Chosen 12u Wins Brewton YMCA All-Star Tournament
June 28, 2024
The Chosen 12u softball team recently went undefeated to claim the Brewton Area YMCA All-Star Tournament. The victories included an eight inning 9-8 victory in the championship game against Monroeville’s all-stars.
The Chosen 12U softball team is home-based in Century with players from Century, Northwest Escambia and the surrounding area.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Warren’s One-Man Show Sends Wahoos To 3-2 Defeat
June 28, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell 3-2 to the Biloxi Shuckers on Thursday night in a game dominated by Shuckers first baseman Zavier Warren.
Warren, who had just been activated off Biloxi’s development list earlier in the day, hit an RBI single in the second inning and the eventual game-winning two-run triple in the fourth off Cade Gibson (L, 0-1) to account for all three Shuckers runs.
The Blue Wahoos went 1-for-11 with men in scoring position on the night, squandering an early opportunity with the bases loaded and nobody out in the second inning and finding little success later in the game. Biloxi starter Brett Wichrowski danced around trouble for 3.0 scoreless innings before a 29-minute rain delay in the bottom of the third hastened his departure.
Paul McIntosh got Pensacola on the board with a solo homer, his sixth of the year, in the fourth. TJ Shook (W, 4-7) also allowed an RBI triple in the seventh to Jacob Berry as the Wahoos drew to within a run, but Craig Yoho escaped the jam with the potential tying run in scoring position to end Pensacola’s final threat of the night.
Both teams’ bullpens performed well in the late innings, as Pensacola’s Zach McCambley and Patrick Murphy combined for 4.0 scoreless frames and Blake Holub (S, 6) sealed the one-run Biloxi victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Shuckers on Friday. First pitch from Keesler Federal Park is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Molino 12U All-Star Softball Wins State Championship
June 27, 2024
Molino 12U All-Star softball are state champions . Up next, they are headed to the World Series in Gardendale, Alabama, July 10-14. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Show Stoppers Stop The Show With Undefeated USSSA Summer Classic Win
June 26, 2024
The Show Stoppers 2030 ladies stole the show recently in Tiger Point as they went a perfect 6-0 in the USSSA Summer Classic for the championship.
They are now preparing for the national championships in Gulf Shores in a few weeks.
The Show Stoppers finished the season ranked No. 4 in Florida and No. 18 in the country in USSSA amongst 12uB class teams.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Rally Falls Short In 5-4 Loss To Shuckers
June 26, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped their second half opener on Tuesday night, falling 5-4 to the Biloxi Shuckers despite a spirited ninth-inning rally.
Down to their final strike in the ninth, Harrison Spohn hit a three-run homer to draw the Blue Wahoos to within a run before Jakob Marsee struck out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
The Shuckers manufactured an early run against Pensacola starter Adam Laskey (L, 3-2), turning a hit-by-pitch of Darrien Miller in the second inning into a 1-0 lead thanks to an Adam Hall sacrifice fly. That would be the only blemish for Laskey, who completed a season-high 5.0 innings and struck out six.
Biloxi starter Jacob Misiorowski (W, 2-2) was even better, turning in 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in an encore performance after earning Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday.
The Shuckers extended their lead to 2-0 without a hit in the sixth, as Carlos Rodriguez drew a walk against Chandler Jozwiak and stole two bases before scoring on a throwing error from catcher Joe Mack. Three more unearned runs scored in the seventh, as a Jacob Berry throwing error at third base opened the door for RBI singles from Dylan O’Rae and Rodriguez.
The Blue Wahoos got on the board in the seventh with an RBI double from Cody Morissette, but even the Spohn homer in the ninth was not enough as Pensacola dropped just their third game out of 12 against the Shuckers this season.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Shuckers on Wednesday. First pitch from Keesler Federal Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Molino 9U Wins Escambia Annual All-Star Tournament Championship
June 24, 2024
The Molino 9U All-star team won the championship in the Escambia County Parks and Recreation 3rd Annual All-Star Tournament held at the NEP Bark.
The undefeated Molino 9U team defeated NEP Gold for the title.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Drop Series Finale To Chattanooga As Montgomery Clinches Division
June 24, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
Sometime in the top of the sixth inning Sunday, it became official from afar that the Montgomery Biscuits had clinched the Southern League’s first half South Division crown.
Coincidentally, the Blue Wahoos had their game lead evaporate and never reclaimed as the Chattanooga Lookouts took a 6-4 win in the series finale that left a quiet mood among a crowd of 4,488 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola’s bid for a third straight First Half divisional win in the league, and accompanying playoff qualifying spot, came up 1.5 games behind Montgomery in the standings as the season now resets for the second half.
But the week still ended full of impact.
The Blue Wahoos twice wore jerseys this week, including Sunday, to honor the Pensacola Seagulls and their impact during a segregated era. Sunday’s game was part of Minor League Baseball’s “The Nine” to recognize the number Jackie Robinson wore during his Minor League career before breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
The Blue Wahoos’ (38-30) second-place finish came with a seventh winning record in the past eight half-seasons with three different affiliations.
And this year’s edition stayed in contention until the Biscuits scored an eighth-inning run and held off the Birmingham Barons 5-4 in their final first half game.
Sunday started just fine for the Blue Wahoos.
They took a 4-0 lead after two innings. Three of the first four batters in the first inning reached base. Zach Zubia hit a two-run double and Nathan Martorella followed with a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Cody Morissette blasted a solo homer in the second inning on a ball that traveled 455 feet and hit the top of a table umbrella on the Coors Light Cold Zone in right field.
Paul Mcintosh led off the third inning with a double, but was stranded. It became one of the Blue Wahoos’ last scoring opportunities.
The Lookouts (20-49), the Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate, who struggled to finish with the worst record in all minor league levels, concluded their final first half with a series split in Pensacola.
They got a two-run homer from Ivan Johnson off Blue Wahoos starter Jonathan Bermúdez in the third inning, then a solo blast from No. 9 hitter Jose Torres in the fifth inning.
In the eventful sixth, the Lookouts loaded the bases, got an RBI groundout by Torres, then a two-run double by Johnson off reliever Dale Stanavich that became the game-winner.
Two Chattanooga relievers to shut out the Blue Wahoos in the final four innings.
The Blue Wahoos will now take Monday off, recharge, then begin the second half of the schedule on Tuesday in Biloxi against the Biloxi Shuckers.
WHAT’s NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Biloxi Shuckers
WHEN: Tuesday through Sunday (June 30).
WHERE: Keesler Federal Park, Biloxi, Miss.
Undefeated Century 10U Lady Legends Win rewton YMCA All-Star Tourney
June 23, 2024
The Century Baseball Association 10U Lady Legends went undefeated in the Brewton YMCA All-Star tournament to claim the championship Saturday. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Hold Off Lookouts To Provide Chance At First Half Division Crown
June 23, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
The Blue Wahoos will now play the final game of their first half schedule on Sunday with another playoff berth at stake.
They can thank Diego Infante’s slide and Jakob Marsee’s triple for helping make it happen.
Infante avoided being tagged on an sixth-inning steal attempt, then scored on a Marsee triple in Pensacola’s 5-4 victory Saturday night on a Copa initiative game against the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Taking on their alternate identity Saturday as the Pensacola Pok Ta Pok, honoring the first ballgame of the Americas centuries ago as part of the Minor League Baseball Copa de la Diversión series, the Blue Wahoos got the win and got some help to make Sunday a dramatic finale to the first half schedule.
That’s because the Birmingham Barons knocked off the Montgomery Biscuits 4-1 in 10 innings, enabling the Blue Wahoos to move to within a half-game of the Biscuits in the league’s South Division.
The Biscuits at home have a half-hour head start Sunday before Pensacola’s 4:05 p.m. weekend finale against Chattanooga.
Half of the Southern League will end the first half in playoff contention Sunday. The Tennessee Smokies had a walk-off win Saturday against the Mississippi Braves to pull within a half-game of Birmingham, so it’s the same scenario in the North Division.
After the Lookouts (19-49), who wore their own Copa de la Diversión uniforms, rallied in the middle innings from a 4-0 deficit to tie Saturday’s game, the Blue Wahoos (38-28) answered with a decisive run.
Infante led off the sixth inning by reaching base on a wild pitch from a swinging strikeout. With two out and Marsee at the plate, Infante took off on a steal attempt. The throw beat him to the bag, but his deft move on the slide avoided the tag and he was ruled safe.
Two pitches later, Marsee connected to send a ball into the left-center gap, easily scoring Infante for the go-ahead run on an eventual triple.
That became the game-winning run.
Relievers Anderson Pilar (4th hold), Matt Pushard (7th hold) and closer Austin Roberts with his league-best 11th save, combined to shut down the Barons lineup to seal the win. The trio allowed just two hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
Roberts struck out the side in the ninth and reacted with natural emotion as the Blue Wahoos knew they will now play a potential decisive game Sunday to determine the South Division first half winner. The Blue Wahoos have won the first half the past two seasons and reached the league championship series both times – winning the title in 2022.
Blue Wahoos starter Luis Palacios, who struggled in both starts last year against Chattanooga, allowing eight earned runs in 11 innings, fared much better Saturday.
He carried a shutout into the fifth when the Lookouts scored two runs off fielding errors. But Palacios made a big pitch to end a bases-loaded situation in that inning.
In the top of the sixth, Austin Hendrick tied the game with a one out homer run that just cleared a leaping attempt by Infante in right field.
Seven different Blue Wahoos players each had one hit.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
Blue Wahoos’ Morissette Excites Family, Sellout Crowd In Win Over Lookouts
June 22, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
His grandparents and other relatives were waiting near home plate to embrace Cody Morissette following the Blue Wahoos’ 6-4 win Friday against the Chattanooga Lookouts.
The reunion was part of what had Morissette sporting a big grin.
The Blue Wahoos’ second baseman homered and tripled in his first two at-bats, a breakout kind of game that helped build a 6-0 lead in the third inning. The pitching staff did the rest to finish the game, even the series, and delight a sellout crowd (5,038) at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It’s always nice having (relatives in town). And to be able to perform like that, it’s always fun,” said Morissette, who drove in a pair of runs with his two big hits. “We had a lot of good at bats up and down the lineup and we’ve got to keep doing that moving forward.”
The Blue Wahoos’ lead happened quickly, nearly as fast as replica home jerseys were distributed on a Giveaway Friday, sponsored by Pepsi. Fans began waiting more than three hours before the game to receive one of the most-coveted giveaway items in recent team history.
The win pushed the Blue Wahoos (37-29) to eight games above .500 with the season’s first half ending on Sunday, but it failed to narrow the playoff-qualifying chase.
The Montgomery Biscuits pulled away from the Birmingham Barons in their game Friday, enabling the Biscuits to have two chances now at clinching the Southern League South Division first half race with a 1.5 game lead on Pensacola.
The Blue Wahoos won first half divisional races the past two seasons en route to reaching the championship series. No matter how the weekend ends, the Blue Wahoos have produced winning records in four of the five half-seasons in the past three years – not an easy feat with all the constant roster changes each time.
“I think (this first half) could have been better,” Morissette said. “But we are a scrappy group of guys and put ourselves in a position to have a chance at this.
“Our pitching staff has been lights out all year. You know, the bats have been unlucky at times, and we’re figuring it out as a lineup and that’s all we can do. To be one and a half games out with two games to go is the kind of baseball you want to play.
“So whether we win it or not, we’ve put ourselves in a position to play at a high level and try to win this first half.”
Facing Chattanooga starter Rhett Lowder – the Cincinnati Reds’ No. 1 rated prospect – the Blue Wahoos immediately jumped to a lead.
Paul McIntosh singled and Joe Mack walked with one out in the first inning. Nathan Martorella then laced a two-run double.
Morissette led off the second inning with a home run just over the wall into the right field berm. In the third inning, Mack led off with a homer against Lowder, then Jacob Berry followed with an RBI single and scored on Morissette’s triple.
“I’ve been just kind of working on my swing as of late,” Morissette said. “Baseball is a lot of ups and downs and just trying to stay loose, free and easy up there. (Friday) I felt that for the first time and was able to put the bat on the ball in some big situations.”
Blue Wahoos lefthander Cade Gibson, making his second start since joining the Blue Wahoos, worked into the fifth inning in a solid outing, allowing five hits, no walks and seven strikeouts. Chandler Jozwiak followed the next two innings to earn his third win.
Three more relievers followed. The Lookouts scored three runs in the ninth off Patrick Murphy, but he struck out Nick Northcut with two runners on base in the ninth to end the game.
Pensacola Catholic grad Donovan Benoit made his first appearance in the series for the Lookouts. He pitched a clean eighth inning with one strikeout and joined the handful of former Pensacola area players to play in Blue Wahoos Stadium for an opposing team.
The Blue Wahoos will try to take a lead in the series on Saturday with Luis Palacios on the mound in a game televised on Blab TV.
GAME NOTABLES
— Blue Wahoos players, including relievers Dale Stanovich and Kyle Crigger, who later made scoreless relief pitching appearances in Friday’s game, helped distribute the replica jerseys to the massive throng of fans entering the ballpark when gates opened in at 5 p.m.
The entire supply of 1,000 jerseys provided by sponsor Pepsi, were gone in seven minutes. That is an unofficial record for a giveaway item in Blue Wahoos franchise history. The first arriving fans were at the ballpark before 2:30, setting up folding chairs and outside of the main gate.
— Helping bolster the sellout crowd were 778 fans who were part of a wide variety of groups attending the game. There were more than a dozen groups attending the game on the party decks.
— Ryan Laskey, who worked as a Pensacola Air Traffic controller for the past 14 years, threw out a ceremonial first pitch. He is moving on to a new position out of the area.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: Saturday, 6:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium