Ignoffo’s Walk-Off Salvages White’s Great Night In Wild Wahoos Win
May 9, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos played through rain to beat the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Friday night, surviving a late ninth-inning collapse to win 5-4 on a Ryan Ignoffo walk-off single.
On an evening devoted to a bobblehead giveaway of 2025 staff ace Thomas White, it was Brandon White who wowed the crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The righty allowed just a single and a walk over 6.2 scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 11 batters.
As steady rain accumulated, the Blue Wahoos took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on an Emaarion Boyd double and Ignoffo sacrifice fly. They added another run in the fourth on a Jay Beshears double and Gage Miller RBI groundout.
White was flawless aside from a first-inning walk and third-inning Mac McCroskey single, and struck out the side in the top of the fifth to make the game official. The Blue Wahoos doubled their lead in the bottom of the fifth against Rocket City starter Ryan Costieu, as Fenwick Trimble hit an RBI double and Ignoffo hit an RBI single for a 4-0 advantage.
White became the first Blue Wahoos starter to work into the seventh inning this season as he finished his outing with a strikeout of Matthew Lugo, his career-high 11th of the night.
The Trash Pandas got a run back in the eighth with a Raudi Rodriguez sacrifice fly off Luis Palacios, though Nigel Belgrave (W, 1-2) entered to strike out Matthew Lugo as the potential tying run with two men aboard. Belgrave couldn’t quite shut the door in the ninth, however, as the Trash Pandas collected three consecutive two-out hits to tie the game 4-4. Pinch hitter Gustavo Campero singled to keep the game alive, and Kyren Paris followed with a pinch-hit, two-run triple. Wade Meckler tied the game with an infield RBI single, though he was stranded at second as Belgrave struck out Tucker Flint to stop the rally.
The Blue Wahoos got their leadoff man on in the bottom of the ninth against Trash Pandas closer Kenyon Yovan (L, 2-1), as Boyd reached on catcher’s interference. He stole second, took third on a groundout, and came in on Ignoffo’s two-out RBI single to center field.
The victory marked Pensacola’s first walk-off win of the season, and Ignoffo’s first of his Blue Wahoos career.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Saturday night.
written by Erik Bremer
Lewis Jr. Homers In Wahoos 7-3 Loss To Trash Pandas
May 8, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell to the Rocket City Trash Pandas by a final score of 7-3 on Thursday night.
Pensacola was playing catch up early, when two runs scored on a ground ball that ate up Wahoos shortstop Payton Green off the bat of Rocket City leadoff hitter Wade Meckler, Green’s first error of the year.
The Blue Wahoos would answer back in the fourth inning, when Dillon Lewis walked with one out and Ian Lewis Jr. would send one over the right field wall for a 2-run homer, his third blast of the year. Two batters later, Payton Green would hit his team leading 8th double of the year and would eventually score on a Ryan Ignoffo go ahead RBI single, giving the club a 3-2 lead. Ignoffo had entered the game in the second inning, filling in for an injured Spencer Bramwell.
Pensacola starter Orlando Ortiz-Mayr would be taken out of the game in the 5th after allowing back-to-back singles to Kyren Paris and Gustavo Campero. Mason Vinyard would be the first arm called on out of the pen, and while he would retire three consecutive batters, a flyball and a ground out would move Paris to third and home, tying the game at 3-3.
That score would hold until the top of the 7th, when Pensacola reliever Logan Whitaker (L, 2-1) would allow two runs on a two run bomb off the bat of Rocket City’s Matthew Lugo, giving the Pandas a 5-3 lead. They would add to that lead in the top of the 8th, when Nick Rodriguez would send the first pitch he saw into left field for a two out, two run single, making it a 7-3 game.
The offense would threaten in the 8th, but ultimately come up empty before going down quietly in the 9th, finalizing the 7-3 loss. Trash Pandas reliever Camden Minacci (W, 1-2) was credited with his first win of the season and Luke Murphy locked down his third save of the season.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Friday evening.
written by Charlie Hobert
Big Inning Downs Wahoos For Second Straight Game
May 7, 2026
The Blue Wahoos dropped their second straight game against Rocket City by a final score of 10-1.
Pensacola starter Alex Williams (L, 0-4) worked around a bases loaded jam in the top of the second before the ‘Hoos offense gave him a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third, courtesy of a Fenwick Trimble RBI single that scored Emaarion Boyd.
That lead would last until Pensacola’s defensive woes would impact the top of the fifth inning. After a leadoff single from Mac McCroskey, Wahoos shortstop Cristian Hernández would drop a routine pop up off the bat of Arol Vera. Both those runners would come around to score on a couple of RBI fielder’s choices from Kyren Paris and Gustavo Campero.
Tucker Flint’s RBI single would drive Williams from the game after 4.1 innings. Luis Palacios would be immediately greeted by another dropped flyball, this time by Fenwick Trimble on a Raudi Rodriguez batted ball, scoring the fourth and final run of the inning.
The Trash Pandas would add six more runs the rest of the way, scoring one in the sixth and five in the ninth, batting nine while doing so. The Pensacola offense would go quiet for the remainder of the game, sealing their fate. Jose Rodriguez (W, 2-1) earned the win for Rocket City after going 6.0 innings and allowing just one run while striking out nine.
The bright spots came from Fenwick Trimble, who doubled and walked while going 3-3, and Colby Martin, who had his best outing of the year, pitching two scoreless innings on one hit and one walk.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Thursday evening.
written by Charlie Hobert
Lady Chiefs Dominate Blue Devils In Mercy Rule Regional Semifinal Shutout Win
May 6, 2026
The scoreboard operator was busy Tuesday evening as the Northview Lady Chiefs shut out the Holmes County Blue Devils 15-0 in a mercy rule shortened two and a half inning Rural Division regional semifinal game on Tuesday in Bratt.
The top-seeded Chiefs move on to the regional finals on May 12. Northview will host the winner of Wednesday’s Jay at Chipley game.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Mikayla McAnally surrendered three hits and no runs over two and a half innings, striking out seven and walking none.
Kylee Langham went 2-3 at the plate for the Lady Chiefs. McAnally, Addysen Bolen, Langham, Daviona Randolph, Avery Stuckey, and Aubrey Hadley each had two RBIs.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Allie Penton, click to enlarge.
Jalia Lassiter Named SEC Player Of The Week
May 6, 2026
Flomaton High School graduate and Atmore native Jalia Lassiter was named the SEC Player of the Week.
Lassiter led LSU with nine total hits, highlighted by three multi-hit games in the 4-0 weekend for the Fighting Tigers. The senior had a .600 batting average and paced the team with a 1.000 slugging percentage after tallying four extra-base hits (three doubles and a homer). Lassiter capped off an eight-run second inning with a two-run blast in the 16-0 victory over McNeese before recording multiple hits in all three games of the series against Auburn. Lassiter had two base knocks, including a run-scoring single and a two-run home run robbery in the series opener. She followed that with a career-best four hits and scored three runs in the historic 25-0 victory and logged her second three-RBI game of the week. Lassiter concluded the weekend with a 2-for-4 performance in the finale, helping LSU secure the sweep.
Lassiter is the seventh LSU Tiger to record multiple seasons with 60 hits and 50 runs, and her 58 runs this season rank No. 7 in the SEC. The senior leads LSU with a .361 average and 13 doubles, and has eight home runs this season, a personal career-best.
Early Lead Slips Aways As Wahoos Fall To Trash Pandas
May 6, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos were well-positioned to win their sixth game in a row on Tuesday night, but saw an early 6-0 lead vanish in a 9-6 loss to the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead against Rocket City starter Joel Hurtado, turning a leadoff error in the second inning into a 1-0 lead on a Dylan Jasso RBI single. They added another in the third inning on a Ryan Ignoffo RBI single, and capitalized on a two-out error in the fourth to score four unearned runs thanks to a three-run double from Dillon Lewis.
Staked to a 6-0 lead, Blue Wahoos pitcher Jacob Miller saw his dominant start come to a screeching halt in the fifth. A leadoff error from third baseman Ian Lewis Jr. opened the door for a three-run frame, as Nick Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly, Harold Coll hit an RBI double, and Wade Meckler hit an RBI single. Tucker Flint made a bid for a game-tying hit, but Blue Wahoos left fielder Brendan Jones made a diving catch to leave the bases loaded and preserve a 6-3 edge.
Rocket City got a run back in the sixth on a Matthew Lugo triple and Rodriguez groundout, and took the lead in the seventh. After reliever Kade Bragg (L, 1-1) hit Lugo to load the bases with two outs, Rodriguez lashed a three-run triple to right-center field off Nigel Belgrave for a 7-6 lead. Rodriguez scored on a passed ball to extend the Rocket City lead to 8-6.
Gustavo Campero tacked on insurance with a solo homer in the ninth that the Blue Wahoos contended was foul down the right field line. The Trash Pandas bullpen, led by 2.1 scoreless innings from Lucas Mahlstedt (W, 1-0) and a lockdown ninth from Kenyon Yovan (S, 3), held the Blue Wahoos to just one hit over the final five innings.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Wednesday morning with an Education Day matchup. First pitch from Blue Wahoos Stadium is scheduled for 11:05 a.m.
written by Erik Bremer
Northview’s Season Ends In Regional Semifinals
May 4, 2026
Northview was at bat, down 9-7 in the bottom of the seventh with the bases loaded with one out. Everybody in the dugout was up and loud. A standing-room only Chiefs family cheered. There wasn’t a cloud in the blue skies over Bratt on a beautiful Sunday afternoon for baseball. A regional championship for the Chiefs seemed like a very real possibility.
Everything was perfect.
Until it wasn’t.
A groundball up the middle and one, two…a double play by the Chipley Tigers earned them a 2-1 series win and a Rural Region 1 semifinal win.
“It hurts.”
That’s how first-year Northview Chiefs head coach Justin Raley reacted to Sunday’s 9-7 loss to the Chipley Tigers.
“It hurts because you know how much it means to the seniors, to everybody that’s a part of this program. It hurts. I know what it’s like to win it, and I know how it feels to lose it, and it hurts so bad,” he said. “Especially when you know you had a chance. Oh yeah, so many chances, and we just kind of left it out there.”
Friday rain had forced two games on Saturday in the regional semifinals, with Chipley taking the first game 10-3 in a best-of-three series, and Northview powering back with a big 16-8 win in the nightcap.
Chipley held a 5-2 lead in the top of the third on Sunday, but the Chiefs battled back before Chipley took the lead 9-6 in the top of the seventh.
Bryant Mason went 2-5 to lead the Chiefs in hits on Sunday, while Grayden Sheffield, Dane King, Grayson Burns and Cole Davis each added one hit.
Portwood went four innings on the hill for NHS, allowing five hits, five runs (four earned), striking out three and walking six. Jackson Bridges went for three innings, surrendering four hits and four runs (one earned), striking out five and walking three.
For a photo gallery, click to enlarge.
“Guys, I’m proud of you,” Raley, who last year was an assistant coach at Jay, told the team after the game. He pointed out the team was 19-10, and had beat Jay three times, including once to claim the district championship.
“It was a great year and we did so many great things with this group of guys. They changed some stuff around here, and I’m proud of them,” he said, already looking forward to next season.
“We’ve got a lot of good guys coming back, a lot of guys that are going to return and do good things,” Raley said. “There’s a good chance we can be back in the same spot next year, if we do what we are supposed to do.”
Chipley will now travel to Holmes County for the Rural Region 1 final on May 8-9.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win Fifth In A Row As Manager Prada Reaches Milestone In Style
May 4, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos won their fifth game in a row on Sunday afternoon, beating the Biloxi Shuckers 9-4 and securing manager Nelson Prada’s 800th career victory.
Cristian Hernández launched his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning, with Prada’s help. After umpires initially ruled the drive foul down the left field line, Prada successfully lobbied the crew to overturn the call in what proved to be the biggest momentum swing of the afternoon.
For the fifth game in a row, the Shuckers jumped ahead early in the top of the first inning as Damon Keith hit a two-run homer against Pensacola lefty Luis Palacios. It was the third home run of the series for Keith, and second in as many days.
The Blue Wahoos got a run back in the bottom of the first when Ryan Ignoffo grounded out with the bases loaded, but the Shuckers answered in turn in the top of the third when Jesús Made lined a solo home run off the left field foul pole.
Trailing 3-1, the Blue Wahoos chipped away with a Fenwick Trimble RBI single in the third and Gage Miller RBI double in the fourth to tie the game. After Stephen Jones and Mason Vinyard (W, 1-0) each contributed a scoreless inning of relief, Jay Beshears put Pensacola in front 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double against Shuckers reliever Anthony Flores (L, 2-1). Hernández followed with a liner headed down the left field line into Pensacola Bay, initially ruled foul but overturned for a two-run homer and a 6-3 lead.
Another Biloxi homer, a solo shot from Darrien Miller in the top of the seventh, drew the score to 6-4. The Blue Wahoos added on insurance in their half of the inning, as Brendan Jones tripled, Ignoffo hit a sacrifice fly, Beshears hit a solo home run and Miller hit his second RBI double of the game. Gabe Bierman closed out the 9-4 win with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Blue Wahoos pulled into a tie for second place in the South Division standings, only 1.0 game behind first-place Montgomery.
written by Erik Bremer
Northview Chiefs Split With Chipley Tigers To Force Sunday Regional Decider
May 3, 2026
The Northview Chiefs dropped their first regional semifinal game to the Chipley Tigers 10-3 Saturday afternoon, but the Chiefs doubled down in a long nightcap, powering ahead to a 16-8 win. That tied the best-of-three series at 1-1, setting up a deciding game on Sunday afternoon.
GAME 1: Chipley 10, Northview 3
Saturday’s afternoon in the regional semis was the first game the Northview Chiefs had played in 15 days, since winning the district championship 2-1 over Jay back on April 17. And it showed, according to head coach Justin Raley.
Chipley set the tone in the first inning with a two-run homer to left field, and added a solo home run to left field in the third.
Grayson Burns opened on the mound for the Chiefs, surrendering two hits and three runs in two innings, striking out three and walking four. Gage Harrison threw four and one-third innings in relief for the Chiefs, giving up eight hits and seven runs (six earned), while striking out four and walking five.
At the plate, Grayden Sheffield went 2-4 for NHS. Burns, Luke Chavers, and Bryant Mason each had one run.
GAME 2: Northview 16, Chipley 8
The Chiefs found their rhythm in a nearly four-hour game two, doubling up on Chipley 16-8 on a chilly Saturday night with temperatures dropping into the middle 50s.
Northview took an early 7-0 lead by the top of the third but saw it eroded to an 8-8 tie in the fourth inning.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Bryant Mason went 4-6 with three RBIs at the plate for the Chiefs. Jase Portwood was 3-4 with two RBIs and Grayden Sheffield was 2-4 with one RBI.
Senior Jackson Bridges had his first career home run, a fly ball to center field, while Taylor Curtis and Grayson Burns also had a hit each.
Mason earned the win for the Chiefs, surrendering one hit and one unearned run in three and two-thirds innings, walking seven and striking out seven. Jack Boutwell opened on the hill for NHS, allowing four hits and seven runs (six earned) in two and one-third innings, striking out none and walking three. Portwood threw one inning of no-hit ball in relief, striking out two and walking none.
GAME 3
The final game in the best-of-three series will be 3 p.m. on Sunday. The winner will advance to take on the Holmes County Blue Devils on Friday. Holmes County took two from the Jay Royals on Saturday [Read more...]
Northview Softball Regional Rescheduled For Tuesday
May 3, 2026
Northview’s regional opener has been rescheduled from Thursday to Tuesday, due to a high chance of rain currently in the forecast for Thursday.
Ranked No. 1, Northview (18-5) will host No. 4 Holmes County (8-16) at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. The regional finals are still scheduled for Tuesday, May 12.
The state Rural semifinal is May 19, followed by the state championship on May 20, at Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.