First Deer In Florida Confirmed With Chronic Wasting Disease. Here’s What To Know.
June 16, 2023
The first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed in Florida.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said road-killed 4.5-year-old female white-tailed deer in Holmes County sampled during routine surveillance activities has tested positive. It is the first known case of CWD in Florida, a contagious disease of the brain and central nervous system that is fatal to deer.
The FWC and its agency partners take CWD very seriously and have implemented a comprehensive response plan. As part of the plan, the FWC will collect samples from specific established zones to further assess the spread of the disease. The results from this initial sampling effort will inform resource managers so they can react with appropriate management strategies.
The FWC has been monitoring free-ranging deer since 2002 to detect CWD. During that time, the FWC has tested approximately 17,500 hunter-killed, road-killed and sick or diseased deer for CWD.
The FWC and its agency partners said they are taking CWD very seriously and have implemented a comprehensive response plan. As part of the plan, the FWC will collect samples from specific established zones to further assess the spread of the disease. The results from this initial sampling effort will inform resource managers so they can react with appropriate management strategies.
The FWC has been monitoring free-ranging deer since 2002 to detect CWD. During that time, the FWC has tested approximately 17,500 hunter-killed, road-killed and sick or diseased deer for CWD
“Working with FDACS (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) and our other partners, I’m hopeful that our combined efforts will limit the effects this will have on Florida’s deer population and preserve our exceptional hunting opportunities for future generations statewide,” said FWC Executive Director Roger Young.
The FWC is asking anyone who sees a sick, abnormally thin deer or finds a deer dead from unknown causes to call the CWD hotline, 866-CWD-WATCH (866-293-9282) and report the animal’s location.
Currently, there is no scientific evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans or livestock under natural conditions. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not recommend consuming meat from animals that test positive for CWD or from any sick animal.
“We take very seriously our responsibility to prevent, detect, and respond to animal health issues in Florida – all to safeguard our agriculture industry and our world-renowned wildlife and natural resources,” said FDACS Commissioner Wilton Simpson. “Ensuring the health of Florida’s deer population is a team effort, and we will continue to work diligently with our state and federal partners to respond.”
CWD is a contagious disease believed to be caused by an abnormal protein called a prion. It is a fatal disease for all members of the deer family and is currently documented in white-tailed deer, mule deer, sika deer, elk, moose and caribou. Signs of the disease usually appear 1.5 to 3 years after initial exposure and can include extreme weight loss and abnormal behaviors such as listlessness, lowering of the head, inattentiveness toward people, walking in circles, staggering and standing with a wide stance.
Controlling the spread of CWD is difficult once it becomes established in a natural population. Because prions shed by infected deer persist in the environment, the best chance for controlling CWD is acting quickly after it’s been detected to prevent more animals from becoming infected. CWD can be transmitted directly – from animal to animal – or indirectly from the environment. Multiple management strategies will be employed to control the spread of the disease.
The FWC along with its partners – the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study – will continue to update the public as more information becomes available.
Wahoos, Braves Suspended Due To Weather
June 16, 2023
Thursday’s game between the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mississippi Braves was suspended due to rain with the score tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning.
The game will be resumed at 5:05 p.m. Friday with no fans admitted.
Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. for Friday’s regular game scheduled to begin at 6:35 p.m.
NEP 10U Gold Wins All-Star Tourney; NEP 10U Blue Takes Second
June 15, 2023
NEP 10U Gold softball took first place and NEP 10U Blue softball finished in second place in the GCGSA All-Star Tournament last weekend.
Kayla Wroblewski was named the 10u Tournament Defensive Player MVP.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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