Early Trouble Sends Wahoos to 7-3 Loss to Shuckers
July 30, 2025
written by Bill Vilona
Alex Williams has encountered his roughest outings this season against the Biloxi Shuckers.
The latest occurred Tuesday night on a weather-plagued series opener, after the Blue Wahoos righthander struggled to find an early-game groove, leading into the Shuckers’ eventual 7-3 victory at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The game’s start time was delayed 1-hour, 11 minutes, followed by a 41-minute rain delay in the bottom of the fourth to make it an even longer night.
When the game began, Williams ran into instant trouble. A low pitch nicked the game’s leadoff batter, Luis Lara. After one out, the next three batters recorded hits, including a pair of RBI singles that scored Lara and the Shuckers’ highest-rated prospect, shortstop Cooper Pratt, who had doubled.
A throwing error in the second inning by Pensacola first baseman Nathan Martorella led to a third Shuckers run. In the third inning, Biloxi’s Jheremy Vargos broke the game open with a bases-loaded, 3-run double for a 6-0 lead. The rally was set up by a catcher’s interference call and another hit batter charged to Williams.
It became the shortest of Williams’ three starts since moving into that role on July 12.
Williams’ previous two times facing Biloxi this season came in relief. He allowed four runs on five hits July 4 in Biloxi in 2.1 innings pitched.
The Blue Wahoos produced three runs in the seventh on a solo homer by Johnny Olmstead, then an RBI double by Shane Sasaki and a balk to score Sasaki.
The six-game homestand continues Wednesday with the Blue Wahoos’ Jake Brooks, a former UCLA star pitcher, making his Double-A debut after being called up from the Beloit Sky Carp, the Miami Marlins High-A affiliate. He was an 11th round pick of the 2023 draft.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Biloxi Shuckers vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Wednesday Thru Sunday. Gametimes on Wednesday through Saturday games are 6:05 p.m. start time and Sunday’s game will start at 4:05 p.m..
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Despite Furious Comeback Effort, Wahoos Fall In Series Finale
July 28, 2025
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (50-45) dropped their series and regular season finale against the Knoxville Smokies (44-51) by a final score of 6-5.
On a sweltering Sunday afternoon, the Wahoos fell behind early. Knoxville plated a run in the first inning against Pensacola starter Jacob Miller when second baseman Reivaj Garcia singled home shortstop Jefferson Rojas with two outs.
After the Wahoos failed to answer in the top of the second, Knoxville burst out with a four-run bottom of the second inning. The first five Smokies of the inning reached base on three walks and two hits. Jefferson Rojas’ bases-clearing double and third baseman Pedro Ramirez’s RBI single capped the scoring for the Smokies, who led 5-0 after two innings of play.
The early lead held behind Knoxville starter Antonio Santos and a slew of bullpen arms. Pensacola scored its first run in the sixth inning when right fielder Kemp Alderman hit a solo home run against lefthander Chase Watkins, but the Wahoos trailed 5-1 heading into the seventh inning.
In the seventh inning, the Wahoos mounted another late-inning rally against the Knoxville bullpen. Righthander A.J. Puckett entered and promptly loaded the bases with one out before departing. New righthander Zac Leigh then walked three of the next four hitters with the bases loaded to cut the deficit to 5-4. With two outs, the bases loaded, and a 3-0 count on designated hitter Cody Morissette, Leigh stepped off the rubber and caught Jared Serna moving too far off third base. The 1-2 pickoff and caught stealing ended the inning and kept the Smokies in front 5-4.
In the eighth, Pensacola bounced back to tie the game. Shortstop Johnny Olmstead doubled with one out and later came in to score on a two-out RBI infield hit from catcher Spencer Bramwell.
Following a 1-2-3 top of the ninth worked by Smokies righthander Brad Deppermann (W, 4-2), Knoxville mounted its game-winning rally. Following a hit and an intentional walk against Pensacola righthander Jesse Bergin (L, 2-2), the Wahoos inserted closer Josh Ekness to escape the jam. However, Ekness walked right fielder Andy Garriola to load the bases before a run-scoring walk-off wild pitch ended the game and the series one batter later.
With the defeat, Pensacola heads home with a 4-2 series win despite a pair of losses to end the week. The Wahoos also found a pair of bright spots in the form of two newcomers – righthander Natanael Polanco worked three scoreless innings of relief in his Double-A debut, while catcher Nestor Rios collected his first career Double-A hit in the seventh inning.
The Blue Wahoos return home on Tuesday, July 29 when they begin a six-game series versus the Biloxi Shuckers.
White Fans 14 In Historic Performance For Blue Wahoos
July 27, 2025
written by Erik Bremer
Thomas White put together one of the most dominant performances in Minor League Baseball history Saturday night, striking out a career-high 14 batters over 5.0 scoreless innings as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell 4-2 to the Knoxville Smokies.
White, 20, the top prospect in the Miami Marlins organization, struck out 14 of the 17 men he faced in the most commanding start of his career. Scattering two singles without walking a batter, White tied a modern Southern League record by striking out eight consecutive batters from the final out of the first inning to the first out of the fourth inning. His 14 strikeouts were the most in a Minor League Baseball game this season, and second only to Tony Cingrani’s 15 strikeouts over 8.0 innings in 2012 for the most in by a single pitcher in Blue Wahoos history.
White struck out 13 of the final 14 batters he faced, a feat that has not been accomplished in Major League Baseball in the Expansion Era (since 1961).
The game was a low-scoring affair, with Knoxville starter Ryan Gallagher matching White’s zeroes and pitching into the seventh inning in a scoreless game. Johnny Olmstead broke the deadlock with a two-run homer in the seventh against Frankie Scalzo Jr. (W, 4-3), his 10th of the year to tie for the team lead.
The Blue Wahoos had gone 37-0 when leading after seven innings, but the Smokies put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to turn the tables. Jaylen Palmer beat out an infield single before Jefferson Rojas hit an RBI double off the left field wall. Pedro Ramirez walked, putting two runners aboard for BJ Murray Jr., Knoxville’s most potent power threat. The switch-hitting first baseman blasted a three-run shot off Nigel Belgrave (L, 4-1), ending a streak of 11 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run for the Blue Wahoos righty and giving the Smokies a 4-2 lead.
Tyler Santana (S, 3) worked a spotless ninth to end Pensacola’s five-game winning streak and Knoxville’s seven-game losing streak.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series against the Smokies on Sunday afternoon.
Wahoos Break Through Late, Win Fifth In A Row Over Smokies
July 26, 2025
witten by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos won their fifth game in a row on Friday night, beating the Knoxville Smokies 5-1 in a game that was scoreless until the late innings.
Blue Wahoos starter Orlando Ortiz-Mayr and Smokies starter Grant Kipp matched each other with 5.0 scoreless innings, and reliever Austin Roberts (W, 2-0) weathered a bases-loaded threat in the sixth inning to send the game to the seventh in a scoreless tie.
After a leadoff walk to Nathan Martorella, Ryan Ignoffo got the Blue Wahoos on the board with an RBI double on a sinking liner that skipped past Knoxville left fielder Andy Garriola. Two walks loaded the bases for Shane Sasaki, who laced a two-run double down the left field line for a 3-0 Blue Wahoos lead. A passed ball from catcher Casey Opitz capped a four-run frame that proved to be decisive.
With light rain falling in the final innings, the Blue Wahoos took advantage of erratic control from Smokies reliever Jacob Brentz to score an insurance run in the ninth with two walks and two balks. Josh Ekness (S, 9) earned the rare three-inning save, allowing an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth but locking down a 5-1 final.
The five-game winning streak matches Pensacola’s longest of the season, set previously on June 5-10 with wins over Columbus and Rocket City.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Saturday night.
Another Ninth-Inning Comeback Sends Wahoos To Wild 10-7 Win
July 25, 2025
written by Erik Bremer
Down to their final strike in the ninth inning, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos drew on recent history for another improbable comeback and a 10-7 win over the Knoxville Smokies on Thursday night.
Smokies closer A.J. Puckett (L, 2-6), the Southern League’s saves leader, was given a chance to atone for a rare blown save in Tuesday night’s 13-inning Pensacola win. Once again, one out away from victory, the Blue Wahoos had other plans.
Trailing 7-6, Johnny Olmstead led off the ninth inning with a double. Two outs later, he was still at second base as Michael Snyder battled back from an 0-2 count. The Pensacola left fielder finally got a pitch he could handle, lining a sharp grounder past the Knoxville shortstop Jefferson Rojas to score Olmstead and tie the game 7-7.
Jared Serna followed with a go-ahead RBI double into the left field corner, scoring Snyder from first base for an 8-7 lead. Kemp Alderman and Nathan Martorella added on with RBI singles, capping a four-run ninth inning that sent the first-place Blue Wahoos to their fourth win in a row.
The game started on shaky ground for the Blue Wahoos, who got only 1.1 innings from starter Dax Fulton. The lefty allowed a season-high seven runs, leaving in the middle of a five-run second inning that gave the Smokies a 7-3 lead.
Pensacola’s first reliever, Justin King, faced only two batters before leaving with an apparent injury. Evan Fitterer entered on short notice to get the final out of the second, and ultimately steadied the waters with 4.1 scoreless innings of one-hit relief.
Aside from a three-run second inning highlighted by a Mark Coley II RBI double, the Blue Wahoos didn’t get much done against Smokies starter Tyler Schlaffer. That changed as soon as Knoxville turned the game over to their bullpen, as Nathan Martorella began the comeback in the sixth inning with a solo homer, his team-leading 10th, off Frankie Scalzo Jr. to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Jake Thompson delivered a two-out RBI single in the seventh inning, and Alderman doubled and scored on a Josh Zamora sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to draw the Blue Wahoos to within a run.
Jesse Bergin worked 1.2 hitless innings of relief before Will Kempner (W, 3-1) got the final out of the eighth to keep the deficit to 7-6. After Pensacola’s ninth-inning rally, Kempner worked a quiet ninth to lock down the win.
The Blue Wahoos have now scored 20 ninth-inning runs in their past 11 games after scoring just eight in their first 81 games of the season.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Friday night.
Serna’s Big Blast Sends Wahoos To 5-2 Win Over Smokies
July 24, 2025
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos won their third in a row on Wednesday night, defeating the Knoxville Smokies 5-2 on the strength of a Jared Serna three-run homer.
With two on and two out in the fifth inning, Serna turned around a 2-0 offering from Smokies starter Sam Armstrong (L, 2-7) and sent it into the left field bullpen to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead.
The blast followed a positive trend for the Blue Wahoos, who have now hit eight three-run homers since June 1 after hitting only one in the season’s first two months.
The Smokies jumped ahead 1-0 in the second inning, turning a Felix Stevens leadoff walk into the game’s first run on an RBI single from Ethan Hearn. Blue Wahoos starter Ike Buxton labored through 3.0 innings, walking five batters but allowing only one run on one hit before departing.
Serna’s homer made a winner out of Luis Palacios (W, 2-2), who turned in 3.1 innings of effective relief with only one unearned run allowed. It was the 22nd career win for Palacios in a Blue Wahoos uniform, the most in team history.
Palacios allowed a two-out RBI double to Corey Joyce in the bottom of the fifth, but right fielder Grant Richardson gunned a throw home to cut down B.J. Murray Jr. trying to score the tying run from first base. With the lead still intact, Palacios and Nigel Belgrave (S, 2) stranded Knoxville runners in scoring position in the next three innings before a Michael Snyder two-run single in the top of the ninth extended the Pensacola advantage to 5-2.
Belgrave got the final eight outs to lock down the Blue Wahoos win, finishing with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth inning.
With a win and a Columbus Clingstones loss, the Blue Wahoos now lead the South Division by 3.5 games in the second half race.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Thursday night.
File photo.
Wahoos Outlast Smokies In Marathon 13-Inning Win
July 23, 2025
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos defeated the Knoxville Smokies 6-4 in 13 innings on Tuesday night, rallying several times in extra innings before ultimately securing their most exhausting win of the season.
Pensacola’s first game at brand-new Covenant Health Park was their longest game by innings since 2021, and at 4 hours and 15 minutes was their longest game by time since 2018, prior to the implementation of MLB’s modern pitch clock rules.
The Smokies scored the game’s first run in the first inning, as Pedro Ramirez walked and scored on a Corey Joyce infield single when Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Alex Williams uncorked an errant throw into foul territory. Williams would recover to turn in 5.0 solid innings, but left trailing 1-0.
The Blue Wahoos managed only two hits through the first eight innings against five different Knoxville pitchers, and trailed 1-0 with two outs in the ninth inning before pinch hitter Ryan Ignoffo blasted his team back to life with an opposite-field, two-run triple that gave the Blue Wahoos a 2-1 lead. It marked Ignoffo’s first appearance since a concerning hit-by-pitch in Friday’s game.
On for the save in the bottom of the ninth, Josh Ekness instead blew his first opportunity of the season. Two singles and a misplayed fielder’s choice loaded the bases for BJ Murray Jr., who narrowly missed a walk-off grand slam and settled for a game-tying sacrifice fly as Pensacola right fielder Kemp Alderman made a leaping catch at the wall.
Ekness stranded the potential winning run at second base to force extras, and repeated the feat in the bottom of the 10th after the Blue Wahoos failed to score their placed runner in the top half of the inning.
In the 11th, Jake Thompson put the Blue Wahoos back in front 3-2 with a two-out RBI single to score pinch runner Grant Richardson from second base. Once again, the Smokies came back to tie it with a Felix Stevens sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th against Austin Roberts (W, 1-0).
In the 12th, Alderman lined a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home Ignoffo and give the Blue Wahoos another lead at 4-3. Another Smokies sacrifice fly, this time from Jefferson Rojas, again tied the game and forced a 13th inning.
Richardson, in his first at-bat of the night, laced an RBI single to center field to lead off the top of the 13th against Tyler Santana (L, 1-4). Alderman scored standing up on a close play at the plate, putting the Blue Wahoos ahead 5-4. Cody Morissette added insurance, scoring Richardson with an RBI single of his own for a 6-4 advantage.
Roberts, who was making his Blue Wahoos season debut after coming down from Triple-A Jacksonville earlier in the day, quickly found himself in more trouble in the bottom of the 13th as the Smokies put two runners in scoring position with one out. But the veteran righty, who led the Blue Wahoos with 15 saves in 2024, dug deep to retire Reivaj Garcia on a tapper and Stevens on a strikeout to end the game.
The Blue Wahoos used 17 players in the game, including five different pitchers. The Smokies used 19 players, including eight pitchers.
Though the Smokies scored three times on sacrifice flies in the 9th, 11th and 12th innings, they went 0-for-13 with men in scoring position.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Smokies on Wednesday night.
Tate Cheerleading’s Lillian Abner Commits to D1 Morehead State
July 22, 2025
Lillian Abner is the Tate High School cheerleaders’ first college commit of the 2025-2026 season. She is set to continue her academic and athletic career at Morehead State. The NCAA Division I school is renowned for its 54 college national championships. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Robb Whitfield Named New Athletic Director At Flomaton High School
July 22, 2025
Robb Whitfield has been named the new athletic director at Flomaton High School and assistant principal at Flomaton Elementary School.
Whitfield is a Tate High School graduate and spent a total of 14 years coaching baseball and football at Tate and West Florida high schools.
After three years at W.S. Neal Middle School, he moved to W.S. Neal High School as the assistant principal and athletic director for the past two years.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Snyder Lifts Wahoos To Walk-Off 4-3 Win
July 21, 2025
written by Willie Phaler
A Michael Snyder walk-off double capped a comeback 4-3 Pensacola Blue Wahoos victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Sunday afternoon.
With 5.0 innings of perfect relief and a one-run lead heading into the ninth, it seemed inevitable that the Lookouts would come out on top over the Blue Wahoos. The Wahoos’ bats had fallen silent after a two-run third inning, but came back to life in the bottom of the ninth.
A leadoff walk from Cody Morissette and a bunt single from Shane Sasaki to begin the ninth inning quickly signaled that this game was far from over. Josh Zamora came off the bench to work a pinch-hit walk and set the stage for Snyder.
“Hitting’s hard,” Snyder said. “Sometimes it takes a couple walks and finding a way on base. One good swing can change the course of a game.”
One good swing did change the course of the game, as Snyder connected on the third pitch from right-hander Arij Fransen (L, 2-3) to lace a line drive just inside the left field line. Morissette crossed home to tie it, and Sasaki’s run won it to give the Wahoos their 12th win of the second half and grow their division lead to 1.5 games.
“I was looking for a pitch to drive, something middle of the zone,” Snyder said. “Pretty simple right there. Just put bat on ball and good things happen.”
The Wahoos’ first two runs were put on the board in the third inning. Sasaki sent a line drive to center, driving in Jared Serna from third. Sasaki then swiped second as part of a double steal with Morissette, who beat a throw home for the tenth steal of home in Blue Wahoos history. This was Morissette’s third run-scoring thievery as a Wahoo after doing it in both 2023 and 2024.
Chattanooga’s offense got on the board in the top of the first for the third time this series, as Cam Collier drove in Edwin Arroyo with an RBI single up the middle.
The Lookouts also scored two runs in the third as Leo Balcazar and Jay Allen picked up RBI in the inning against Pensacola starter Jacob Miller.
Miller made his 14th start of the season for the Wahoos, and his first daytime start. Across 4.2 innings of three-run ball, the righty struck out six Lookouts. Miller’s outing ended on a sharp groundball to second by Collier, which Morissette gloved and fired home to prevent Arroyo from scoring an additional Chattanooga run in the fifth.
Former Blue Wahoos reliever Zach Willeman made the start for Chattanooga. A member of the 2023 Blue Wahoos, Willeman worked 3.0 innings of two-run ball in his return to Pensacola.
Both teams’ bullpens were excellent on Sunday afternoon. The Pensacola trio of Justin King, Nigel Belgrave and Josh Ekness (W, 3-1) compiled 4.1 innings of shutout work, while Brandon Komar tossed 4.0 perfect innings in relief for Chattanooga prior to Fransen’s difficulty in the bottom of the ninth.
The Blue Wahoos will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a six-game set with the Knoxville Smokies for their first trip to Covenant Health Park, the new stadium of the Cubs’ affiliate.
“[We] have a long road trip to Knoxville tomorrow, so [we] get some rest,” Snyder said. “[We are looking to] carry the momentum into the next week and have another good one.”
The Wahoos took four of six from the Smokies in late April in the first series between the teams. Right-hander Alex Williams (3-0, 2.10 ERA) is scheduled to get the ball in game one of the series for Pensacola.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Knoxville Smokies.
WHEN: Tuesday Thru Sunday
WHERE: Knoxville, Tennessee.
BACKGROUND: This will be the Blue Wahoos’ first trip to the Smokies’ new ballpark in downtown Knoxville, located near the campus of the University of Tennessee. It opened in April, after the team formerly played in Kodak, Tennessee, located about 21 miles east. The team was known as the Tennessee Smokies, the Chicago Cubs’ affiliate.