Bad News: Pelicans Grounded By Captains 9-0; Good News: Still In First Place
August 18, 2009
Salazar handled the Pelicans for six innings, allowing just three hits while striking out a season-high nine Pelicans. The Captains supported their starter with four runs in the first inning.
A two-out first inning rally would provide all the runs the Captains would need in the ballgame. Chris Garcia singled, Andres Rodriguez repeated, and Alvarez hit safely to bring in Garcia. Jose Torres doubled to score Rodriguez, and Luis Guance doubled to drive in two runs.
The Captains added another run in the second when Angelo Fermin reached on an error by the first baseman, stole second, and reached third on an error by the catcher. Dwayne White singled and Fermin scored.
In the bottom of the third Jose Torres reached on the second baseman’s first error, stole second, and moved to third on a Guance groundout. Kevin Griffin lifted a sac fly to left and Torres scored.
The Captains added two more runs in the fourth, as Dwayne White reached on the second baseman’s second error. Garcia reached on a fielder’s choice, and Andres Rodriguez reached on the first of two errors by the shortstop. Jorge Alvarez reached on a fielder’s choice, and on the play White scored. Garcia came home on the next play that saw Torres reach on the second error by the shortstop.
Dane DeValk had a respectable start, pitching seven innings, and allowing just four earned runs, though eight scored on his eight hits. Four strikeouts capped his performance.
Joey Wedner pitched the eighth and Kevin Griffin led off with a single. Fermin knocked a base hit, and Sabatella reached on a fielder’s choice. With Griffin at third, White reached on a fielder’s choice and Griffin scored to make the game 9-0.
At the plate, Leandro and Christison both went 2-4, with Palmisano adding the other Pelicans’ hit. Both Leandro and Christison had a stolen base.
The Pelicans will face the Captains again on Tuesday, with Pelicans’ LHP Randy Beam looking for his tenth win. He will face the Captains’ RHP Jimmy Heard. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Free Hunter Safety Course
August 17, 2009
Escambia County Extension Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are offering a free hunter safety course.
Both traditional classroom style and online training are available. The traditional hunter safety course, which covers the knowledge, skills and attitude needed to be a safe hunter, is 12 hours of classroom instruction with a test and three hours on the range. The online version allows students to learn a majority of the knowledge portion of the course via computer with the remainder of the course covered in a four-hour classroom setting followed by a test and three hours on the range.
Participants must be 12 years of age or older. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
The hunter safety course will be held at the Langley Bell 4-H Center, 4810 West Nine Mile Road. Classes will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on September 15, 17, 22 and 24 with the range portion held September 26 from 7 to 10 a.m.
Information and registration is available online here or by calling the FWC’s regional office in Panama City at (850) 265-3676. You may also call Libbie Johnson at your local Escambia County Extension Services, 850-475-5230 or email libbiej@ufl.edu.
Pensacola Sweeps El Paso with 11-7 Win
August 17, 2009
The Pensacola Pelicans are rolling, topping the Diablos 11-7 on Sunday night to complete a series sweep. Ron Hill earned the win in Pensacola’s fourth straight, their nineteenth win in their last 26 games. The W, coupled with a Captains’ loss, extends the Pelicans lead in first place to 4.5 games.
The Pelicans came from behind again Sunday evening, watching as the Diablos put up four runs in two innings against Pelicans’ starter Adam Brandenburg. Kennard Bibbs walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. David Washington walked, and both runners moved up on a passed ball. Alvarez reached on an error by the third baseman, and Bibbs scored on the play. Even though Juan Camacho grounded into a double play, Washington scored from the third, and the Diablos were up by two.
El Paso added to their total with two more in the bottom of the second. Eddy Rodriguez singled and Bobby Andrews did too. Bibbs walked to load the bases, and David Washington walked to force in a run. With the bases still loaded Juan Camacho walked as well, giving the Diablos a 4-0 lead. Brandenburg struck out Mike Provencher to end the inning, but that would be the last batter he faced, lasting two innings, allowing four earned runs on three hits, walking five and striking out three.
The Pelicans earned a run an inning from the third through the fifth. Adam Deleo singled to start the third, moved to second on a Dallas Christison bunt-single, and made it to third base on Francisco Leandro’s base hit. Antoin Gray lifted a sacrifice fly to right field for his seventieth RBI of the year, plating Deleo.
In the fourth inning Marcos Rodriguez led off with a single, advanced to second on Adam Darby’s bunt-single, and came home when Deleo hit him in. An inning later the Pels scored again when Leandro started the inning with a walk. He moved to second on a groundout by Marshall McDougall, and came home on Marcos Rodriguez’s base knock. The Pels had made it a one-run game.
Bubba Nelson pitched for the Pelicans from the third through the sixth. Nelson was brilliant, allowing no hits, walking four and striking out four. Ron Hill pitched the seventh and eighth, yielding just two hits while striking out three. Hill was on the line for the win when the Pelicans scored five in the top of the eighth.
Joe Klein relieved El Paso’s Justin Mallett, allowing a leadoff single to Chase Burch. Adam Darby followed him with a single, and Adam Deleo made his third hit of the night a big one: Deleo connected for a two-RBI triple to score Burch and Darby, and the Pelicans had the lead. Pensacola added insurance by scoring Deleo on a Dallas Christison sacrifice fly. Reynolds singled, Leandro walked, and Antoin Gray had a double that scored both men, giving the Pelicans an 8-4 lead.
The Pelicans added three more runs in the top of the ninth against El Paso’s Mike Cervera. Adam Darby notched his fourth hit of the night, and Dallas Christison reached on an error by the third baseman. Kevin Reynolds made it to first on an error by the shortstop, and both Darby and Christison scored on the play. Reynolds would score the Pelicans’ last run when the pitcher made an error throwing to first on a Leandro comebacker. The Pelicans led by seven to enter the last of the ninth.
Hunter Davis came in for the ninth, and added a little excitement. David Washington singled to start, and with one out, Camacho doubled to score Washington. Provencher followed with a single to plate Camacho, and Jeff Vincent walked. Eddy Rodriguez reached on an error by the second baseman to load the bases, bringing Jerry Verastegui to the plate. He walked and Provencher scored. With one out, Andrews came to the plate as the tying run. Davis struck him out, and the game was up to Kennard Bibbs. Bibbs popped up to the second baseman, and the ballgame was over.
The Pelicans head to Shreveport four and a half games ahead in first place, five games up on the Captains. The Pelicans start the three-game series on Monday, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Central Time.
Pelicans Acquire 2009 Caribbean Series MVP
August 17, 2009
The Pensacola Pelicans announced today that they signed right handed pitcher Francisco Butto. Butto, a 6’1” 200 pound reliever was the 2009 Caribbean Series MVP. Butto sported a 1.96 ERA with double-A Reading before the Pelicans acquired him.
The Venezuelan was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2009 Caribbean Series, saving four games and posting a 2.70 ERA in the February contest. After the Series, Butto was named to the Venezuelan roster for the World Baseball Classic.
Butto bounced back and forth between double-A and triple-A this year, playing eight games for triple-A Lehigh Valley of the International League this season. The rest of the year Butto pitched for the second place Reading Phillies of the Eastern League.
Butto, originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1999 as an undrafted free agent, advanced as high as triple-A in 2006 for the Yankees’ Columbus affiliate. Butto played the 2007 and 2008 seasons in the triple-A Mexican League, finishing the 2008 season with a career 3.33 ERA and 651 strikeouts.
Francisco Butto joins the Pelicans as they hunt for their first playoff spot since 2005. Currently leading the American Association South Division, the Pelicans clash in their last seven home games against tough division rivals clawing for a piece of the playoff puzzle. The Pelicans duel the Shreveport-Bossier Captains for a three game road series before returning home on Friday, August 21 against the powerful offense of El Paso for three meaningful games. The following weekend, the Pelicans close the regular season against the division-rival Captains in a critical four-game series.
The upcoming three-game home stand features the Pelicans celebrating the birthday of their mascot, Scoop, on Friday, with cake for all sponsored by The Cake Shop. Saturday is College Football Night sponsored by Extended Stay Hotels, and Sunday is Kids Day: all Kids Club members gain free admission when wearing their 2009 Club t-shirts.
Tickets are very affordable, beginning as low as $7. Tickets are available at Pensacola-area Circle K locations, or online at www.pensacolapelicans.com. Phone orders may be placed by calling (850) 934-8444.
Pelicans Comeback to Defeat Diablos
August 15, 2009
With a 9-4 win over the El Paso Diablos Friday night, the Pelicans now lead the American Association South Division by three and a half games. The Pelicans erased a 3-0 Diablos lead by putting up four runs in the fourth inning, and five runs in the eighth.
The Diablos jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first by scoring Jorge Alvarez on a Juan Camacho double. An inning later, El Paso added two more runs by plating Mike Provencher and Jerry Verastegui. Provencher reached on an error by the second baseman, Verastegui walked, and Kennard Bibbs brought both home with a single.
Enter the Pelicans.
With two out in the top of the fourth, Marshall McDougall walked. Marcos Rodriguez followed with a RBI double. Chase Burch hit Rodriguez in with a single, and Burch scored when Adam Darby hit a triple. Lou Palmisano brought Darby in with a triple of his own, and the Pelicans led 4-3 after the fourth inning.
El Paso tied it with a run in the bottom of the fifth when Jeff Vincent tripled and Provencher doubled. The run would be the Diablos’ last, as the Pelicans strung another rally together in the eighth.
Leandro led off the eighth inning with a single. He stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. McDougall walked, and Marcos Rodriguez followed him with a triple to put the Pelicans up by two. Burch hit another single to score Rodriguez again, and Adam Darby thanked Burch by hitting his fourth homer of the year to bring the score to Pelicans 9, Diablos 4.
The score would hold, as Tyler Wilson pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to earn his fifth victory of the year. Wilson allowed one hit and struck out three in relief of starter Aaron Jackson. Jackson went five innings, allowing four runs, though just one was earned. He walked two but struck out three. Ulysses Roque entered the game in the ninth inning and allowed a leadoff hit, but shutdown the next three batters, including a strikeout to end the game.
The Pelicans won, Fort Worth lost, and Grand Prairie beat Shreveport-Bossier to put the Pelicans’ lead in the division to three and a half games, with the Air Hogs in second, the Captains a half game behind them, and Fort Worth five games back in fourth place. El Paso is six games back in the cellar.
The Pelicans will face the Diablos again on Saturday in the middle game of this three game series, with Pensacola starting RHP Dane DeValk against the Diablos’ RHP Josh Neitz. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Central Time. Fans can listen live on NewsRadio 1620 or online via SportsJuice.com.
Sid Wheatley Named New Northview High School Head Football Coach
August 14, 2009
Call him the chief of the Chiefs — Sid Wheatley has officially been named the new Northview High School head football coach.
Wheatley was named interim head coach after Cody Keene resigned in mid-July to accept a coaching job at Hooper Academy in Montgomery. Wheatley was hired as the head football coach this week.
“I’m excited about it,” Wheatley said from his new office Thursday afternoon. “We have a good group of kids, and a good group of seniors. We are working out now, and they look good.”
After four years as an assistant coach, Wheatley said he knows the players and they know him from working together. That allowed him to hit the ground running when he took over as interim head coach.
On the defensive side, Wheatley plans to stick with a 4-3 scheme and push for focus on the ball.
“We’ve got to have 11 guys swarm the football,” he said.
On the offensive side — that one he is keeping to himself, other than to say he plans to throw in a “few wrinkles”.
“We’re working on ball control and wearing down the offense.”
The Chiefs are a classification lower this year, having dropped into Class 2A District 1 with Jay, Baker, Vernon, Sneeds, Freeport, Holmes County, South Walton and Bozeman.
“We are excited about the new class; it will bring a lot of excitement,” Wheatley said. “It is going to be a very competitive district. We are going to work and put ourselves were we want to be.”
There are 20 seniors on this year’s lineup, and Wheatley said those seniors have already been instrumental in providing leadership and motivation for the entire team. Seniors to watch, he said, include John Sellars, Anthony Pierce, Brian Knight and Austin Cooper.
Chris Sheets and Dustin Yuhasz are two others to watch this year, he said.
The new coach said that in the quarterback position, “we have two that are battling it out right now” — senior Brad Lowery and sophomore Brandon Sheets.
“It’s going to be a good year,” Wheatley said.
“We are going to go all the way; we look forward to the playoffs” Principal Gayle Weaver said. “Coach Wheatley was a good choice. He represents the school well, both on and off the field.”
Wheatley was selected for the head coaching job by a selection committee. He had served as Keene’s assistant coach since the 2005 season, most recently coaching the offensive line and defensive backs last season.
Wheatley has served as Northview’s baseball coach since 2005, and he also teaches history at the school. Wheatley attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he received a Bachelor’s degree in coaching and sports administration.
This is not the first time Wheatley has served as a head football coach — he led Loyd Star High School in Brookhaven, Miss. from 2002 to 2003. He’s also served as an assistant football coach at various other schools in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
Tate Grad Jayce Boyd Picks FSU Over MLB
August 14, 2009
Tate High grade Jayce Boyd is heading to Florida State. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers during the Major League Baseball draft, but he decided to play college ball before heading to the majors.
Boyd, a former Aggie third baseman, was chosen in June in the 19th round of the MLB amateur draft. He was expected to be picked in the first five rounds, but fell over concerns that he wanted too high of salary. His asking price was reportedly equal to a full scholarship to FSU where he is already signed to play next year.
Pelicans Top Grand Prairie 6-3
August 13, 2009
In a game that took two hours and ten minutes to get started due to rain, the Pelicans rewarded their faithful by defeating the Grand Prairie Air Hogs 6-3. Wednesday’s game was originally scheduled for 6:35 p.m.; when Hunter Davis rolled up a double play to end the ball game, the clock displayed 11:59 p.m. Randy Beam pitched solidly, earning his ninth win of the year, and Davis picked up save number twenty on Wednesday night.
The Pelicans scored all the runs they would need in the bottom of the third. Lou Palmisano led off and reached on an error by the shortstop, advancing to second when Kevin Reynolds had a bunt single. Leandro walked to load the bases, and Antoin Gray hit a two RBI double that plated Palmisano and Reynolds. Marshall McDougall followed with a base hit to score Leandro, and Rodriguez succeeded him with a single to bring Gray in.
The Air Hogs acquired their only earned run on Pelicans’ starter Randy Beam in the top of the fourth when Javier Brito hit his tenth homer of the year, a solo bomb to left. The Pelicans recovered the run in the bottom of the inning when Reynolds reached first on his second bunt single, moved to third on two walks, and scored on a wild pitch.
Grand Prairie did notch two more runs in the top of the fifth, as J.B. Tucker singled, Incaviglia doubled, and with two out both scored on a throwing error by the shortstop.
Randy Beam pitched through the end of the sixth inning, yielding five hits, walking no one, and striking out six. Bubba Nelson pitched a one-hit seventh inning with a strikeout and Ron Hill pitched a shutout eighth with two punch-outs. Hunter Davis picked up his twentieth save of the year by allowing only one batter to reach first via walk.
Kevin Reynolds and Marcos Rodriguez both went 2-4, with Rodriguez driving in a run and Reynolds scoring twice. Antoin Gray had the two RBI single, scoring once himself. Fresh Pelicans Marshall McDougall and Lee Huggins went 1-3 each, with McDougall driving in a run, and Huggins stealing his first professional base and scoring as well.
The Pelicans have a travel day Thursday before playing the Diablos in El Paso on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Central Time, and can be heard on NewsRadio 1620 and online via SportsJuice.com.
Northview Quarterback Club Holds Dinner For Football Players, Cheerleaders
August 12, 2009
The Northview High School Quarterback Club held an appreciation dinner for the school’s football players and cheerleaders Tuesday night.
Joey McCall, NHS Quarterback Club president, told the players and cheerleaders that the Quarterback Club will stand behind them this year. He wished them the best of luck, and encouraged them to be good representatives of themselves, their families, their school and their community.
The football players and cheerleaders were served hot dogs and homemade ice cream to top off the evening.
Northview’s football season gets underway on September 4 with a home game against Graceville.
For more photos from Tuesday night’s appreciation dinner, click here.
Pictured top: James Shook (left) and John Sellars at the Northview High School Quarterback Club appreciation dinner for the school’s football players and cheerleaders Tuesday night. Pictured below: Cheerleaders Sarah Killam (left) and Ande Gideons at the dinner. Submitted photos by Heather Leonard for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pelicans Out-Hit Air Hogs, But Lose 12-10
August 12, 2009
A day after the Pelicans came back from a ninth-inning deficit, the Pelicans put up five runs to find themselves trailing to the Air Hogs 12-10 in the bottom of the ninth. With Francisco Leandro at third and Antoin Gray at first and one out, Marcos Rodriguez hit a ground ball to Javier Brito at first. Brito tagged the base and threw to Berg covering second. Gray headed back to first but Berg threw to Brito, Brito tagged Gray, and the ballgame was over with the Air Hogs victorious.
The Air Hogs scored six runs in the first inning against Pelicans’ starter Adam Brandenburg. Brandenburg pitched until the fifth inning, allowing 11 runs (seven earned) on eight hits, with eight walks and three strikeouts. The Air Hogs’ Caesar Nicolas was the first batter to face Aaron Jackson, and though Nicolas hit a three run homer, the runners on base were attributed to Brandenburg. After that one hit, Jackson joined with Bubba Nelson, Ulysses Roque, and Hunter Davis to retire the rest of the Air Hogs without a hit, setting the Pelicans up for a comeback run.
The comeback would fall short however, as the Pelicans did score two runs in the first inning, the first coming on Kevin Reynolds’ home run as the first Pelicans batter. Leandro followed with a double, and after moving to third on Gray’s single, Leandro scored on Marcos Rodriguez’s sacrifice line-out to left field.
Pensacola added three more runs in the fourth inning, using a Reynolds’ base hit to score Lou Palmisano, and Dallas Christison and Reynolds both scored as well. Trailing 12-5 entering the ninth, the Pelicans chances looked grim, but then the hits came.
Chase Burch singled, Darby as well, and Lou Palmisano brought Burch home with one of his own. Christison plated Darby with a base knock, and Kevin Reynolds did the same for Palmisano. Leandro doubled to drive in Christison and Reynolds, and Antoin singled to advance Leandro to third. Marshall McDougall, signed today, flied to right field, and then Rodriguez hit the aforementioned groundball to first, and the comeback fell short.
The Pelicans can look to their 13 runners left on base, four errors, and 11 walks as reasons why the Air Hogs won. Still the Pelicans recorded twice as many hits as the Air Hogs, notching 18.
Kevin Reynolds went 3-6 with his first homer as a Pelican, driving in three, and Francisco Leandro went 3-5 with two doubles and two runs batted in. Antoin Gray went 3-6 with a RBI and Dallas Christison went 3-4, scoring twice. In his Pelicans debut, Marshall McDougall made a couple nice plays at third.
The Pelicans and Air Hogs play the rubber match of the series tomorrow, with Randy Beam throwing the first pitch at 6:35 p.m.