Another Late Smokies Homer Condemns Wahoos to 5-4 Defeat
August 25, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
For the second straight game, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos endured a game-breaking Tennessee Smokies homer in the eighth inning on Saturday night in a 5-4 loss.
Just minutes after Blue Wahoos catcher Joe Mack had tied the game 4-4 in the top of the eighth with his 21st home run of the season, Pablo Aliendo put Tennessee ahead for good with a solo home run of his own.
The Blue Wahoos have tied a season high with five losses in a row, and now trail the Biloxi Shuckers in the fight for a playoff spot by 3.5 games with 20 to play pending the results of Biloxi’s game in Birmingham.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead 2-0 in the second on a two-run homer from Nathan Martorella, his third of the series and ninth of the season. Tennessee starter Matthew Thompson allowed another run in the fourth on a bases-loaded RBI single from Jacob Berry, though another run was cut down at the plate as Graham Pauley was thrown out trying to score by a strong throw from right fielder Felix Stevens.
Pensacola starter Robby Snelling was perfect through 3.2 innings, but allowed three consecutive hits with two outs in the fourth as Luis Verdugo lined a two-run single to draw the Smokies to within a run.
Snelling, afforded an opportunity to pitch into the sixth for the first time since joining the team, was unable to protect Pensascola’s 3-2 lead. A leadoff walk to Brett Bateman was followed by a two-run homer to Jonathon Long, just out of the reach of Berry in right field.
The Wahoos got the clutch hit they were looking for in the eighth, as Mack turned around a Blake Whitney (W, 8-0) offering and sent his team-leading 21st homer of the season off the glove of the leaping Stevens in right field to tie the game 4-4.
After a scoreless seventh, Matt Pushard (L, 3-4) was sent out for the eighth to try and keep the game tied for the Blue Wahoos. Aliendo gave the Smokies their second go-ahead eighth-inning homer in as many days, following a dramatic Stevens homer on Friday with a solo blast of his own to put Tennessee ahead 5-4.
Martorella led off the ninth inning with a single, but pinch-runner Shane Sasaki was thrown out stealing second by Aliendo in a strikeout-double play to end the game and hand Cayne Ueckert (S, 2) the save.
The Blue Wahoos have now dropped 10 of their past 12 games, including three games in Tennessee’s final at bat this series.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series and look to avoid being swept by the Smokies on Sunday. First pitch from Smokies Stadium is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT.
King Scores Three TDs As The Northview Chiefs Dominate Destin, 26-7 (With Gallery)
August 24, 2024
Dane King led the Northview Chiefs to a decisive 26-7 opening night victory over the Destin Sharks on Friday night at Tommy Weaver Stadium.
The junior had three touchdowns for the Chiefs — short runs from 3 and 1 yard in the first quarter and another 1-yarder in the third. Moses Delarosa added a 1-yard touchdown run to seal the win on what a was really comfortable football Friday night by August standards.
For a photo gallery, click here.
(Look for another photo gallery with cheerleaders, fans, the band and more in the next few days)
Despite the win, Northview head coach Wes Summerford saw areas for improvement.
“There are some things that we need to clean up,” he said. “Every time we had a chance to hit a stride, whether it’s a penalty, or we turned it over or something like that. The defense had a couple of missed assignments. Stuff we can clean up. I think the kids know that and that’s good. I’m glad that we’ve got that confidence.”
The Chiefs capitalized on several turnovers by the Sharks. Sam Reid intercepted a pass late in the first quarter, while Colby Pugh and Nate Duffy added interceptions in the second and third quarters, respectively. Northview also recovered a fumble in the third quarter.
With the win, the Chiefs stand at 1-0 on the young season. They will travel to Opp, Alabama, next week to face the Bobcats, who also opened their season with a victory, 31-29 over Bonifay.
Summerford acknowledged the challenge ahead.
“It’s a new team on our schedule,” the Northview coach said. “It will be a tough task for us; it’s a good program.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Football Scoreboard
August 24, 2024
Here are Friday night high school football scores (and a few Thursday night scores) from around the North Escambia area:
FLORIDA
- Tate 24, Fort Walton Beach 0 [Story...]
- Northview 26, Destin 7 [Story, Photo Gallery...]
- Jay 34, Vernon 0
- Escambia 45, West Florida 12
- Pensacola at Pine Forest
- Williamson (Ala.) 52, Washington 0
- Navarre at Pensacola Catholic
- Crestview 42, MIlton 7
- Pace 17, Mary Montgomery 14
- South Walton at Gulf Breeze (Saturday)
ALABAMA
- Flomaton 23, Clarke County 15 (Thur)
- T.R. Miller 28, Reeltown 7 (Thur)
- Alabama Christian 30, Escambia County (Atmore) 26
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs beat the Destin Sharks 26-7 Friday night in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Tate Aggies Roll Past Fort Walton Beach Vikings, 24-0
August 24, 2024
The Tate Aggies kicked off their 2024 regular season with a convincing 24-0 victory over the Fort Walton Beach Vikings on the road.
The Agges got on the board early following a 15-yard touchdown pass from Taite Davis to Christian Neptune.
The Aggies got on the board early in the game when quarterback Taite Davis connected with Christian Neptune for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Davis continued to shine in the second quarter, finding Elijah West on a long pass to the three-yard line before keeping the ball himself for another touchdown to give Tate a 14-0 lead at halftime.
Senior Carson Secchari added to the Aggies’ tally in the second half with a 15-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.
Tate will remain on the road for their next two Friday nights under the lights, traveling across the bay to Gulf Breeze on August 30 and across town to Pensacola High on September 6.
Pinch-Hit Stevens Homer Sends Wahoos To 5-3 Loss
August 24, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos continued their late-game struggles on Friday night, falling 5-3 to the Tennessee Smokies.
Leading 3-2 with two outs in the eighth, Justin King (L, 2-1) surrendered a long three-run homer to pinch hitter Felix Stevens that sent the Blue Wahoos to their fourth consecutive loss.
With the loss, the Blue Wahoos trail the Biloxi Shuckers in the fight for a playoff spot by 2.5 games with 20 to play, pending the results of Biloxi’s game in Birmingham.
The Blue Wahoos took a 1-0 lead in the third on Jakob Marsee’s seventh homer of the season, a solo shot off Tennessee starter Jimmy Endersby. The Smokies answered back with two of their own against Pensacola starter Jacob Miller in the bottom half of the inning, turning a Fabian Pertuz RBI double and Cole Roederer RBI single into a 2-1 advantage.
Miller worked 5.0 innings in his fourth career Double-A start, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out three.
Pensacola used some small ball to tie the game 2-2 in the sixth, as Johnny Olmstead drew a leadoff walk against Ben Leeper before advancing to second on a balk and scoring on a two-out RBI single from Graham Pauley.
In the seventh, Nathan Martorella gave the Blue Wahoos a 3-2 lead with a solo homer to right field. Shane Sasaki followed with a single, but was stranded at second base as Zac Leigh (W, 1-2) got the final two outs of the inning.
After two effective innings of relief from Woo-Suk Go, the Blue Wahoos turned to Justin King in the eighth. A leadoff walk was followed by a Pablo Aliendo fly ball into shallow right field, dropped by Shane Sasaki on a running attempt and ruled a bloop single. King bounced back with a pair of strikeouts, but Stevens was called upon to pinch hit and blasted a 435-foot three-run homer just fair above the left field foul pole to put Tennessee in front for good.
Blake Weiman (S, 5) worked a quiet ninth to lock down the win for the Smokies.
Pensacola has now dropped 9 of their past 11 games, including three losses in which they led after their eighth-inning at-bat.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Saturday. First pitch from Smokies Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT.
Bonus Photos: Tate Cheerleaders, Fans And More
August 23, 2024
Here are bonus photos from last Friday Tate vs. Pine Forest Jamboree at Pete Gindl Stadium in Cantonment.
For photos and a game story, click here.
(Our apologies for the delayed posting of this gallery due to circumstances beyond our control and our election coverage this week.)
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Walks Haunt Wahoos in 7-3 Loss to Smokies
August 23, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped their third in a row to the Tennessee Smokies on Thursday night, falling by a 7-3 final.
With the loss, the Blue Wahoos trail the Biloxi Shuckers in the fight for a playoff spot by 1.5 games with 21 to play, pending the results of Biloxi’s game in Birmingham.
The Smokies jumped ahead early, scoring four runs in the first inning to take the lead for good. Blue Wahoos Evan Fitterer (L, 6-5) walked four men and allowed four runs in just 0.1 innings, departing with 34 pitches thrown after a two-run single from Fabian Pertuz.
Adam Laskey kept the game within reach for the Blue Wahoos with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, but the Pensacola offense didn’t activate until the late innings. Smokies starter Chris Kachmar (W, 7-3) worked 5.0 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Trailing 6-0 in the seventh, the Blue Wahoos pushed a pair of runs across with a Harrison Spohn RBI groundout and Jakob Marsee RBI single. They were poised to chip away even more in the eighth, drawing four walks against Daniel Missaki to force in a run and draw the score to 6-3, but Blake Whitney (S, 5) coaxed an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded to end the threat.
After Pertuz hit a solo homer in the eighth against Dale Stanavich, capping a four-RBI night, Whitney returned for the ninth to seal the Smokies win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Friday. First pitch from Smokies Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT.
Six-Run Fourth Sinks Wahoos in Loss to Smokies
August 22, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos continued their struggles against the Tennessee Smokies on Wednesday night, falling in a 10-6 final after two early leads slipped away.
The Blue Wahoos have now dropped 7 of 8 games this season to the defending league champions, and two in a row to begin their six-game road series.
With the loss, the Blue Wahoos again failed to put pressure on the first-place Biloxi Shuckers. The Blue Wahoos now trail the Shuckers by 1.5 games with 22 to play, pending the results of Biloxi’s game in Birmingham.
The Blue Wahoos briefly held a pair of early leads, taking a 2-1 edge on solo homers from Nathan Martorella and Johnny Olmstead in the second and a 3-2 lead on a Joe Mack RBI single in the third.
Olmstead’s homer was his first at the Double-A level, and began a 3-for-4 night. Mack’s RBI was his Southern League-leading 60th of the season.
Pensacola starter Luis Palacios (L, 8-6) was uncharacteristically shaky, tying a career high with 10 hits allowed and setting a new career high with four walks. The Smokies turned the game around with a six-run fourth, turning a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 Tennessee lead. The Blue Wahoos left allowed eight runs, seven earned, over 3.1 innings.
The Smokies got their starter, Antonio Santos (W, 7-3), through 5.0 innings despite a high pitch count. The Blue Wahoos added on three runs against the Tennessee bullpen, getting RBI doubles from Jakob Marsee and Jared Serna in the sixth and a solo homer from Graham Pauley in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough to come back.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Thursday. First pitch from Smokies Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. CT, with a live audio broadcast beginning at 6:55 p.m. ET/5:55 p.m. CT.
Lindgren’s Strong Outing Sets Tone For Wahoos Win In Sunday Series Finale
August 19, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
Smiles returned. A game was sealed. The congratulatory, high-five line of players had some added energy.
The Blue Wahoos got a win they needed Sunday, a 4-1 victory against the Montgomery Biscuits to end a tough homestand at Blue Wahoos Stadium in a good way.
Starting pitcher Jeff Lindgren, who was the Blue Wahoos’ most reliable, durable starter in 2021 on his eventual rise to making a major league debut last season with the Miami Marlins, duplicated that kind of performance Sunday in five scoreless innings.
He allowed just two hits, two walks, six strikeouts and carried a 2-0 lead en route to his first win since July 10.
Behind him, a bullpen trio of Cade Gibson (2 innings), Tristan Stevens and Dale Stanavich, all delivered. They allowed just one hit combined, two walks and five strikeouts. It resembled the other win the Blue Wahoos got in this six-game series on Thursday in a 3-1 game.
As it turned out, the Blue Wahoos got the runs they needed in the third inning. Shane Sasaki led off with a double, the scored on Johnny Olmstead’s RBI single. Olmstead then advanced on a stolen base and wild pitch and scored on Jakob Marsee’s sacrifice fly.
Marsee then laid down a sacrifice bunt in the sixth inning, moving Harrison Spohn into scoring position. Jacob Berry’s two out single scored Spohn and completed a big week for Berry. He went 9-for-21 in six games this week, with two homers and six RBI.
Joe Mack’s double in the eighth inning scored Graham Pauley with the Blue Wahoos’ fourth run.
It’s been a tough season series for the Blue Wahoos against Montgomery (8-16) and they will lament two games this week with ninth inning leads that didn’t end with wins.
But they remain in the thick of a three-team race with Biloxi and the Mississippi Braves for the second playoff spot. The second half winner in the Southern League’s South Division qualifies, or the second-place finisher if Montgomery wins both halves.
The Blue Wahoos will now turn attention to their farthest road trip this season. They will leave on Monday for east Tennessee where they will face the Tennessee Smokies in a road series beginning Tuesday at Smokies Stadium.
This series will be the second-to-last week for the Smokies playing in this ballpark, which is located 22 miles east of Knoxville in Kodak. Next season, the Smokies will move into a 7,000-seat stadium located in downtown Knoxville, not far from the University of Tennessee campus.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Tennessee Smokies
WHEN: Tuesday Thru Sunday (Aug. 25).
WHERE: Smokies Stadium, Kodak, Tennessee.
Blue Wahoos Fall On Taylor Swift Ticket Giveaway Night
August 18, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
Courtney Ray and Lexi Hooks became the happiest, luckiest people Saturday at Blue Wahoos Stadium, winners of the Taylor Swift concert tickets from Saturday’s promotion on “Low E.R.A.s Night.”
That kind of good fortune continued to elude the Blue Wahoos, after losing to the Montgomery Biscuits 5-4 in the fourth setback this week against the team Pensacola has struggled against all season.
The latest loss occurred despite a strong home debut for Blue Wahoos left-hander Robby Snelling, who tied a career-high with nine strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched.
A capacity crowd of 5,038 waited through an hour and 15-minute delay before Saturday’s game began, then sat through a near 3-hour game, before the much-anticipated draw of the two winners for the Taylor Swift tour stop on October 25 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
“We had no clue it was an ERAs, Taylor Swift type game,” said Hooks, explaining they purchased tickets a couple months ago for Saturday’s game without realizing the seats had a special lure. “We had no clue, no idea until we got into the stadium.”
Hours later, they got the gift of a lifetime.
The couple, who recently moved to Pensacola from Montgomery, Alabama – as irony would have it — became stunned winners as Swift music fans to watch the world-renowned pop star perform.
“Total shock,” Ray said. “Shaking. Can’t believe it. We are not winners of things like this ever so to come to a game like and be surprised to win, it is very cool.”
The game itself began in the Blue Wahoos’ favor, just like two others this week. Jacob Berry continued his hot streak with a first-inning double that scored Graham Pauley with the first run.
The Blue Wahoos then took a 2-1 lead off Jared Serna’s homer, who is batting .394 since joining the Blue Wahoos on July 30.
Joe Mack then followed in the fourth inning with a homer, his team-leading 20th of the year, to make it 3-1
.
But as so often happened this week, the Biscuits quickly answered. They scored two runs in the fifth inning, taking advantage of walks, a single and outfielder error by Shane Sasaki.
They took a 5-3 lead in the sixth when Ricardo Genoves blasted a two-run homer off Blue Wahoos reliever Josh Simpson, who was set to begin this season with the Marlins before an injury setback.
The Blue Wahoos then loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but could only manage one run on Serna’s RBI ground out.
In the eighth, Mack was thrown out at the plate on a sensational throw by Biscuits right fielder Mason Auer on a two-out single from Sasaki.
In the ninth, the Blue Wahoos Paul McIntosh walked with one out, but was stranded there.
It’s been that kind of week, that kind of season-series for the Blue Wahoos (61-50, 23-20 in the second half), who are now 7-16 against the Biscuits (65-48, 25-19), the Tampa Bay Rays affiliate and winners of the Southern League first half South Division.
The series concludes on Sunday, which is highlighted by the appearance of beloved children’s character “Bluey,” which includes a pair of private meet-and-greet sessions before gates open at 3 p.m., then greeting fans at the ballpark after they enter.
GAME NOTABLES
— Also part of Saturday’s game, the second annual First City Bowl high school football game was announced on Oct. 25, featuring Pensacola High as the visiting team against West Florida High. PHS head coach Wade McKinney and West Florida’s Harry Lees participated in a “signing ceremony” before the bottom of the second inning in front of the home team dugout.