Milbrandt, Blue Wahoos Reach New Heights In 7-2 Win
May 31, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos beat the Birmingham Barons 7-2 on Saturday night, climbing a season-high two games above .500 behind ace starter Karson Milbrandt.
Though Milbrandt was unable to complete 5.0 innings for the first time since mid-April, the righty still racked up seven strikeouts over 4.2 frames and extended his scoreless inning streak to 27.0 innings before surrendering a two-run homer to Drake Logan in the fifth. Milbrandt’s scoreless streak, which began on May 2, ended as the second-longest in team history behind reliever Lee Hyde’s 31.0-inning streak in 2013 and the longest ever for a Pensacola starting pitcher.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead on Barons starter Gabe Davis (L, 0-1) in his Double-A debut, scoring four early unearned runs thanks to infield miscues. After a Juan Mathews sacrifice bunt was thrown away in the second inning, Dillon Lewis scored on a wild pitch and Dylan Jasso laced an RBI single for a 2-0 lead. They added two more in the third when a Fenwick Trimble bunt was misplayed by Davis, and Matheus and Cristian Hernández hit back-to-back RBI singles. Hernández’s knock extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
Aiva Arquette, thriving in his first week at the Double-A level since a promotion on Tuesday, stretched the Pensacola lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning with an RBI double.
Milbrandt’s scoreless streak ended in the fifth inning when Logan homered, and he allowed two more singles and a walk before departing with a season-high 97 pitches thrown. Colby Martin (W, 2-2) entered to strand a pair of inherited runners in the fifth, and ultimately worked 3.1 scoreless innings of long relief to earn the win.
Trimble hit a solo homer in the sixth and Matheus added an RBI single in the ninth to extend the lead to 7-2 before Livan Reinoso finished off the win with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series against the Barons on Sunday afternoon.
written by Erik Bremer
First-Year Success: Coach Paul Bryan Leads Tate Girls Track To Historic, Record-Breaking Season
May 30, 2026
The Tate High School Aggies Girls Track and Field Team celebrated a great year at their end-of-season banquet last week.
During the team’s first season under head coach Paul Bryan, the Aggies broke 11 school records, won five invitational meets and claimed both a county and district championship.
Bryan’s coaching career started at Woodham High School in 1996, and he later moved on to Pine Forest High School. In almost three decades as a track head coach, he won state championships at Pine Forest in 2010 and 2011 and finished as state runners-up at Pine Forest in 2009 and at Woodham. He also earned a half-dozen state top 10 finishes. He had won eight regional championships and 20 district titles prior to coming to Tate, and he was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Girls 3A Coach of the Year three times.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Baseball Holds Youth Camp
May 30, 2026
Northview Chiefs baseball held their youth camp on Thursday and Friday.
For two mornings, aspiring players in grades 6-8 worked on their skills, learned the game, and enjoyed pizza with Northview players and coaches.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Even Birmingham Series With 3-2 Win
May 30, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos edged out the Birmingham Barons by a final score of 3-2 to even the series on Friday night.
Birmingham scored first when a leadoff double from Samuel Zavala would come around to score on a sacrifice fly from reigning Southern League Player of the Week Alec Makarewicz, making it a 1-0 lead in the first inning. That lead would grow in the 3rd without the benefit of a hit. Zavala would draw a leadoff walk which would be followed by a 2-out hit by pitch to Anthony DePino and walk to Calvin Harris to load the bases. Pensacola starter Orlando Ortiz-Mayr would surrender his fourth free pass of the inning to Jeral Perez, walking in a run and making the score 2-0.
Ortiz-Mayr would work himself out of the jam, however, and give his offense a chance to get back in the game. And the offense would do just that. Ian Lewis Jr. and Garret Forrester would lead off the 5th inning with back-to-back walks before Jay Beshears would send a ball into the right field corner, scoring both runners with a game tying 2-run double. Ortiz-Mayr would work around a leadoff double in the bottom half of the inning, finishing his day off with 5.0 complete innings for his second straight start.
Jacob Heatherly (L, 0-1) would be the first out of the bullpen for the Barons to start the 6th inning. And, though he would pitch a clean 6th, he would get pulled after Forester and Beshears would both reach with one out in the 7th. Jackson Kelly would enter to face Emaarion Boyd, who would drop a bunt down the third baseline. Kelly would field it and fire the ball past the first baseman and into right field, scoring Forrester from second and giving the Wahoos a 3-2 lead.
Mason Vinyard (W, 3-1) would earn the win for Pensacola pitching a near flawless 2.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one walk. He would hand the ball to veteran Luis Palacios (S, 2), who would get the final 4 outs to earn his second save of the season and secure the victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons on Saturday evening.
written by Charlie Hobert
Blue Wahoos Walked off By Barons In Birmingham
May 29, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell 7-4 in 10 innings to the Birmingham Barons on Thursday night, failing to hold a pair of leads and surrendering a three-run walk-off homer to Anthony DePino.
A Connor Caskenette sacrifice fly and Dylan Jasso two-run double gave the Blue Wahoos a 3-0 lead in the second against Barons starter Dylan Cumming. The next three Pensacola innings would be snuffed out by ground ball double plays turned by the Birmingham infield.
Eliazar Dishmey started for the Blue Wahoos in his Double-A debut, flashing swing-and-miss stuff before running into trouble his second time through the order. He allowed a solo homer to Drake Logan in the third, and issued a pair of walks in the fourth that came in to score on a Wilfred Veras groundout and Jorge Corona RBI single to tie the game 3-3. Dishmey allowed three runs in 4.0 innings while striking out six and walking four.
Fenwick Trimble singled, took second on an error, and scored on a passed ball in the sixth inning to put Pensacola ahead once more 4-3. Kade Bragg worked 2.1 scoreless innings of relief, but Jack Sellinger surrendered doubles to DePino and Jeral Perez in the eighth to tie the game 4-4.
The Blue Wahoos were unable to bring home their placed runner in the top of the 10th against Jonathan Clark (W, 1-0), and Colby Martin (L, 1-2) was placed in a tough spot when entering in the bottom half of the frame. After a stolen base and an intentional walk, DePino launched a walk-off blast for a 7-4 final.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons on Friday evening.
written by Erik Bremer
Wahoos Rock Rickwood In Historic Offensive Onslaught, Beat Barons 23-4
May 28, 2026
Playing for the first time at historic Rickwood Field, the oldest professional ballpark in America, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos made some history of their own in a blowout 23-4 win over the Birmingham Barons.
Playing as the Negro League’s Pensacola Seagulls, the Blue Wahoos enjoyed the pregame celebration of the ballpark’s storied past before setting single-game team records in hits (26), homers (7) and runs scored (23). Two buses of Blue Wahoos season ticket members and gameday staff who made the trip to Birmingham and were seated above the Pensacola dugout saw a game unlike any other in franchise history.
Among the many superlatives, Fenwick Trimble went 5-for-6 with a homer, finishing a triple shy of the cycle in just the fifth five-hit game in team history. Ian Lewis Jr. hit a pair of homers and drove in four, Emaarion Boyd was 4-for-6 with a double and RBI, Juan Matheus and Aiva Arquette each hit their first Double-A homers, Jay Beshears hit the team’s first grand slam of the season, and Dillon Lewis hit his team-leading 11th homer.
Every Blue Wahoos starter had at least one hit, making things easy for starting pitcher Alex Williams (W, 2-4). The righty worked 6.0 innings in a quality start, allowing four runs, three earned. Barons starter Connor McCullough (L, 0-2) labored through 2.1 innings, allowing three first-inning runs and departing in the middle of a five-run third that put Pensacola up for good.
Matheus and Lewis Jr. each went deep in the third, and Trimble and Beshears each hit their homers in the fifth. Lewis Jr., Lewis and Arquette capped the record-setting game with homers in the ninth inning, giving the Blue Wahoos a team-record seven homers overall.
Nigel Belgrave and Gabe Bierman combined to finish off the game with 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.
With the 19-run win, tied for the most lopsided in the team’s 14-year history, the Blue Wahoos are back above .500 at 24-23 with four games remaining in their road series in Birmingham.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons on Thursday evening.
Written by Erik Bremer
‘Returning Home’: Former Aggie Standout Misti Nims Named Tate Head Softball Coach
May 27, 2026
Misti Nims has been named the next head softball coach at Tate High School.
A native of Cantonment and a 1996 Tate graduate, Nims is returning home to lead the Aggies program she once helped build as a student-athlete.
During her time at Tate, Nims was a four-year starter in softball and helped lead the Aggies to the program’s first-ever Fastpitch Softball Final Four appearance in 1995. She was also a two-year starter for the volleyball team. Following her standout high school career, she earned a softball scholarship to Pensacola Junior College, where she was an All-Academic Team member and All-Conference first baseman.
Nims continued her education at the University of West Florida, earning a bachelor’s degree in sports science and a master’s degree in health, leisure, and exercise science/physical education.
Her coaching career began in 2001 at Jefferson Davis Community College, now Coastal Alabama Community College, where she served as head softball coach for more than two decades. During her tenure, she guided the program to 14 conference tournament appearances and was named the 2015 ACCC Softball Coach of the Year. She has also produced countless NJCAA Academic All-Americans, All-Region players, and All-Conference selections while helping numerous student-athletes continue their careers at the next level. She also served as head volleyball coach from 2003-2013 before focusing solely on softball.
In 2023, Nims was named head men’s and women’s cross country coach at Coastal Alabama following a major restructuring of the athletic department. In her first three seasons, the men’s cross country program earned national rankings each year, climbing as high as No. 11 nationally. The program also captured its first race victory, produced an ACCC Runner of the Week and All-Region selection, and qualified for the national meet all three seasons.
Nims also joined the West Florida High School softball staff in 2024 as an assistant coach, helping lead the Jaguars to two district championships and a regional semifinal appearance.
“Tate softball has a proud tradition, and we are excited to welcome one of our own back home to lead the program,” said Tate Principal Laura Touchstone. “Coach Nims brings a tremendous amount of experience and passion. Her success at the collegiate level, combined with her deep roots in the Tate community, make her an outstanding fit to lead our softball program into the future. We are excited for the future of Tate softball under Coach Nims’ leadership.”
“I am very excited to lead the Aggies back into a championship program,” said Nims. “I want our athletes to be proud to wear the ‘T’ across their chest and bring back a sense of pride and tradition to being an Aggie. I want to thank Mrs. Touchstone, Coach Blackmon, and the administration for entrusting me to lead this program. I also want to thank Coach Wyatt for all her years of success and for bringing home the first state championship. I plan to build on that success, and I cannot wait to get started.”
Melinda Wyatt retired at the end of the 2026 season, after 31 years as a varsity and junior varsity coach for the Tate softball program. She served 22 of those years as head coach.
Wahoos Drop Series Opener To Birmingham
May 27, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped the opener of their road series against the Birmingham Barons on Tuesday night, falling by a score of 8-4.
After an afternoon filled with a dozen roster transactions, including the arrivals of infielders Aiva Arquette and Juan Matheus from High-A Beloit, the Blue Wahoos couldn’t get their offense going as they slipped back to .500 at 23-23.
The Barons took a quick 2-0 lead against Blue Wahoos starter Jacob Miller (L, 1-3) thanks to a second-inning RBI single from Jeral Pérez and a third-inning sacrifice fly from Alec Makarewicz. Cristian Hernández tied the game for Pensacola with a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
Birmingham took the lead for good in the fourth inning, loading the bases against Miller before reliever Luis Palacios served up a go-ahead grand slam to Colby Shelton. The Barons tacked on two more in the sixth inning with a two-out, two-run double from Makarewicz against reliever Livan Reinoso.
Dylan Jasso singled home Connor Caskenette in the top of the seventh inning and brought him in again in the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but the Barons bullpen held onto the lead for an 8-4 final.
Matheus was 2-for-3 with a double in his Double-A debut, and Arquette hustled out an infield single for his first Double-A hit in a 2-for-4 night. Caskenette, making his season debut for the Blue Wahoos after appearing in 14 games in 2024, was 2-for-4 with a double. Reliever Holt Jones, also called up from Beloit, worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with a strikeout in his debut.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons on Wednesday afternoon as they play in “The Rickwood Game” at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham.
written by Erik Bremer
Tate Aggies Baseball Celebrates 2026 Season, Seniors At Blue Wahoos Game
May 26, 2026
The Tate High School Aggies baseball team celebrated their 2026 season and its senior players last week at a Pensacola Blue Wahoos game.
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Seven Unanswered Runs Earn Wahoos 9-5 Victory
May 25, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos battled from behind to pull off a 9-5 victory over the Columbus Clingstones on Sunday afternoon, anchored by productive contact and showstopping defensive plays.
Initially down 4-0 after troublesome pitching plagued the first two innings, the Wahoos (23-22) fought back with three runs in the third to threaten and four in the fifth to commandeer the series-securing game. Pensacola climbs back above the .500 mark for the second time this season against Columbus (21-23), doing so for the first time back on Wednesday.
Six Wahoos finished with two hits each on the 13-hit day, led by Fenwick Trimble who initiated the comeback with his sixth home run of the season, a three-run no-doubter that landed in the bay beyond left field. Sam Praytor had an excellent day at the plate with a 2-for-3 performance, scoring two runs and driving in one with a walk drawn. Dillon Lewis impressed with two doubles and two RBI.
Mason Vinyard (W, 2-1) earned his second win of the year with a stellar relief outing that allowed the Pensacola offense a moment to reset. Vineyard offered 4.0 innings of relief that saw just one hit, two walks and no runs allowed, picking up one strikeout.
The Wahoos got off to a rocky start in the first inning after a four-pitch walk issued to Columbus’ Luke Waddell turned into a run just a batter later. A David McCabe single into centerfield was misplayed by Dillon Lewis, and Waddell flew from first to home as the ball rolled into the deepest part of the park.
A subsequent hit-by-pitch and a walk would load the bases, and a fielder’s choice allowed McCabe to plate the second run of the evening for the Clingstones. Pensacola second baseman Payton Green stopped the bleeding however, leaping up to snag a line drive and turn the inning over.
Two more runs came across in the second inning for the visiting side. A two-out triple by Waddell into the right field corner pushed home Kevin Kilpatrick Jr. from second base, and Waddell would race home on a wild pitch to pad the Clingstones’ lead, 4-0.
Pensacola righted the ship in the bottom of the third. Sam Praytor registered the team’s first hit of the evening with a line drive into center field, followed by a well-executed bunt single by Emaarion Boyd. This set the table quite well for Trimble to launch a towering, three-run home run over left field, instantly making it a one-run ballgame.
The warmed Wahoo bats caught fire in the fifth. Cristian Hernandez and Trimble knocked consecutive singles into center off of Columbus’ Blake Enlow (L, 1-2), paving the way for Dillon Lewis to power a one-hop double off the wall in the left to score both runners and strip the lead, 5-4. Pensacola added a pair of insurance runs as line drive into left from Payton Green scored Lewis, and a previously walked Jay Beshears jogged home after Enlow balked.
The Clingstones got one back in the seventh after Patrick Clohisy got on base with a single, later stealing his way to third and scoring on a groundout to first base. It’d be false hope however, as the Wahoos answered back and more in the following half-inning. Dylan Jasso doubled to the wall in left, and Praytor sent him home with a double of his. Praytor would later score all the way from second base on a wild pitch, wrapping up the scoring for the home side, 9-5.
The Blue Wahoos will take Monday off before hitting the road for a series with the Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, beginning on Tuesday.