Northview Athletic Director Obreonne Parker Wins Prestigious State Sportsmanship Award
June 29, 2026
Northview High School Athletic Director Obreonne Parker has been honored with the prestigious Chris Hixon Exemplary Sportsmanship Award from the Florida Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (FIAAA).
Parker is one of only four athletic administrators selected for the honor across the entire state of Florida for 2026, representing FHSAA Section 1.
Presented in conjunction with the goals and missions of the NIAAA, FIAAA, FHSAA, and FACA, the annual award recognizes athletic leaders who have distinguished themselves by promoting and exemplifying the true “Spirit of Sportsmanship” within their schools and communities. One administrator is chosen from each of the state’s four FHSAA sections.
Parker has served as the athletic director for the Northview Chiefs since 2017. 1 Her career at the school spans over two decades. She was also named the Northview High School Teacher of the Year for 2024-2025.
Wahoos Wallop Lookouts In Series-Clinching Finale
June 29, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos didn’t need a comeback to win their Sunday series finale against the Chattanooga Lookouts, scoring early and often in a 12-2 victory.
After overcoming a seven-run deficit on Friday and a six-run deficit on Saturday in a pair of impressive wins, the Blue Wahoos jumped ahead in the second inning against Lookouts starter Bryce Hubbart (L, 1-1). Connor Caskenette and Jay Beshears each drew walks, setting the stage for Emaarion Boyd. In his first at-bat since hitting a dramatic game-tying homer in the ninth inning on Saturday night, the Blue Wahoos left fielder launched a three-run shot for an early 3-0 lead.
Fenwick Trimble added a two-run homer in the third inning, his third home run in as many days, to extend the lead to 5-0. Three batters later, Ian Lewis Jr. ripped an automatic double over the right-center wall on a bounce to put Pensacola ahead 6-0.
Blue Wahoos starter Luis Moreno (W, 4-3) took that lead and ran with it, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning and ultimately turning in a season-high 6.0 innings of two-hit, one-run ball.
Cam Cannarella saw his team-high hitting streak end at 12 games, but he did contribute an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning to extend the Pensacola lead to 8-1. A Cristian Hernández three-run homer in the eighth added more distance, and Trimble ended the scoring by coming in from third base on a passed ball in the ninth inning.
Moreno was relieved by Josh Hejka, Christian MacLeod and Livan Reinoso, who totaled 3.0 effective innings of relief to seal a 12-2 final.
The Blue Wahoos have now won three straight games and scored 12 runs in each of them, ultimately taking four of six in their series against the Lookouts.
After an off day Monday, the Blue Wahoos continue their 12-game road trip on Tuesday as they open up a six-game series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
written by Erik Bremer
Blue Wahoos Score 12 Unanswered Runs In Wild Comeback Win
June 27, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos pulled off the comeback of the season on Friday night, winning 12-7 over the Chattanooga Lookouts after trailing 7-0.
Things started out about as poorly as possible for the Wahoos. With Orlando Ortiz-Mayr on the mound, the Lookouts put up three runs in the 2nd inning on a 2-run double from Julio Cerreras and an RBI single from Carlos Jorge. Then, two innings later, four more runs came around to score when the first 6 batters reached, officially ending Ortiz-Mayr’s day at 3.1 innings, with 9 hits, and 7 runs allowed.
Trailing 7-0 and with only one hit through the first five innings, Pensacola had some work to do. And they slowly started chipping away in the 6th. A solo homer from Aiva Arquette got the scoring started. Juan Matheus followed with a walk and Fenwick Trimble followed that with a double. With two men in scoring position, Brendan Jones slapped a double down the third baseline to cut the deficit to 4 and make it a 7-3 game.
When the top of the 7th inning rolled around, Pensacola kept their momentum rolling. Following a leadoff single from Ian Lewis Jr., Cam Cannarella ripped a two-run opposite field homer, his 4th of the year. With the score now 7-5, Juan Matheus singled with two down to bring Fenwick Trimble to the plate representing the tying run. And Fenwick took full advantage, sending his 9th home run of the year over the left field wall and tying the game up at 7-7.
The Wahoos bullpen, which consisted of Holt Jones, Livan Reinoso, and Jack Sellinger (W, 1-2) would go on to pitch the next 6.2 innings scoreless and hitless after the 4th to send the game to extras.
Emaarion Boyd pinch-ran for Connor Caskenette to begin the 10th. Following an Ian Lewis Jr. sacrifice bunt that moved Boyd to third, Jay Beshears sent a high chopper over the first baseman to give Pensacola their first lead of the night at 8-7. But that was just the beginning. Jay Beshears stole second to get into scoring position, just in time for Aiva Arquette to bloop a single into center to score Beshears and make the lead 9-7.
Juan Matheus then drew a walk to put two men on with two outs for Fenwick Trimble. And Trimble pounced. Fenwick crushed a ball well over the left field fence for a three-run dinger, his second homer of the game, and, after once trailing 7-0, gave the Wahoos a 12-7 lead. Jack Sellinger would set the Lookouts down in order to complete the comeback and send Pensacola to victory.
Taylor Floyd (L, 2-2) was charged with the loss. The Blue Wahoos improved to 38-35 while the Lookouts fell to 39-34.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Saturday night.
written by Charlie Hobert
Ibarra’s Big Night Lifts Lookouts Over Wahoos
June 25, 2026
Despite homers from Cam Cannarella, Dillon Lewis and Aiva Arquette, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos were outslugged by Ruben Ibarra and the Chattanooga Lookouts in a 13-5 loss on Wednesday night.
Ibarra hit a pair of three-run homers, a game-tying blast in the third inning and a go-ahead shot in the fifth, to help the Lookouts overcome an early deficit and even up the weeklong series at one game apiece.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead 1-0 in the first without the benefit of a hit. Cannarella drew a leadoff walk, took second on a wild pitch from Lookouts starter Johnathan Harmon (W, 8-2), and scored on a Juan Matheus sacrifice fly. In the third, Emaarion Boyd hit an RBI single and Cannarella blasted a solo homer for a 3-0 Blue Wahoos lead.
Ibarra tied the game with one swing in the third against Blue Wahoos starter Alex Williams (L, 4-6), launching a tape-measure homer to even the score 3-3. Lewis countered in the fourth with a solo homer, his league-leading 17th of the season, to briefly put the Blue Wahoos back in front 4-3.
Williams almost got through the bottom of the fifth inning with the lead intact, but issued a two-out walk to Cam Collier to bring up Ibarra once more. Reliever Luis Palacios then served up Ibarra’s second three-run homer in three innings, putting the Lookouts ahead 6-4.
Things got out of hand in the sixth, as the Lookouts scored five more against Palacios and Christian MacLeod. They tacked on two additional runs in the seventh against Josh Hejka with a Carlos Jorge two-run triple.
Arquette went deep in the top of the ninth for the Blue Wahoos, but it was not nearly enough as Brody Jessee finished off a 13-5 Lookouts victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Thursday night.
Blue Wahoos Eke Out 4-3 Win to Start Second Half
June 24, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos opened up the second half of their Southern League schedule on Tuesday night with a nailbiter, beating the Chattanooga Lookouts 4-3.
Cam Cannarella, fresh off being named Southern League Player of the Week on Monday, started the game with a leadoff single against Lookouts starter Nick Sando (L, 1-3) and quickly stole second base. He came in two batters later on a Juan Matheus RBI single, putting Pensacola ahead 1-0.
Jacob Miller, making his second start since coming off the injured list, worked 3.0 scoreless innings for the Blue Wahoos. Relievers Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (W, 2-2) and Nigel Belgrave took the game into the seventh with only three hits allowed, only one of which left the infield.
Sando was abruptly pulled with an apparent injury in the fourth inning, and reliever Bryce Hubbart kept the Blue Wahoos in check for 2.2 innings. The next Lookouts reliever, Easton Sikorski, didn’t fare as well. Aiva Arquette hit a two-run single in the seventh, and Fenwick Trimble and Ryan Ignoffo hit back-to-back doubles in the eighth to extend the lead to 4-0.
Holt Jones, who hadn’t allowed a run in his first seven relief appearances for the Blue Wahoos, ran into trouble in the bottom of the eighth. Carlos Jorge doubled, Leo Balcazar singled and Cam Collier doubled to get the Lookouts on the board and bring up the potential tying run. Though Ruben Ibarra brought home a run on an RBI groundout and Jones fired a wild pitch to bring the score to 4-3, the righty escaped the inning with the lead intact.
In the ninth, Jack Sellinger (S, 4) worked around a leadoff single to earn the save and seal a 4-3 win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Wednesday night.
written by Erik Bremer
FHSAA Spring Sports Realignment Brings Shifts for Northview and Tate
June 23, 2026
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) has released its tentative spring sports classifications for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years, triggering a major landscape shift for local athletic programs. The new biennial block brings significant changes to both Northview High School and Tate High School, highlighted by major classification drops for the Aggies and a permanent district home for the Chiefs.
The new alignments for Northview and Tate across the FHSAA spring sports lineup feature several key changes:
Baseball
Tate will drop down from Class 6A to Class 5A for the next two seasons. The Aggies will join a highly competitive District 1-5A lineup that features local rivals Gulf Breeze and Milton, alongside defending district champion Niceville. Meanwhile, Northview’s baseball program will see stability, remaining in the Rural classification where District 1 stays completely unchanged from the previous two seasons alongside Central and Jay.
Softball
Mirroring the baseball adjustments, Tate is dropping down to Class 5A. The Aggies will compete in District 1-5A with Gulf Breeze, Milton, Niceville, and Mosley, which bumps over from District 2-5A. This move shifts Tate away from Class 6A, which now features defending state champion Hagerty as well as Navarre and Pace. Northview softball will remain in the Rural classification, where District 1 remains unchanged.
Flag Football
Northview officially joins a state series district after spending the last two seasons competing as an independent program. The Chiefs will now compete in Class 1A. Tate will navigate a reconfigured District 1-3A; while Niceville remains a district opponent, panhandle power Choctaw has jumped up to 3A and Mosley bumps over to join the district.
Track and Field
Both schools are experiencing classification shifts for their boys and girls track and field programs. Tate is bumping up from Class 3A to Class 4A, joining a powerful District 1-4A field that includes Navarre, Pace, Crestview, and five-time state champion Niceville. Conversely, Northview is moving down from Class 2A to Class 1A, joining District 1-1A alongside Central, Jay, L.E.A.D. Academy, and Pensacola Christian.
Boys Weightlifting
Tate will remain in District 1-3A alongside Navarre, Pace, Crestview, and Niceville. The Aggies’ district rivals, Pace, will be chasing a fourth straight state sweep but will do so without their longtime head coach. Northview will continue competing in Class 1A, staying in District 1-1A with Central, Jay, and Pensacola Catholic.
Girls Lacrosse
Tate remains in Class 2A, where the district alignment is completely unchanged from the past two years alongside Gulf Breeze, Milton, and Navarre. Northview does not field a team in lacrosse.
Girls Tennis
Both programs will see total stability for the next two years. Tate remains in Class 3A alongside Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Pace, and Booker T. Washington. Northview remains in Class 1A with East Hill Christian, Jay, and Pensacola Catholic.
Boys Tennis
Just like the girls’ programs, the boys’ tennis teams for both schools will experience complete stability over the next two years. Tate remains anchored in Class 3A alongside Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Pace, and Booker T. Washington. Northview will continue to compete in Class 1A, sharing a district with East Hill Christian, Jay, and Pensacola Catholic.
These classifications remain tentative pending the FHSAA appeals process, which runs through July 3, after which all classes will be finalized.
Survivor: Tony deGraaf Honored As Florida Little League Volunteer of the Year
June 22, 2026
Tony deGraaf, the long-serving president of the Tri-County Little League and Jay Recreation Association, has been named the Volunteer of the Year by the Little League Florida State District Administrators Association.
The prestigious honor highlights more than 15 years of unwavering dedication to youth sports in the community, the majority of which deGraaf has spent leading the organization as its president.
His contribution stands out not just for its longevity, but for his extraordinary resilience. In 2021, deGraaf was diagnosed with brain cancer. Over the last five years, he has endured three brain surgeries, two separate rounds of radiation, chemotherapy, and numerous other medical treatments.
While the illness eventually prevented him from continuing his duties as a head coach, it did not stop his involvement. Through surgeries and ongoing treatments, deGraaf has continued to maintain fields, attend board meetings, make decisions for the league, and assist with coaching whenever his health allows.
Local organizers expressed their deep gratitude for his enduring spirit and commitment to the area’s youth.
“He inspires us daily with his strength, faith, and selflessness. The impact he has made on the children he has coached and the families he has served through the years is immeasurable, and our community is better because of his dedication,” Florida District 1 Little League said in a statement.
Those who work alongside deGraaf noted that he has dedicated most of his adult life to serving young athletes, always prioritizing the needs of the league over his own and never seeking individual praise. His philosophy remains rooted in the fundamental value of hometown youth sports, the character-building lessons they provide, and the opportunities they create for children to grow in confidence.
Tony was surprised Sunday with the honorable recognition.
“Today was so special,” said his wife, Amanda Carnley DeGraaf. “Thank you, to everyone, that surprised Tony today with such an honorable recognition.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos End First Half With 11-4 Win Inbox
June 22, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos secured the series victory over the Birmingham Barons by a final score of 11-4 on Sunday evening.
Besting the Barons (26-43) in four of six games, the Blue Wahoos (36-33) earned their fifth series win as the first half of the season came to a close. It is their first series victory over Birmingham, who they tied 3-3 in the teams’ first meeting at Regions Field in late May.
Standout Cam Cannarella batted a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a career-best five RBI as well as two runs scored. He’d increase his hitting streak to seven games and manage his second home run in as many days, earning his first three-hit game at the Double-A level.
Over the course of the series, Cannarella batted .534 (11-for-21) against the Barons. He’s slashing .378/.439/.543 heading into a road trip at Chattanooga.
The Blue Wahoos managed their 11 runs on 12 hits, drawing eight walks. All but one Pensacola starter recorded a hit in the win. Juan Matheus and Dillon Lewis each posted 2-for-5 days at the plate, each driving in and scoring at least one run.
The Pensacola pitching staff, led by starter Luis Moreno (W, 3-3), allowed only four earned runs on a combined nine hits and a single walk while striking out nine Baron bats. Moreno delivered 5.0 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits while picking up three strikeouts. A free base wasn’t issued to the Birmingham battery until the ninth inning.
Pensacola made a statement in the first inning as three hits led to three runs. The one-two punch of Cannarella and Aiva Arquette showed just how much damage they can do, as Cannarella got himself aboard with a single and was sent home immediately after Arquette powered his fifth home run over left field.
Matheus added to the lead moments later, scoring from third on a Ryan Ignoffo sacrifice fly into deep center. Pensacola would round out the impressive first inning with a 3-0 lead, and bring an early end to the day for Barons starting pitcher Phil Fox (L, 2-3) who would be saddled with the loss.
Patience at the plate paid off in the second inning for the Blue Wahoos. Garret Forrester, Payton Green and Arquette each drew walks to load the basepath, setting the table for Matheus to single through the left side and bring home Forrester.
Cannarella padded the lead for the third straight inning, sending a sacrifice fly to the warning track in center to give Ignoffo room to score from third. Birmingham stopped the bleeding as third baseman Alec Briley pulled off a diving catch on a liner by Arquette, but the Blue Wahoos held a comfortable 5-0 lead
The Barons answered back in the fifth with a solo home run from Jorge Corona, but it wouldn’t take long for the Blue Wahoos to respond with two of their own. After a lengthy battle at the plate, Cannarella launched an opposite field two-run home run over left. It’d be his second home run at the Double-A level, his first coming a night prior in Saturday’s victory.
Lewis then hammered a first-pitch no-doubter over left center, driving in Matheus to spike the lead to 9-1. Lewis tied Columbus’s David McCabe for the Southern League lead in home runs with 16 on the season.
Birmingham got two back with an Anthony DePino two-run homer in the top of the sixth, but the Pensacola offense kept rolling. Ignoffo kicked off the bottom of the frame with a single, followed by a walk issued toIan Lewis Jr. Both pulled off a double steal, paving the way for Cannarella to blast a two-RBI double to the left-center warning track.
Though the Barons would manage another run on a solo homer in the seventh, it’d be the final score from either side as the Blue Wahoos pitching staff struck out four through the remaining innings.
The Blue Wahoos will take Monday off before hitting the road for a series with the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, beginning on Tuesday.
written by Maddy Branning
After Record Rain Delay, Matheus Lifts Wahoos To Late-Night Win
June 21, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Birmingham Barons waited nearly four hours to play their Saturday game at Blue Wahoos Stadium, getting started past ten o’clock and dueling for seven innings in a 4-0 Blue Wahoos win to keep Pensacola’s first half playoff hopes alive.
Prior to this week, the longest rain delay in Blue Wahoos Stadium history had been 2 hours and 55 minutes. A seventh-inning rain delay on Thursday night lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes, sending the game to a 1 a.m. curfew and a shortened eight-inning game. Saturday’s pregame delay lasted even longer, pushing back a scheduled start time of 6:05 to 10:04, by far the latest first pitch in the stadium’s history as well as the longest weather delay.
Despite the unprecedented wait, hundreds of fans from what was initially a sellout crowd stuck around. Fireworks, intended to be shot off postgame, lit up the tarp-covered field around 8:30. Because the game had playoff implications, with the Biloxi Shuckers poised to clinch a first half South Division title upon a Blue Wahoos loss, the umpire crew went to unprecedented lengths to get the game in.
Luis Palacios made the start for the Blue Wahoos in his first appearance since being named Southern League Pitcher of the Week on Monday. The lefty endured shaky command, allowing only one hit but walking four batters over 3.1 innings. Kade Bragg (W, 4-2) inherited a pair of runners in the top of the fourth, coaxing a lineout from Colby Shelton and striking out Jeral Perez to escape the jam.
Barons starter Dylan Cumming (L, 1-5) was perfect through three innings, but the Blue Wahoos built a rally in the fourth. Cam Cannarella dropped down a bunt single, Aiva Arquette reached on a fielding error that could have been a double play grounder, and Juan Matheus launched a three-run homer to right field to put Pensacola ahead 3-0.
Bragg walked the bases loaded in the fifth, but struck out three Birmingham batters to keep the lead intact. Cannarella added insurance with a solo homer, his first at Double-A, in the sixth inning. Colby Martin (S, 3) earned a four-out save to finish off a combined three-hit shutout.
With the win, the Blue Wahoos’ first half playoff hopes remain alive. On Sunday, they would need the Biloxi Shuckers to play – no sure thing, given that they have only been able to play two of their scheduled games this week at Keesler Federal Park due to heavy rain and unplayable field conditions – and lose twice to the Columbus Clingstones. The Shuckers and Clingstones will complete a suspended seven-inning game from Friday, tied 1-1 in the third inning, and play another seven-inning contest. The Blue Wahoos would also need to win their series finale against the Barons.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series, and the first half schedule against the Barons, on Sunday afternoon.
written by Erik Bremer
Blue Wahoos Bounce Back, Keep Playoff Hopes Alive With 9-2 Win
June 20, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos defeated the Birmingham Barons by a final score of 9-2 on Friday night behind a mixture of pitching prowess and offensive firepower.
After a loss followed the longest weather delay in stadium history a night prior, the Blue Wahoos (34-33) evened the series at 2-2 against the Barons (26-41) with the victory tonight as the pennant race for the South Division of the Southern League continues. With two games remaining in the first half, the Blue Wahoos’ elimination number is two as they battle against the first-place Biloxi Shuckers. Any combination of two Shuckers wins or two Pensacola losses would hand the first half title to Biloxi.
Orlando Ortiz-Mayr (W, 1-2) put on a show from the mound to earn his first win of the year. He struck out a season-high eight batters while allowing just four hits and a pair of free bases, keeping the Barons off the board through 5.2 innings of work.
Birmingham’s Connor McCullough (L, 0-4) suffered his fourth loss, relenting the game-winning run in the second inning and a total of four earned runs to Pensacola through five innings pitched.
Pensacola plated their nine runs on 14 hits and drew three walks. Five different Blue Wahoos registered multiple hits, led by Cristian Hernández’s 3-for-4 night that saw him both drive in and plate two runs.
Other notable performances included Brendan Jones, Connor Caskenette and Ryan Ignoffo, who recorded two hits each. Cam Cannarella posted a 2-for-4 night, leading the team with three RBI. The combined pitching staff of Ortiz-Mayr, Jack Sellinger and Livan Reinoso struck out 11 Birmingham bats.
After returning from injury just this week, Jones has found his groove: in his first at bat, he’d blast a triple to the warning track in right-center field in the bottom of the second. A subsequent Ignoffo single through the left side would bring him home to give the Blue Wahoos the immediate edge.
Jones’ triple puts him at six on the season, tying Chattanooga’s Shane Sasaki for the Southern League lead. He also tied his own career high for triples in a single season at the Double-A level, doing so a year ago with the Somerset Patriots (AA – New York Yankees).
It would be Jones to score again in the fourth inning, as Hernandez ripped a double down the left field line to score him from third. Two more came across after a line drive from Payton Green avoided the diving glove of Samuel Zavala in center, extending the Pensacola lead to 4-0.
Cannarella kept up his recent consistency at the plate, knocking in another pair of runs in the sixth with a ground ball up the middle that scored Hernandez and Green. Cannarella extended his hitting streak to five games, also having reached base in each of the last six.
The Pensacola bats stayed hot going into the seventh. A string of three hits saw a double from Jones followed by singles from Ignoffo and Hernandez, with Hernandez’s third hit of the night scoring Jones to pad the lead at 7-0.
The Barons answered back with one in the top of the eighth, scoring after Aiva Arquette pulled off a diving play at shortstop for a force out at second base.
Not to be deterred, the Blue Wahoos kept their foot on the gas and responded with two more in the bottom of the frame, spraying contact to all fields. Cannarella fired a single into left to score Caskenette from second base, while Dillon Lewis punched a single into right to score the latter.
Though a home run was relented in the top of the ninth, Pensacola shut down any inkling of momentum from the Barons to secure the 9-2 victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons on Saturday night.
written by Maddy Branning