Suns Outshine Wahoos
August 12, 2013
Danny Pertusati drove in all four runs, including a two-run homer to give the Jacksonville Suns a 4-1 win over the Pensacola Blue on Sunday evening. Pensacola still won the series three games to two, but fell four games behind the Suns in the second half South Division standings.
An early pitcher’s duel between Carlos Contreras for Pensacola and Andrew Heaney for Jacksonville turned sour quickly in the fourth inning as Contreras yielded a lead-off single to Mark Canha and a two-run homer to Pertusati two batters later to make it 2-0. Those were the only two runs Contreras gave up in 5.1 innings, but he took the loss to fall to 1-2. Contreras scattered five hits while striking out seven and walking five (two intentional) in his outing.
Pertusati drove in his third run of the day with a bases-loaded RBI groundout in the seventh inning to make it 3-0 and added a fourth RBI with a safety squeeze against Shaun Ellis in the top of the ninth inning.
Heaney, meanwhile, made just one mistake on the day, a leadoff homer to Donald Lutz in the last of the seventh. It was Lutz’s seventh homer of the season. The southpaw prospect improved to 2-1 by allowing only a run on six hits with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings.
Pensacola will now look to regroup after an off day Monday when they welcome the Mississippi Braves to town for a five-game series starting on Tuesday night. Jon Moscot (1-0, 6.30) gets the call for Pensacola against Mississippi’s Aaron Northcraft (6-8, 3.60). First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on an Out of School Tuesday with fireworks following the game.
Suns Stun The Wahoos 8-6 In 16 Innings
August 11, 2013
Chris Gutierrez and Derek Dietrich homered in the top of the 16th inning, completing an incredible comeback for the Jacksonville Suns over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 8-6 on Saturday in front of the 25th sellout crowd of the year at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The loss dropped the Wahoos to fourth place in the South Division, three games behind the Suns.
The 16th inning was made possible thanks to a five-run ninth from the Suns. Trailing 6-1 entering the frame, Jacksonville loaded the bases with one out and got a run back on an RBI single from pinch-hitter Sharif Othman to make it 6-2. Loek Van Mil relieved Drew Hayes and promptly gave up a grand slam to Isaac Galloway on an 0-2 pitch to tie the game at six.
The Wahoos dodged Suns rallies in 10th, 12th, and 14th innings before building their own rally in the last of the 15th. Pensacola loaded the bases against Jacksonville’s Michael Brady, but Yorman Rodriguez struck out, sending things to the 16th.
In the 16th, Chris Manno (3-3) came on and yielded a leadoff homer to Guiterrez and a two-out shot to Dietrich to give the Suns a two-run lead. Arquimedes Caminero worked around a two-out single in the last of the 16th to pick up his fourth save of the year.
Pensacola had jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the contest through six innings. The Wahoos scored five runs in the first four innings, including two RBI base knocks from Mike Costanzo in the first and third innings. Travis Mattair, Rodriguez, and Devin Lohman contributed RBI’s as well in the first six frames.
Jacksonville started its comeback trail once Pensacola starter Josh Smith exited the game after six innings. Smith struck out five in his six scoreless frames, but had to settle for a no-decision. The Suns scored a run in the seventh against Shaun Ellis to cut it to 6-1 before the ninth inning heroics.
The game was the longest in the Southern League this year in terms of innings played and also the longest in Wahoos franchise history in both innings and time (5:01).
Pensacola will look to rebound in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Carlos Contreras (1-1, 3.05) takes the ball for the Wahoos while the Suns will counter with southpaw Andrew Heaney (1-1, 5.00).
Wahoos Win Third Straight
August 10, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored in each of their first three at-bats, leading from wire-to-wire in a 5-2 victory over the Jacksonville Suns in front of a capacity crowd of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium on Friday night. The win gave Pensacola its third straight series victory and pushed the Wahoos to within two games of the first place Suns.
Mike Costanzo led the charge for Pensacola, starting things off with a one-out triple in the first and scoring on a sacrifice fly from Yorman Rodriguez. In the second inning, the Wahoos got a two-run double from starting pitcher Tim Crabbe with two outs to make it 3-0.
Crabbe surrendered a run in the top of the third on a two-out double from Mark Canha, but his offense backed him again with a run in the last of the third on a bases-loaded, two-out infield single from Tucker Barnhart that scored Costanzo to make it 4-1.
Again the Suns battled back with a run in the top of the fourth on a RBI single from Michael Main, but Crabbe limited the damage to the single tally. The right-hander got help from all over the diamond, with Barnhart cutting down a runner at the plate in the second when Austin Barnes tried to score on a ball that squirted a couple feet to his right being the highlight. Overall, Crabbe (6-8) lasted five innings for Pensacola, allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
The 4-2 scored stood until the last of the seventh inning when Costanzo dropped a single into shallow center, scoring Corey Wimberly to make it 5-2. Costanzo went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, and an RBI.
Pensacola’s bullpen was once again outstanding, limiting the Suns to just two base hits over four innings of relief. Chris Manno extended his scoreless innings streak to 16, dating back to June 30. Parker Frazier struck out three over two frames, and Loek Van Mil slammed the door with a dominant ninth that featured two strikeouts. For Van Mil, it was his eighth save of the season, and first since July 3.
With the series win under their belt, the Wahoos now look to extend their winning streak to a season-long four games on Saturday night. Josh Smith (9-8, 3.77) gets the ball for Pensacola against Jacksonville’s Justin Nicolino (2-2, 6.05).
Six-Run Second Earns Wahoos 6-4 Win Over Suns
August 9, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored all six of their runs in the second inning and went on to knock off the Jacksonville Suns 6-4 on Thursday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. With the win, Pensacola clawed to within three games of the first place Suns with 25 games to go.
Pensacola strung together seven hits in the second-inning rally, all coming off Jacksonville starter Adam Conley. Ryan LaMarre started the scoring with an RBI single to make it 1-0. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and two outs, Devin Lohman reached on an RBI infield single, setting up Mike Costanzo. The Wahoos first baseman provided the big blow of the frame with a bases-clearing, three-run double to make it 5-0. Costanzo came around to score on a RBI single from Yorman Rodriguez, completing the outburst.
Jacksonville came right back, though, with four runs of its own in the top of the third against Daniel Renken. Chris Gutierrez singled in a run before Zack Cox blasted a three-run homer to right field, cutting the Wahoos lead to 6-4.
Renken settled down to toss six innings for Pensacola, allowing four runs on seven hits with four strikeouts to improve to 6-8 on the season. Jamie Walczak fired two scoreless innings to bridge the gap to Trevor Bell who set down the Suns in the ninth to pick up his 13th save of the year in as many tries.
Conley, tied for the Southern League lead in wins entering the night, took the loss for Jacksonville to fall to 11-5. The southpaw lasted five-plus frames and gave up six runs on 11 base knocks with five strikeouts.
Pensacola will now look for the series win having already won the first two games of the series. Tim Crabbe (5-8, 3.43) gets the ball for the Wahoos while the Suns will counter with Bryan Evans (4-3, 3.88). First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
by Kevin Burke
Wahoos Outshine Suns
August 8, 2013
Jon Moscot fired seven shutout innings in his second Double-A start, combining with two other Pensacola relievers to shutout the Jacksonville Suns 2-0 on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The 21-year-old worked around bits of trouble in the first and sixth innings to keep his scoreless outing in tact. In the first inning, Yorman Rodriguez threw out Derek Dietrich at the plate when Dietrich tried to score from second on a Zack Cox single. Moscot (1-0) wouldn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning and ended up allowing four hits, all singles, in seven innings with five strikeouts and a walk.
The Blue Wahoos turned things over to Lee Hyde in the eighth, who retired the Suns in order to extend his scoreless streak to 30.1 innings dating back to May 21 between Pensacola and Louisville. Trevor Bell fired a perfect ninth to record his 12th save in as many tries for the Wahoos.
Moscot also provided a big blow on offense for the Wahoos, sparking a two-run rally with a leadoff triple in the third inning. He would come home to score on a Devin Lohman single to make it 1-0 before Lohman scored on a double play from Yorman Rodriguez to make it 2-0.
Anthony DeSclafani took the tough loss for the Suns despite allowing two runs (one earned) on 6.1 innings for the Suns. He struck out four and walked two while falling to 3-3.
With the win, Pensacola moved to within four games of first-place Jacksonville with four games remaining in the series. Daniel Renken (5-8, 3.58) is scheduled to start for the Wahoos on Thursday against the Suns’ Adam Conley (11-4, 3.04).
FHSAA Pledges Review Of Drug Policies
August 7, 2013
The Florida High School Athletic Association said Tuesday it would examine its policies dealing with performance-enhancing drugs in the wake of the wide-ranging Biogenesis scandal.
Officials with the association announced the review in a conference call with reporters. But they also stressed that the association itself is not allowed to test athletes for performance-enhancing drugs, and that many school districts would have trouble coming up with the resources to do so.
In Escambia County, athletes as well as participants in non-sports extracurricular activities and clubs must consent to the possibility of being selected for a random drug test.
Roger Dearing, executive director of the association, said the organization’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee would undertake the review.
The committee’s 15 members, including medical professors and coaches, are charged with considering whether to break out the association’s drug rules into their own policy, rather than having them as part of its sportsmanship policy, and whether new rules might be needed to help crack down on the substances.
Association officials say educating parents and students about the dangers of PEDs and pushing school districts to move quickly against coaches who encourage or ignore PED use will help.
“I think it’s something that we’ve got to put on the front-burner and be vigilant about,” Dearing said.
Dearing said the recent reporting about the Biogenesis clinic in South Florida serves as a “wake-up call” about the drugs’ possible impact on high-school sports. Biogenesis is infamous for its role in a scandal currently rocking Major League Baseball; more than a dozen players have been punished for their links to the clinic, and the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez is fighting a 211-game suspension that would last through at least the end of the 2014 season.
The Miami Herald reported Monday that it “has seen a partial list of alleged clients of Biogenesis from October 2011″ that included high-school students. It did not name the players on the list.
One of the biggest challenges in trying to test students is the financing, Dearing said. The Legislature did provide funding to randomly test about 650 students several years ago, with one student testing positive, but hasn’t funded a program of testing.
The screenings cost about $150 each, meaning to test each of the 283,000 athletes in FHSAA sports would cost around $42 million, Dearing said.
He suggested that a better tack might be to have local districts partner with civic groups or others who could help pay for some testing.
“I don’t think it’s the Legislature’s responsibility to fund, and I don’t think it’s the school districts’ responsibility to fund,” Dearing said.
Dr. Jennifer Roth Maynard, an assistant professor with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, said the advisory committee would begin its review at its next meeting, scheduled for the end of the month.
by The News Service of Florida
B’ham Over Pensacola; Wahoos Win Series 3-2
August 7, 2013
Tyler Saladino jumped all over an 0-1 fastball from Drew Hayes leading off the top of the 10 thinning, blasting his fifth homer of the season to give the Birmingham Barons a 7-6 walk-off win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night at Regions Field.
Saladino’s blast capped a wild back-and-forth affair that saw both teams take advantage of opportunities, but also strand a combined 24 runners. Pensacola was able to score in each of its first two innings against Southern League wins leader Scott Snodgress, getting a run in the first on a Donald Lutz RBI single and a run in the second on a Ray Chang RBI base knock to make it 2-0.
Birmingham came back with two in the last of the second off of Pensacola starter Carlos Contreras, scoring the tying run on a strikeout wild pitch with two outs. Contreras allowed just the two runs on three hits in five innings of work for the Wahoos.
The score remained tied until the fifth when Pensacola scored an unearned run on a sacrifice fly from Devin Lohman to make it 3-2 in favor of the Wahoos. Snodgress left in line for the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings, but he was taken off the hook thanks to a four-run bottom of the sixth inning for Birmingham against Wahoo reliever Shaun Ellis.
Down 6-3 headed to the seventh, Pensacola responded with three more unearned runs, all coming with two outs. With the bases loaded, Yorman Rodriguez reached on an RBI infield single and was followed by a Lutz two-run single, knotting the game at six. Lutz had a huge night, going 3-for-5 at the dish with three runs batted in. Rodriguez chipped in three hits and an RBI as well.
The Wahoos did leave the bases loaded, however, in the seventh, and went on to strand 12 runners on the night, including nine in their final four at-bats.
Birmingham had a chance to win it in the ninth, loading the bases against Parker Frazier, but Keenyn Walker struck out to send the game to extras. Dan Remenowsky (1-2) picked up the win for the Barons by working around a leadoff single in the 10th inning. Hayes (3-3) took the loss, giving up the walk-off homer to Saladino, the first batter he faced.
Pensacola now returns home for a crucial five-game series with the first-place Jacksonville Suns starting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. The Blue Wahoos currently sit five games behind the Suns in the South Division standings after both teams lost on Tuesday. Jon Moscot (0-0, 21.00) gets the call for Pensacola while Jacksonville will counter with Anthony DeSclafani (3-2, 4.36).
story by Kevin Burke
Neiko Robinson Reports To Penn State Football Camp
August 6, 2013
Northview High School graduate Neiko Robinson was at Penn State Monday as the Nittany Lions opened their first day of camp.
The cornerback was due to be on campus in June with the rest of his class, but was not. PennLive.com reported Robinson was not enrolled in classes at Penn State due to “confusion” with his Northview High School transcript, forcing him to stay back home and finish a class.
But a spokesman for Penn State confirmed that the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Robinson was on the Penn State practice field.
Robinson will wear number 20 for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State opens their season Saturday, August 31 at 3:30 ET against Syracuse in a game scheduled to be televised on ABC/ESPN2.
Pictured top: Neiko Robinson receives his diploma from Northview High School principal Gayle Weaver on June 1. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
LaMarre’s Inside The Park Homerun Sparks 6-2 Wahoos Win Over B’ham
August 6, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos were led by Ryan LaMarre’s inside the park home run in the third inning in their 6-2 win over the Birmingham Barons on Monday night at Regions Field. Pensacola has won three out of the first four in the five-game set, securing a series win over the Barons. It’s just the third time the Barons have lost a series in their new home.
Already leading 3-2, Pensacola opened up their lead with three runs in the eighth. An error by the shortstop allowed Devin Lohman to reach to open the inning and the door for the Wahoos’ late rally. Travis Mattair delivered the big blow with a two-out two-run double, and scored a batter later on Tucker Barnhart’s double.
LaMarre got the scoring started in the in the first inning, he scored on a sacrifice fly from Mike Costanzo after he doubled to start the game. In the third, LaMarre hit an inside the park home run with a line drive down the third base line.
The Barrons got a pair of solo home runs from Cody Puckett and Trayce Thompson in the third and fourth innings respectively, but that’s all they got while the Blue Wahoos scored four unanswered. Pensacola went up for good when Barnhart scored on a bases loaded ground out by Lohman.
Birmingham’s solo home runs were the only blemishes on the line for Blue Wahoos starter Josh Smith (W, 9-8). He was finished after 6.2 innings and struck out seven against just one walk to earn the win. Barons starter Chris Bassitt (L, 2-2) took the loss after giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits over seven innings.
The Blue Wahoos will look to make it four out of five in the series finale on Tuesday. The Blue Wahoos will turn to RHP Carlos Contreras (1-1, 2.87) against LHP Scott Snodgress (11-7, 3.70). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. from Regions Field in Birmingham.
Story by Tommy Thrall
Northview To Hold Mini Cheerleader Camp
August 5, 2013
The Northview High School cheerleaders will host a mini-cheer camp later this week.
The mini-cheer camp will be held Thursday and Friday, August 8-9, from 3-5 p.m. in the gym. The cost is $20 for the camp and $10 for a shirt, register at the door. The mini cheerleaders will perform during the first quarter of the first home football game on August 23.
Pictured: Mini cheerleaders perform during a September 2012 game at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.