Braves Beat The Wahoos
May 29, 2015
Mississippi Braves pitcher Tyrell Jenkins loaded the bases in the first two innings against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in Thursday’s game at Trustmark Park.
But the Atlanta Braves No. 9 prospect according to MLB.Pipeline.com got out of both jams by allowing just two runs and the Braves went on to win the game, 4-2, ending Pensacola’s two game winning streak.
Jenkins loaded the bases by walking the first three Blue Wahoos he faced. Seth Mejias-Brean singled with one out to right field to score Zach Vincej to put Pensacola ahead, 1-0.
In the second inning, he loaded them again on singles by Pensacola catcher Cam Maron and center fielder Beau Amaral and a walk.
However, Jenkins benefited from a double play on a sacrifice fly by Zach Vincej that scored Maron, putting Pensacola up, 2-0.
Mississippi scored all of four of its runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to improve Jenkins’ record to 4-2 on the year with a 3.00 ERA. The tall righty from Texas pitched five innings, allowing four hits, two runs, five walks and five strikeouts, including top Pensacola hitter Kyle Waldrop with the bases loaded in the first.
The Braves loaded the bases in the fifth and right fielder David Rohm drove in two with a one-out single to center, which tied the game 2-2. Then with two out, second baseman Corban Joseph doubled to left field to score two more and give Mississippi a 4-2 lead.
Amaral led the Blue Wahoos lineup, going 2-4 and is now 3-9 in the first two games of the five-game series with Mississippi with a run scored and his fifth stolen base of the year.
Pensacola fell to 21-26 on the year, while Mississippi improved to 25-21 in the Southern League South Division.
Ryan Wright pinch hit in the eighth inning and flied out to end his hitting streak at 10 games. Wright batted .326 (15-46) with eight RBIs and two doubles during his streak.
Mejias-Brean is hitting .361 (22-61) in the past 16 games after going 1-4, and knocking in his 20th run of the season.
Tate’s Perkins Named Florida’s 7A Player Of Year; Wyatt Coach Of Year
May 28, 2015
Tate High School’s Tori Perkins has been named the Class 7A softball player of the year, and Tate coach Melinda Wyatt has been named the 7A coach of the year by the Florida Dairy Farmers.
Perkins was a member of this year’s Class 7A state championship team. She has committed to the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Wyatt coached that Class 7A state championship team. She had been at Tate for 11 years.
Pictured: Tori Perkins (L) shortly after Tate won the Class 7A softball championship, and Coach Melinda Wyatt (right) tosses a ceremonial first pitch for the Blue Wahoos Monday night. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Beat Mississippi Braves In 14 Innings
May 28, 2015
Ray Chang was rewarded for his hot hitting for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos by batting third in the lineup on the road against the Mississippi Braves Wednesday.
The 31-year-old, who has played 11 years in the minors, rewarded Pensacola manager Pat Kelly’s confidence with a double in the top of the 14th inning that scored second baseman Ryan Wright and led to a three-run rally.
Pensacola held on for the victory, 7-5, at Trustmark Park after Mississippi added a run in the bottom of the 14th inning and the Blue Wahoos came from behind for its second straight win.
Chang made a case for staying third in the Pensacola lineup tomorrow, after Wednesday’s performance against Mississippi, going 3-6, with a double, walk, two runs scored and two RBIs.
Chang, who is playing first base, is now hitting .383 in May (18-47) for the Blue Wahoos and .339 this season to lead all Pensacola hitters. He now has seven RBIs on the season.
Pensacola gained a game on Mississippi in the Southern League South Division, improving to 21-25 on the year. The Braves fell to 24-21 in the South.
Blue Wahoos center fielder Beau Amaral drove a sacrifice fly to deep center in the eighth inning with the bases loaded that scored Seth Mejias-Brean from third to tie the game at, 4-4, and send it to extra innings.
Pensacola has also scored one in the seventh to pull within, 4-3, when Chang singled to right field to score Amaral. Amaral reached first on an infield single to third and then stole second base, his fifth steal of the season.
Mississippi went ahead, 4-2, in the sixth inning when shortstop Eric Garcia tripled to drive in third baseman Rio Ruiz with the first run and then pinch hitter David Rohm singled to right to score Garcia.
Wright also has continued his hot hitting extending his hitting streak to 10 games, going 2-6 with a walk and a run. Wright is batting .326 (15-46) with eight RBIs and two doubles during the streak.
Mejias-Brean is hitting .368 (21-57) the past 15 games after going 2-5, scoring a run and knocking in a run, his 19th of the year. Right fielder Kyle Waldrop (2-5) also knocked in two runs and is tied for seventh in the Southern League with 28 RBIs.
Wahoos Recognize State Champion Tate Lady Aggies
May 26, 2015
The Class 7A softball state champion Tate Lady Aggies were recognized Monday evening by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. They also had the opportunity to meet golfer and Wahoos minority owner Bubba Watson, and Tate Coach Melinda Wyatt tossed out a ceremonial first pitch. Photos by Barrett McClean Photography for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Clinch Series Against Jackson
May 26, 2015
If you believe 11-year veteran minor leaguer Ray Chang, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos victory over the Jackson Generals was never in doubt.
Trailing 6-0 after four innings, the 31-year-old Chang and his teammates just had a feeling they weren’t going to lose.
With four runs in the eighth, Pensacola pulled out an improbable, 8-7, series clinching win over the Generals in front of 4,149 fans at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium on Memorial Day.
Kyle Skipworth scored on a wild pitch thrown by Jackson reliever Matt Anderson to score the winning run, after Ryan Wright had tied the game, 7-7, with a one-out, bases loaded double into the gap in right center.
“We looked at each other after (pitcher) Wandy (Peralta) got hurt and the game had a weird feeling to it,” said Chang, who went 2-4 with two singles and scored twice. “We just looked at each other and knew we were going to win this ball game. It was such a great feeling to come back from that deficit.”
Chang is now hitting .366 in May (15-41) for the Blue Wahoos and .321 this season to be among the Pensacola hitting leaders.
The win improved the Blue Wahoos to 20-25 on the season headed into a crucial 10-game road trip against Mississippi Braves and Mobile BayBears, who lead the Blue Wahoos in the Southern League South Division standings.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said his team needed Monday’s victory after losing the past two games on late-inning heroics by Jackson. The Blue Wahoos scored four runs in the fourth to cut the lead and then four more in the eighth to win it.
“That’s why you play nine innings,” Kelly said. “Wandy gets the first two outs on four pitches and then loses it.”
In fact, Peralta ended up allowing four runs on three hits, two walks and an error in the first inning. The big hit came by left fielder Dario Pizzano who singled in Jordy Lara and D.J. Peterson.
However, in the top of the third inning Jackson center fielder Gabby Guerrero, who’s eighth inning single gave the Generals a, 6-5, win Sunday night, led off with a bullet off of Peralta’s left pitching hand. He threw some test pitches after a walk around the infield but Kelly called in reliever Layne Somsen.
Somsen pitched four innings giving up four hits, three walks and two runs, including a solo blast by Jabari Blash to left field to lead off the sixth inning that made the score, 7-4.
“(Peralta) felt like he could pitch but that’s a very valuable left arm,” Kelly said. “I didn’t feel like it was worth it.”
Chang was the instigator of getting shaving cream all over Wright in the post-game celebration when he walked off the field. Wright, who went 2-5 with a double and drove in three runs, has a nine game hitting streak. Wright is batting .325 (13-40) with eight RBIs two doubles.
Wright ended the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 0-22 hitless streak with the bases loaded Sunday and then got a double again Monday with the bases loaded for the Blue Wahoos, who are now 2-28.
“He has been so clutch all year,” Chang said.
Kelly said lucky for the Blue Wahoos the wind shifted around the sixth inning carrying Wright’s ball away from the Generals’ Guerrero in center and more to right toward Lara where it dropped in.
“If he drove the ball to right center with the wind blowing in we might not have scored,” Kelly said. “Guerrero was catching everything. But Lara didn’t have a good jump on it.”
Jackson Beats Pensacola Again
May 25, 2015
One of the reasons the Pensacola Blue Wahoos are two-games above .500 in May is that they never stop trying to score more runs.
It’s what first year manager Pat Kelly said he likes about his team that’s 19-25 and in fourth place in the Southern League South Division. The Blue Wahoos are now 13-11 in May, after starting April 6-14.
“The thing I really like about this team is the way we keep coming back,” Kelly said. “That’s something you didn’t see the first month.”
The Blue Wahoos fell a run short Sunday, 6-5, to the Jackson Generals in front of 4,502 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
However, Pensacola came right back in the seventh to tie the game, 5-5, when catcher Kyle Skipworth hit a deep fly ball to right field to score first baseman Marquez Smith from third. Jackson scored its winning run in the eighth when center fielder Gabby Guerrero knocked a single to score third baseman Jody Lara.
One of the stars for Pensacola has been Seth Mejias-Brean, who is hitting .333 (16-48) the past 13 games after going 3-5 with an RBI and stolen base. He also turned a great double play flagging down a bad hop, stepping on third and whipping it to first.
“The toughest thing is keeping steady,” said Mejias-Brean, who’s now hitting .244 on the year. “You could be hitting the ball really well and still not get any hits. You could be hitting like crap and still go 3-for-3.”
Ryan Wright ended the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 0-22 hitless streak with the bases loaded when he singled sharply to center and scored both first baseman Ray Chang and shortstop Zach Vincej to put Pensacola up, 4-0, in the second inning. Although Pensacola had failed to produce a hit until Wright’s, it did have 10 RBIs before adding two more.
Wright has an eight game hitting streak, batting .314 (11-35). He has driven in five runs and doubled.
Kelly chafed when about the team’s batting average with the bases loaded, calling it an “overrated stat.”
“A lot of things don’t show up in the average,” he said, lobbying for a new statistic. “If you’re knocking in about 50-60 percent of runs with men on third, then you’re doing pretty good. Batting averages are evil anyway.”
Wahoos Blow Chance To Beat Jackson
May 24, 2015
He had won his last two starts and came close to a third before Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Robert Stephenson walked Jackson Generals right fielder Jabari Blash and was pulled after throwing 107 pitches.
In 4.2 innings of work, Stephenson did strike out a career-high 11 hitters. However, it was not enough by the Cincinnati Reds top prospect, to help Pensacola pull out another win against the Jackson Generals, falling 8-6, in 11 innings.
Pensacola kept clawing its way back into the game in front of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium—the 114th sellout in 225 home games. Pensacola has now won 11 of 16 games since May 7, and stands at 19-24 on the season.
Jackson went back on top, 7-6, in the 11th inning when Jabari Henry scored on catcher Marcus Littlehood’s double to the right field corner. They made it 8-6 when first baseman Dan Paolini was walked in by reliever Kevin Shackelford.
Stephenson walked five batters, including three straight in the first inning that led to the only two runs he gave up. He then fanned 11 of the final 13 outs. He gave up two hits in the game both to Generals leadoff batter Tyler Smith, who doubled and singled. He was 3-5 on the night with two doubles, two runs scored and one run batted in.
Stephenson appeared to protest being yanked by Pensacola manager Pat Kelly but was relieved by Blaine Howell, a Pensacola State College product.
“In the first inning, I’m trying to figure out the ump’s strike zone,” Stephenson said. “Definitely, aside from the first inning, I felt really good.”
Kelly was not happy with the Wahoos after the loss to the Generals.
“We’ve walked 25 guys in the last three nights we’ve played,” Kelly said. “We should just be thankful we won two out of three games.”
Blue Wahoos first baseman Marquez Smith tied the game in the ninth, 6-6, to send the game to extra innings when he hit a bouncer up the middle that scored center fielder Beau Amaral. Amaral led off the inning with a walk, the third leadoff walk in a row.
Jackson had gone ahead with a run in the bottom of the eighth, 6-5, when pinch runner Jabari Henry scored on reliever Carlos Gonzalez’s throwing error to first base on a sac bunt by catcher Marcus Littlehood.
Kelly said the Blue Wahoos simply squandered too many opportunities to win its third consecutive game, pointing to two failed sacrifice bunts during the game. In the bottom of the 11th the Blue Wahoos loaded the bases with two outs before Seth Mejias-Brean grounded out.
“We kept battling and kept battling,” Kelly said. “We had opportunities in lots of innings.”
Northview Takes On Jay In Spring Game (With Photo Gallery)
May 23, 2015
In the end, the scoreboard said the Northview Chiefs topped the Jay Royals 52-31 Friday night at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium in Bratt. The spring game started with a Northview 22-6 lead in the first half, which consisted mostly of the two team’s junior varsity or reserve players. The second half, which pitted varsity against varsity, Jay earned a 31-30 advantange.
“”We didn’t necessarily come into the game thinking we’d work it at a high tempo, but that’s what we did,” Northview Coach Sid Wheatley said following the win. He said while the Chiefs were on top, there’s still a long hot summer full of work before they are ready for the regular season in the fall.
“”We definitively have to clean some stuff up. We’ve got to get bigger, stronger, faster in the weight room and with our conditioning during summer,” he said.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Spring Football: Tate Over PFHS In OT; West Florida Beats Washington
May 23, 2015
The Tate Aggies beat the Pine Forest Eagles 20-14 in overtime Friday night. The Aggie took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 69-yard TD pass from Sawyer Smith to Jake Henry, and on a 70-yard touchdown run from LaDarryl Paige. The Eagles answered with two runs in the second quarter to tie it up 14-14. Tate’s win came in OT with a touchdown run from junior running back Corey Moorer .
The West Florida Jaguars won the varsity half of their spring game Friday night 35-0 over Washington High School. The JV Jaguars won the second half 55-0 over Washington.
Wahoos Top Generals
May 23, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos spotted Tim Adleman three runs and the tall righty handled the rest.
Adleman improved to 2-3 with a 1.41 ERA after throwing seven scoreless innings and now has given up one earned run in his last 25 innings. Pensacola won its second straight game against the Jackson Generals, 3-0, in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
“Everybody around me did a great job tonight,” Adleman said. “Three is enough. That’s the job as a starter to go out there and whether you’re given one or three or nine just keeping the other team off the board.”
Adleman benefited from four double plays in seven of the innings he pitched and in the other three he struck a batter out. Pensacola now leads the Southern League with 54 double plays.
“I was just keeping it interesting. Trying to keep people on the edge of their seats,” he said jokingly.
Pensacola has now won 11 of 15 games since May 7, and improved its record to 19-23 on the season.
Shortstop Zach Vincej hit a homer deep to left field in the second inning for a 2-0 Pensacola lead. It was Vincej’s second homer in three at bats over the first two games with Jackson. It’s the second most home runs for Vincej in a season in his four-year minor league career. He hit three for the Low A Dayton Dragons in 2013.
Catcher Kyle Skipworth then launched a 390-foot, solo shot to the left center gap, which put the Blue Wahoos on top, 3-0.
In the first inning, Blue Wahoos third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean dropped a two-out, line drive into center that scored second baseman Ryan Wright from third for a 1-0 lead. It was Mejias-Brean’s 12th consecutive game that he reached base safely.
Vincej, who has two homers and 5 RBIs on the season, said the team is finally starting to gel.
“Everybody is starting to click now. We’re starting to mold as a team, which is great,” he said.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly gave credit to the infield, and especially third baseman Juan Perez. Perez started three of the four double plays and handled nine grounders perfectly. The Generals leadoff hitter Tyler Smith did smash a hard sinking line drive off his glove and into left field in the eighth but it was ruled a hit.
“Perez was tremendous at third tonight,” Kelly said. “He looked like a natural tonight. He has a lot of flexibility and can play all nine positions.”