Conine Homer Lifts Blue Wahoos To 6-4 Win Over Mississippi
July 31, 2022
With an assist from center fielder Justin Dean, Griffin Conine hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning to lead the Pensacola Blue Wahoos over the Mississippi Braves by a score of 6-4 on Saturday night.
In front of a sellout crowd on Pensacola Pelicans reunion night and Latin American Heritage Night, Conine’s blast bounced off the glove of Dean and over the wall to give the Blue Wahoos their first lead of the night.
Pensacola starter Eury Pérez was touched for an RBI double from Dean in the first inning, and served up a home run to Jalen Miller in the second before allowing a wild pitch in the fifth for Mississippi’s third run. The righty fanned seven, but departed after 4.2 innings trailing 3-1.
Mississippi’s Alan Rangel struck out seven batters of his own, allowing only a José Devers RBI single over 5.0 solid innings. Devers finished 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles.
Trailing 3-1 in the sixth, the Blue Wahoos took a brief 4-3 lead thanks to RBI singles from Conine and Cobie Fletcher-Vance, followed by a go-ahead RBI double from J.D. Orr. Mississippi evened the score in the seventh against reliever Robinson Martínez (W, 1-0) in his Double-A debut, but the righty stranded a runner in scoring position to preserve a 4-4 tie.
Conine’s two-run homer against Braves closer Justin Maese (L, 1-5) set the stage for Dylan Bice (S, 1), who earned his first save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series against the M-Braves on Sunday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Wahoos Fall 3-2 To Mississippi
July 30, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell 3-2 to the Mississippi Braves Friday night in a game that saw 19 hits, all of them singles.
It was a seventh-inning RBI single from Justyn-Henry Malloy that proved to be the difference, giving the Braves their third and final run of the evening. Darius Vines (W, 6-4) outdueled Zach McCambley (L, 5-6) in a battle of two dominant starters.
Pensacola struck first in the third inning, loading the bases with three singles and bringing home a run on a Victor Victor Mesa sacrifice fly. They couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity any further, and the Braves countered in the fifth with a bases-loaded walk and Vaughn Grissom RBI single to take a 2-1 lead. Grissom finished 4-for-5 on the night, raising his batting average to .418 in his first month at Double-A.
Malloy’s RBI single in the seventh against rehabbing major leaguer Anthony Bender extended the Mississippi lead to 3-1. Bender faced four men without recording an out, but Eli Villalobos picked up the slack with 3.0 scoreless innings of relief to keep the game within reach.
A José Devers RBI single in the seventh drew the Blue Wahoos within a run at 3-2, but Justin Yeager (S, 2) worked a perfect ninth to help Mississippi even the series at two games apiece.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the M-Braves on Saturday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Blue Wahoos Fall 8-5 To M-Braves On Jay High Night
July 29, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos couldn’t dig themselves out of an early deficit on Thursday night, falling 8-5 to the Mississippi Braves.
It was Jay High night at the ballpark as the Wahoos honored the state champion Royals softball team.
The Braves roughed up Pensacola starter Zach King (L, 0-3) to the tune of seven runs in 4.0 innings, and got started right away with an RBI double from Vaughn Grissom in the first inning. Drew Lugbauer highlighted a three-run third with a two-run homer, and Justin Dean went deep for a two-run blast of his own in a three-run fourth.
J.D. Orr had the only two Pensacola hits through the first six innings, and turned a pair of stolen bases into the first Blue Wahoos run thanks to a Ray-Patrick Didder sacrifice fly in the first inning. Allan Winans worked 4.0 innings in his first M-Braves start, and was followed by 2.0 scoreless innings of relief from Hayden Deal (W, 3-2).
Trailing 8-1 in the seventh, the Blue Wahoos chipped away with a bases-loaded hit from Devin Hairston that scored three runs thanks to a throwing error from Cody Milligan. Hairston doubled and scored in the ninth on a Victor Victor Mesa sacrifice fly, but it was not enough as the Blue Wahoos dropped their first game of the series.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the M-Braves on Friday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Ernest Ward Cheerleaders Hold Camp; Six Selected As UCA All Americans
July 28, 2022
The Ernest Ward Middle School cheerleaders recently held their UCA Cheer Champ.
Six EWMS cheerleaders were selected for the UCA All American team and will travel to perform in the Disney Thanksgiving Day Parade. They are Morgan Driver, Valeria Franco, Addison Parsons, Makayla Playto , Lacie Kittrell and Meeyah Lassitter.
Pictured above: Ernest Ward Middle School UCA All American cheerleaders (L-R) Morgan Driver, Valeria Franco, Addison Parsons, Makayla Playto , Lacie Kittrell and Meeyah Lassitter. Pictured below: The Ernest Ward Middle School cheerleaders with UCA staff. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
McIntosh, Johnston Go Back-to-Back For Another Comeback Wahoos Win
July 28, 2022
Paul McIntosh and Troy Johnston hit clutch back-to-back home runs as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos secured a 6-4 comeback win over the Mississippi Braves on Wednesday night.
Tied 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, McIntosh and Johnston hit consecutive home runs against Jake Higginbotham (L, 2-5) to give Pensacola the lead for good. It marked the third time in four games that a pair of Blue Wahoos batters hit back-to-back homers.
The Braves jumped out to an early lead against Jeff Lindgren in the first inning, as Vaughn Grisson hit a two-run home run. Johnston got Pensacola on the board with an RBI single against Mississippi starter Tanner Gordon in the third, but the Braves countered with two more runs in the sixth thanks to doubles from Grissom and Justyn-Henry Malloy to take a 4-1 lead.
Lindgren completed 6.0 innings while striking out eight batters, and the Blue Wahoos rallied against A.J. Puckett in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. J.D. Orr hit an RBI infield single, José Devers hit an RBI double, and Victor Victor Mesa brought home Orr on an RBI groundout to even the score 4-4.
Josh Simpson (W, 5-1) kept the game tied with a scoreless seventh, setting the stage for the pivotal home runs in the bottom of the inning. Jefry Yan (S, 1) earned his first professional save since 2015 with a scoreless ninth.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the M-Braves on Thursday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Team Attack Wins 13U Youth World Series Championship
July 27, 2022
Team Attack recently won the 13U 2022 Youth World Series championship in Daytona beach.
They went 5-1, outscoring opponents 44-10.
Team Attack players are Silas Schrimsher, Christian Wendolek, Grayson Burns, Hudson Hollis, Bode Smith, Christian Golino, Cameron Miller, Gavin Grider, Jonah Graham, Brady Carlson, Brody Munr and Brody Burks. Head coach is Brian Summerlin, and assistant coaches are Kyle Hollis and Chris Munro.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Get 6-5 Comeback win Over M-Braves
July 27, 2022
Down 5-0 in the fourth inning, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos stormed back with six unanswered runs to defeat the Mississippi Braves 6-5 on Tuesday night.
A.J. Ladwig (W, 5-3) overcame a shaky start to complete 6.0 innings, giving his offense a chance to come back against the Mississippi pitching staff.
The Braves got a two-run homer from Justyn-Henry Malloy in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead, and collected three consecutive two-out singles in the fourth to extend their lead to 5-0.
Pensacola broke the ice in the fourth on the first of two doubles from Cobie Fletcher-Vance, and José Devers brought in another run with an RBI single. A fielding error from Drew Lugbauer and a wild pitch from Braves starter Dylan Dodd in the fifth drew the deficit to 5-4.
In the sixth, Devin Hairston tied the game with an RBI single and Victor Victor Mesa delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out RBI double against Odalvi Javier (L, 2-3).
Rehabbing Marlins reliever Anthony Bender set the tone for Pensacola’s bullpen performance with a hitless inning of work, and Sean Reynolds and Eli Villalobos (S, 7) repeated the feat to lock down a one-run win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the M-Braves on Wednesday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Blue Wahoos And Marcus Pointe Baptist Church To Hold ‘Baptisms And Baseball’
July 26, 2022
The Blue Wahoos and Marcus Pointe Baptist Church have partnered to hold “Baptisms And Baseball” on Sunday, July 31 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Following the Blue Wahoos game against the Mississippi Braves that afternoon, any interested fan in attendance will have the opportunity to be baptized by Marcus Point Baptist Church on the field at the stadium.
“We’re excited to partner with Marcus Pointe Baptist to bring this first-of-its-kind event to our ballpark,” team president Jonathan Griffith said. “The idea actually originated with my six-year-old son who came home from church one day and said he wanted to be baptized. I asked where and he said ‘at the ballpark!’ We called Marcus Pointe to see if it would be possible and we’re excited to be able to offer the opportunity to any interested fan.”
The Blue Wahoos game that afternoon will begin at 4:05 p.m with the baptism event following the game’s conclusion.
Tickets are required for the game, but there is no fee to participate in the baptism event. All participants in “Baptisms And Baseball” will receive an exclusive t-shirt from Marcus Pointe Baptist Church.
Biloxi Shuckers Take Series Finale Over Wahoos
July 25, 2022
The Blue Wahoos two-run lead Sunday was short-lived, after the Biloxi Shuckers answered in the fourth inning against pitching star Eury Perez and went on for a 7-3 victory to take the weekend series at MGM Park.
The Shuckers took the series 2-1.
The Blue Wahoos will next face the Mississippi Braves, the Southern League’s top team in the second half, when beginning a six-game homestand against the M-Braves at Blue Wahoos Stadium on Tuesday night.
Pensacola Red Hotts Win League World Series
July 24, 2022
The Pensacola Red Hotts 15U recreation softball team won the All American Youth Sports World Series recently at the Gulfport (MS) Sportsplex. The team went undefeated during the tournament.
The Pensacola Red Hotts’ home park is NEP.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
