckers ahead, 4-0.
Blue Wahoos Manager Pat Kelly said he doesn’t envy the Shuckers’ extended road trip.
“That’s a really long time,” Kelly said. “They will either be really close or fighting all the time.”
Biloxi’s road game – Pensacola’s 105th sellout in its history – was the first of 55 scheduled over the next two months for the Milwaukee Brewers’ Double-A affiliate. The team will spend 60 straight nights in a hotel in nine different cities reached by bus.
It’s one of the longest road trips in recent history after the franchise moved from Huntsville, Ala., to Biloxi in the offseason. Its home opener is tentatively scheduled June 6 in downtown Biloxi.
Just how excited were Shuckers fans for the team’s season opener? Interim Mayor Kenny Glavan showed up in a Biloxi jersey and threw out the first pitch with Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward.
“This is a historic day for Biloxi just as it was for Pensacola when they had their first opening day (in 2012),” Glavan said. “We look forward to a great relationship.”
Asked before the game who was going to win, Glavan, a likely mayoral candidate, sounded like a true politician: “It will be really competitive and the best team is going to win,” he said.
The Reds top prospect Robert Stephenson welcomed the Shuckers to Pensacola with five straight fastballs in the 95 mph range. He ended up striking out Wren, Milwaukee’s 19th best prospect.
Stephenson, who had his 80-mph change up working, too, fanned Wren again in the 5th and had seven total in 5.2 innings. He gave up four hits, two walks and three earned runs.
Stephenson said he’s happy with the way his change up looked.
“I was a little bit amped up and that’s when I ran into trouble,” Stephenson said.
He also promised the Blue Wahoos would not pop champagne over the Shuckers first franchise victory.
“I can’t tell you we will be celebrating that,” he said smiling.
The second game of the five-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Friday. RHP Daniel Wright makes his Double-A debut as he takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by the Shuckers RHP Tyler Wagner.
Northview, Jay To Meet In Spring Game
April 9, 2015
The Northview Chiefs and the Jay Royals will meet in a Spring Football Game next month.
The game will come at the end of the three weeks allowed for spring training. It will be held May 22 at 7 p.m. in Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium on the Northview campus in Bratt.
Last season, Northview beat Jay 55-20 in Bratt.
Pictured: Last year’s Jay at Northview game. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FHSAA Announces New Track And Field, Cross Country Classifications
April 8, 2015
The Florida High School Athletic Association state series assignments were announced Tuesday for track and field, and cross country for the 2015-16 through 2018-19 school years. Local schools were assigned as follows:
Class 3A
Fall 2014 student population: 1,526-2,094
DISTRICT 1
Escambia (Pensacola)
Gulf Breeze
Milton
Pace
Pensacola
Pine Forest (Pensacola)
Tate (Cantonment)
Washington (Pensacola)
Class 2A
Fall 2014 student population: 493-1,525
DISTRICT 1
Arnold (Panama City Beach)
Bay (Panama City)
Chipley (track & field only)
North Bay Haven (Panama City)
Northview (Bratt)
Pensacola Catholic
Rutherford (Panama City)
South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach)
Walton (DeFuniak Springs)
West Florida (Pensacola)
Class 1A
Fall 2014 student population: 11-493
DISTRICT 1
Baker
Central (Milton)
Freeport
Jay
Laurel Hill (cross country only)
Paxton
Pensacola Christian
Rocky Bayou Christian (Niceville)
Baseball: Northview Beats Jay; Navarre Tops Tate
April 8, 2015
BASEBALL
Northview 5, Jay 4 (8 inn.)
The Northview Chiefs defeated in the Jay Royals 5-4 Tuesday in an eight-inning district battle. The Royals will travel to Rocky Bayou Thursday, while the Chiefs will host Chipley in a district game.
Navarre 7, Tate 4
The Tate Aggies lost a road game to Navarre Tuesday, 7-4. Sawyer Smith was 1-3. Marker Miller was 2-4, Logan McGuffey was 1-3. The Aggies are on the road again Thursday against district opponent Niceville.
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs beat the Jay Royals in 8 innings Tuesday in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Softball: Jay Beats Laurel Hill; West Florida Over Pace
April 8, 2015
SOFTBALL
Jay 13, Laurel Hill 3 (5 inn.)
The Jay Royals beat Laurel Hill 13-3 Tuesday in Jay. The Lady Royals will host the Lady ‘Canes of Flomaton Thursday afternoon.
West Florida 11, Pace 6
Pictured: The Lady Royals of Jay beat Laurel Hill Tuesday. Photos by Diann Tagert for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Targets October For Black Bear Hunt
April 7, 2015
The state this October would open its first black-bear hunting season in two decades, under a set of rules that will be reviewed next week.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has proposed that about 275 black bears be killed in mid-October as part of a two-pronged effort to control the woodland creatures and reduce the risk of dangerous interactions between bears and the state’s growing population.
Along with the proposal about reducing the bear population through a one-bear-per-hunter hunt, the commission during an April 14 meeting at Florida A&M University also will consider rules about the proper maintenance of garbage containers for businesses and homeowners. Bears are often attracted to populated areas by garbage.
The commission could vote on the changes during a June meeting.
Diane Eggeman, director of the commission’s Division of Hunting and Game Management, said the hunt is simply another step in managing the bear population.
“The bear population has grown for the last 15 years or 20 years, steadily and pretty rapidly, based upon all the information that we have,” Eggeman said. “So our job, of the agency, is to manage that growing population and the best tool to manage that population growth across the board is to use hunting.”
The feeding rules for bears are intended to clarify when people might be in violation for repeatedly failing to secure garbage cans or dumpsters.
The call to re-implement the hunt follows a number of bear attacks that occurred across Central Florida the past couple of years.
However, the proposal is opposed by the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida and the Humane Society of the United States.
Kate MacFall, the Humane Society’s Florida director, said the state is only listening to a handful of “trophy hunters” instead of doing more to make people aware of bears and to enforce codes regarding trash containment.
“We don’t think we need to decrease the bear population, we need to reduce the conflicts for everyone’s benefit,” MacFall said.
She also questioned how the hunt will reduce conflicts.
“The bears being hunted are the big bears deep in the woods, because you can’t go hunting in the neighborhoods. That’s not how it works,” MacFall said. “Those deep in the woods, those are not the problem bears. And the bears going into human trash are the problem. And those are the ones not being hunted.”
Eggeman responded that the hunt is needed to keep the bear population in check.
“The more the (bear) population grows, the more likely bears move out of the wildlife and into neighborhoods,” Eggeman said.
While the current number of black bears in Florida is an estimate, Eggeman noted that Florida is the only state that has more than 600 but doesn’t have a hunting season.
Florida has an estimated 2,500 black bears in the four regions of the state — the eastern Panhandle, Northeast Florida, east-central Florida and South Florida — where the hunts would be conducted. Each area had more than 200 bears by a 2002 estimate.
Black bears were placed on the state’s threatened list in 1974, when there were between 300 and 500 across Florida. At the time, hunting black bear was limited to three counties.
In 1994, the hunting season was closed statewide.
By 2002, the state black-bear population was estimated at 3,000. A decade later the bear was removed from the state’s list of threatened animals.
Meanwhile, the state has recorded a 400 percent increase in bear-related calls over the past decade.
This year, the hunt would begin Oct. 24 and continue for a week. However, the number of days could be shortened if the “harvest objective” is reached in fewer days.
“The season timing would coincide with high bear activity and before denning begins,” a commission staff presentation on bear hunting says. “Cubs would be old enough to be independent. This timing was chosen to avoid overlap with deer-dog hunting or training seasons.”
The cost for a bear permit is proposed at $100 for Floridians, $300 for non-Florida residents. The daytime hunts would be prohibited within 100 yards of any game-feeding station. Hunters would be allowed to use bows, crossbows, muzzle loading guns, rifles, pistols, revolvers and shotguns. Dogs would be prohibited from hunting bear, but leashed canines could be used to trail shot bears.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: A black bear at the Wild Oak Farms Apartments in Cantonment in 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Volleyball Tryouts, Open Gym Dates Scheduled
April 6, 2015
Northview High School volleyball tryouts will be held later this month, and a series of “open gym” dates beginning this week will provide practice time.
Open Gym will be held April 8, 19, 14 and 17 from 3:30 until 4:30 p.m. Attendance is not required.
Tryouts will be held April 27 and 28 from 3:30 until 5:00 in the Northview gym.
A current sports physical is required before tryouts or open gym. For more information, contact Mrs. Luker at the school.
Northview Tops Freeport; Tate Earns Two Wins
April 4, 2015
Tate 14, South Pointe 6
Tate 2, Lewisville, SC 1
Tate 4, Pace 3 (JV)
The Tate Aggies added number 17 to the win column with a 14-6 win over South Pointe. Trace Penton pitched the win. Branden Fryman was 2-4 with a RBI, Mark Miller was 3-5 with 6 RBIs, Logan Blackmon 2-4, 2B and RBI. Win number 16 earlier in the day for the Aggies came with a 2-1 defeat of Lewisville, SC. Michael Sherrill earned the save. Hunter Worley was 1-2 with 2 RBI, Sawyer Smith 2-3, two 2B. Aggies will face Clover, SC, on Saturday.
Northview 5, Freeport 4
The Northview Chiefs beat the Freeport Bulldogs 5-4 in a district game Saturday. The Chiefs are next set to face district rival Jay at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Jay.
Pictured: Northview beat Freeport on Friday. Photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Beats SC Team; Tate JV Over Northview; Jay Softball Over Baker In Six
April 3, 2015
Tate 5, Fort Mill (SC) 3
Tate 2, Northview 0 (JV)
On a long spring break road trip, the Tate Aggies beat Fort Mill (SC) 5-2 Thursday. Mark Miller pitched the win for the Aggies striking out four. Miller was 2-3 with an RBI for the Aggies. Branden Fryman was 2-4 with a run, Cole Halfacre was 2-4 with a RBI, Hunter Worley 2-3, Josh Kean 1-3 with a run, and Jacob Saulnier 1-4 wit ha RBI.
SOFTBALL
Jay 13, Baker 2 (6 innings)
The Jay Royals beat the Baker Gators 13-2 in district softball Thursday night. Dana Blackmon pitched six, striking out five, and going 4-4 at the plate. Michaela Stewart 2-4, 2R, RBI; Harley Tagert 2-3, 2R, RBI; Samantha Steadham 1-3, 3R, 2B, RBI; Destiny Herring 1-4, 2R, 2B, RBI. The Lady Royals will host Laurel Hill on Tuesday.
Pictured top: Samantha Steadham at bat for the Lady Royals Thursday at Baker High School. Pictured inset: Dana Blackmon pitched the win in six and went 4-4 at the plate. Photos by Diann Tagert for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Beats PCA; Jay Gets Four-Homer Win Over Holmes
April 1, 2015
BASEBALL
Northview 12, PCA 1
The varsity Northview Chiefs beat Pensacola Christian Academy in Pensacola Tuesday 12-1. The Chiefs will take a week break before their next game on April 7 as they host the Jay Royals in a district game.
SOFTBALL
Jay 7, Holmes County 5
Destiny Herring and Samantha Steadham each had a home run for the Royals, and Emily Dobson had two including a two-run homer for the win in the seventh. Herring pitched seven for Jay, striking out three. The Royals will travel to Baker on Thursday.
Pictured: Northview at Pensacola Christian Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
