Wahoos Win In 10 Over Braves
June 15, 2023
The Blue Wahoos checked off the lone void so far in their stellar season.
They won their first extra-inning game. And did it dramatically, of course.
Catcher Will Banfield worked a full count with the bases loaded, then completed a big night by launching a deep fly to center field for a sacrifice fly that scored Troy Johnson with the winning run in the Blue Wahoos’ 5-4 victory in 10 innings against the Mississippi Braves.
Earlier in the game he blasted a 3-run homer.
The Blue Wahoos had a 4-3 lead in the ninth and were one out and no base runners from finishing the game. But reliever Jefry Yan gave up a walk, a double and single. Griffin Conine, however, made a saving throw from right field to thwart Beau Philip from scoring the go-ahead run.
Yan was then strong in the 10th inning. With a runner placed a second in the extra-inning format, he struck out Jesse Franklin, got a short flyball that J.D. Orr rushed in to grab, then struck on the M-Braves Javier Valdes to end the inning. Yan had the crowd fired up, spinning in a celebratory, emotional dance when he ended the inning.
That lift carried right into the Blue Wahoos at-bat. With Johnston placed at second, Victor Mesa Jr. reached on an infield single. Conine was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Up stepped Banfield, who had a pitch from flamethrowing reliever Kyle Wilcox sail over his head, but bounce right back to prevent Johnston from scoring. Banfield then worked a 3-2 count, fouled off a pitch and connected with the next fastball for a flyball that easily scored Johnston.
With the Biloxi Shuckers rained out Wednesday in Montgomery, the Blue Wahoos (36-22) are now 6.5 games ahead of the Shuckers – the nearest team chasing – in the race for the Southern League first half title.
The M-Braves took a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a pair of solo home runs off Blue Wahoos starter M.D. Johnson.
In the bottom of the second, Mesa Jr. singled and Conine singled, then Banfield blasted for a 3-2 lead. The Blue Wahoos made it 4-2 when Cody Morissette scored on a wild pitch in the third inning.
The Blue Wahoos got strong relief from Austin Roberts and Dylan Bice, who combined for four innings and just one run allowed. That set up the riveting ending.
The Blue Wahoos will have their top pitcher, Patrick Monteverde (6-1, 2.09) on the mound Thursday against the M-Braves’ Scott Blewett (2-3, 4.43).
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
NEP 8U Softball Wins GCGSA All-Star Tournament
June 14, 2023
NEP 8U softball took first place in the GCGSA All-Star Tournament last weekend.
The NEP All Stars went 3-0 on Saturday, defeating Pace Blue 15-14, Molino 12-11 and Pace Red 10-0. On Sunday they started the day with a 9-0 loss to Navarre then beat Pace Blue 11-10 and Navarre 10-0 to force the title game. They topped Navarre 13-9 in five innings to claim the title.
Sadie Jones was named the 8U Tournament Defensive Player MVP.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win 12-9 Over Mississippi
June 14, 2023
Cody Morissette and Dalvy Rosario created a hit-making, run-scoring tsunami Tuesday, power-surging the Blue Wahoos into a 12-9 victory against the Mississippi Braves to open their six-game series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Morissette became the second Blue Wahoos player in less than two months this season to hit for the cycle – one of the game’s rarest feats – after it had been done just once before in franchise history.
Rosario, meanwhile, continued to wow. Playing just his fourth game for the Blue Wahoos, he went 3-for-5, including his third home run. He joined the team Friday from the Beloit Sky Carp, the Miami Marlins’ High-A affiliate, and promptly ignited his future with a walk-off homer.
The Blue Wahoos (36-22), who maintained a six-game lead against Biloxi in the Southern League division race, led 12-4 into the ninth inning, before the M-Braves got five runs off reliever Zack Leban. He recorded the final two outs.
Morissette, who went 4-for-6 with three RBI, was part of the Blue Wahoos’ season-high 18 hits. The infielder started with a run-scoring double in the third inning.
He then hit a solo homer in the fourth, tripled to lead off the sixth and spun a infield single in the seventh to get the four different hits for the cycle. Donald Lutz in 2014 was the only other Blue Wahoos player to get the feat prior to this season.
Victor Mesa Jr. hit for the cycle on April 18 against the Birmingham Barons. That game was a 10-4 loss.
This one was a middle-inning explosion for the Blue Wahoos. They scored a combined 10 runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Four other players had multiple hits.
With their win, the Blue Wahoos put Montgomery and Mississippi – the other two teams in the division – further back in the rear-view mirror at 8 and 8.5 games back respectively. There are now 11 games left in the first-half schedule to determine a playoff spot.
Troy Johnston began the scoring barrage with his solo homer in the first inning. He went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. After the M-Braves took a 3-1 lead in the third inning, the Blue Wahoos responded with 11 runs in the next four innings.
Rosario, 22, a centerfielder and Dominican Republic native, hit a 2-run, 2-out homer in fourth inning to regain the lead for the Blue Wahoos and change the game. It started with Cobie Fletcher-Vance taking a high pitch on a 3-2 count to reach base.
From there, four runs ensued. After Rosario’s bomb, Nasim Nunez tripled and Morissette blasted a ball into the right center berm.
In the fifth inning, Norel Gonzalez and Will Banfield led off with singles. Griffin Conine followed with a monster blast over the batter’s eye in center field. Conine and Johnston both had RBI singles in the sixth as the lead continued to build.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Molino 12U Teams Take First And Second At All Star Tournament
June 13, 2023
Molino Ballpark 12U teams brought home first and second places in this past weekend’s All Star Tournament. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NWE All Stars Win Cal Ripken 10U Championship, Flomaton Takes Second
June 12, 2023
The Northwest Escambia 10U All Stars won the Cal Ripken District 7 10U All Star Tournament this past weekend in Flomaton. The Flomaton Hurricanes took the runner-up spot after falling 4-1 to NWE. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino 16U All Stars Win Take First Place In Navarre Tourney
June 12, 2023
Molino Force 16U took first place in a weekend all-stars tournament in Navarre, defeating NEP, Tiger Point, Pace, Perdido, and Navarre. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Biscuits Rally Late, Send Blue Wahoos To 9-7 Loss
June 12, 2023
The Blue Wahoos missed on a prime chance Sunday to complete the week and set up the next one.
They led 7-0 into the sixth inning, but on an afternoon where the bay wind was a factor, the Montgomery Biscuits answered with three home runs against three different pitchers for a 9-7 victory, quieting a capacity crowd of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The loudest cheer in the final part of the game was the Blue Angels performing an unexpected flyover during their return home from an air show in Tennessee.
The Blue Wahoos won the week’s series against Montgomery 4-2, but a win Sunday, after staking such a big lead, could have put them in a strong position to clinch the first half Southern League division race at home with the next series that begins Tuesday against the Mississippi Braves.
Pensacola’s lead is now six games over the Biloxi Shuckers, seven games up on Montgomery and 7.5 against the M-Braves.
Everything started so well on Family Sunday for the Blue Wahoos.
In an injury rehab start, Johnny Cueto survived a bases-load situation in the first inning and pitched into the third. It was another step forward for the 37-year-old Cueto in an effort to return to the Miami Marlins. It was only his third time on the mound this season.
In the bottom of the first, first baseman Troy Johnston staked a 3-0 lead with a two-out, 3-run, wind-aided homer over the left-center fence to instantly energize the crowd. That hit was a part of Johnston’s huge day at the plate, going 4-for-5 to raise his average to .264.
But it also became an indicator of what kind of day this would be on pitchers. The teams combined for 26 hits and 18 runners left on base. For the Blue Wahoos, Cody Morissette went 3-for-4 as the team’s other big hitter.
In the fifth inning, catcher Jan Mercado blasted a grand slam and suddenly the Blue Wahoos were up 7-0, seemingly on their way to a perfect weekend of wins.
Everything then went the other way. The Biscuits scored two runs off Luis Palacios in the sixth, beginning with a solo homer from Junior Caminero. They plated two more against Luis Palacios in the seventh inning.
And then a disastrous eighth inning hit.
Dylan Bice gave up a leadoff home run to Diego Infante. He then loaded the bases on a walk, an error he made when dropping a slow grounder, then a single.
Austin Roberts entered with a one-out, bases full situation and gave up a grand slam against Austin Shenton to flip the lead and silence the mood.
The Blue Wahoos did not get a hit against the Biscuits bullpen in the final three innings.
Cueto, 37, two time MLB All-Star and 2015 World Series champion with the Kansas City Royals, pitched in his first game since an injury rehab start May 6 in Jacksonville.
Cueto has made only one start for the Marlins after getting signed in January, and that was back on April 3 when he gave up four runs in the first inning and didn’t pitch again with a bicep issue until the game in Jacksonville.
The Blue Wahoos will have Monday off while staying in Pensacola. They will begin the second half of their extended homestand on Tuesday against the Mississippi Braves, the Atlanta Braves’ Double-A affiliate.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Seven-Run Eighth Lifts Blue Wahoos To 10-4 Win Over Biscuits
June 11, 2023
This has been quite the instant impact that Dalvy Rosario has delivered.
One night after his walk-off bomb, the newcomer outfielder blasted a 3-run homer as part of a seven-run eighth inning that helped ignite the Blue Wahoos past the Montgomery Biscuits 10-4, further delighting a sellout crowd Saturday on Fireworks Night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
What a pyro prelude the Blue Wahoos produced.
Trailing 4-3 after the Biscuits got a pair of big hits for two runs in the top of the eighth, the Biscuits bullpen was lit up when the Blue Wahoos had their turn.
They used 12 batters, got six hits – three of those for extra bases – and kept circling the bases for a run fest into a rout.
The rally win completed a night with a crowd of 5,038 staying for the fireworks show sponsored by Hancock Whitney Bank.
The win clinched a series win for the Blue Wahoos (35-21), putting them eight games ahead of the Biscuits and maintaining at least a six-game lead on second-place Biloxi, which began its game late Saturday due to a rain delay. The first-half race in the Southern League South division has only 13 games remaining.
The big inning started with first baseman Troy Johnston, who entered the game in the seventh, leading off with a double. Earlier Saturday, Johnston spent an entire morning in the hot sun helping make the day memorable for kids in the Fred Waters Clinic that was part of MLB’s Play Ball Weekend at the ballpark.
Along with pitcher Brady Puckett, the two joined with a group of former Pensacola players who played in the major leagues as part of the youth clinic.
With Johnston on second, Griffin Conine reached on a catcher’s interference. Will Banfield followed with a perfect bunt that became an infield hit.
Cody Morissette then jumped on a high fastball inside for a two-run double to retake the lead. With one out, up stepped Rosario. And out of the ballpark went the second pitch from John Doxakis over the left field wall for a 3-run homer.
It followed his two-run, two-out, walk-off homer Friday after joining the team earlier that day from the Beloit Sky Carp, the Miami Marlins’ High-A affiliate.
Reliever Cristian Charle pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to get the win. Blue Wahoos starter Jonathan Bermudez was strong again, working six innings, allowing just two runs on four hits.
The Blue Wahoos first erased the Biscuits’ 2-0 lead in the sixth inning on Bennett Hostetler’s 2-run homer. Montgomery answered against Blue Wahoos reliever Zack Leban before the rally explosion in the bottom of the eighth.
The teams will close out their six-game series Sunday at Blue Wahoos Stadium with Miami Marlins pitcher Johnny Cueto as the starter on an injury rehab assignment.
Ciueto is now in his 16th major league season in a career that spans six different teams. He was once the ace of the Cincinnati Reds rotation and also a two-time All-Star.
Cueto will likely throw three innings in his start, then Luis Palacios is expected to take over. The Biscuits are using righthander Anthony Molina (2-4, 4.89).
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
License-Free Freshwater Fishing This Weekend In Florida
June 10, 2023
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) invites Florida residents and visitors to go freshwater fishing June 10-11 without a license.
The license-free fishing weekend offers a great opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and experience the many fishing opportunities the Fishing Capital of the World has to offer. The FWC encourages everyone to take advantage of the weekend to spend time enjoying the beautiful Florida waters.
“Fishing is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and experience Florida’s abundant fishing opportunities,” said Roger Young, FWC’s executive director. “License-free fishing weekends allow Floridians and visitors to get outdoors, connect with nature and create lasting memories with family and friends.”
During the license-free weekends, all bag limits, size limits and fishing regulations still apply. Anglers must also follow all other fishing rules, such as gear restrictions, seasons and closures. To help ensure a fun and safe fishing experience, the FWC encourages all anglers to review the regulations before heading out on the water.
Pictured: Fishing at Lake Stone near Century. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Rosario’s Walk-Off Homer Lifts Blue Wahoos To Thrilling Victory
June 10, 2023
Dalvy Rosario arrived in Pensacola shortly before noon on Friday.
Nine hours later, he was celebrating as a team hero.
The 22-year-old outfielder, called up from the Beloit Sky Carp to fill a position need, electrified a capacity crowd in his debut Friday night with a dramatic, ninth-inning, two-run walk-off homer, lifting the Blue Wahoos to a 6-4 victory against the Montgomery Biscuits.
The win pushed the Blue Wahoos (34-21) into a seven-game lead over the Biscuits, six games ahead of the Biloxi Shuckers, who lost Friday, in the first half Southern League division race that has 14 games left to play.
Rosario, a Dominican Republic native, had not homered this season. But on a 3-1 count, he jumped on a slider from Biscuits reliever Graeme Stinson and sent a moon shot over the left field wall with the ball carrying 380 feet and exiting at 101 mph off his bat.
And it was also his first Double-A hit, although he just missed a homer to center field earlier in the night.
When the hit was launched, the roar began, the Blue Wahoos dugout erupted, and a celebratory ice bucket bath awaited from teammates at home plate in one of Pensacola’s signature wins this season.
It was the first time the Blue Wahoos had a walk-off homer since Peyton Burdick, now a Miami Marlins outfielder, produced the feat in the 2021 season. It was the Blue Wahoos’ second walk-off win this season. The first happened on a fielder’s choice and throwing error.
This one came on Giveaway Friday where fans received a Blue Wahoos 2022 championship t-shirt courtesy of game sponsor Total Fire Protection.
Rosario’s rocket was even more significant because it happened after the Biscuits’ Evan Edwards tied the game with two outs in the top of the ninth with a monster shot off reliever Brady Puckett. The ball went over the video board traveling 461 feet towards the water.
Earlier Friday night, it was the Patrick Monteverde and José Devers show. Monteverde, the Blue Wahoos’ top pitcher, was in his usual form. The lefty allowed just two hits and one run, striking out nine batters in six innings.
Meanwhile, Devers hit a two-run homer in the third inning and followed with a solo blast in the fifth. He began the night with just two homers this season. Both of the ones Friday were no-doubter line drives into the right field berm.
Cobie Fletcher-Vance, making his return from Triple-A Jacksonville had a good night at the plate as well, including an RBI double in the fourth inning.
Monteverde threw 100 pitches in his outing. His final pitch was a ground out to second baseman Nasim Nuñez – the third putout for Nuñez in the inning – to complete the sixth.
After Monteverde exited, carrying the 4-1 lead, the Biscuits quickly trimmed it on their first two at-bats off reliever Will Stewart in the seventh inning.
Mason Auer led off with a fly ball that Norel González misplayed into a triple. Diego Infante followed by launching a blast into the right-center berm. Stewart then recovered to get a lineout and pair of strikeouts around a single to end the inning.
Jefry Yan replaced Stewart in the eighth inning and was solid, recording a pair of strikeouts in his return from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Puckett started the ninth with a long fly ball out and was in position to get the save when Edwards hit the bomb.
The Blue Wahoos will try to gain the series win on Saturday night. Jonathan Bermudez (0-2, 2.95 ERA) will be on the mound for the Blue Wahoos against the Biscuits’ Mason Montgomery (0-2, 4.75).
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos