Wahoos Overcome Jacksonville Shrimp
September 5, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos right fielder Aristides Aquino crushed his team-leading 17th homer of the season to help his ballclub overcome the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, 5-1, at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The victory helped Pensacola — the first half Southern Division title winners — win its third straight game to capture the five-game series, 3-2 over second half champion Jacksonville.
Pensacola went ahead, 3-0, in the first inning when first baseman Gavin LaValley singled to right field with two outs to drive in shortstop Blake Trahan to put the Blue Wahoos up, 1-0. That’s when Aquino launched a two-run homer to left field with LaValley on base to make it a 3-0 game. For the season, Aquino has a team-leading 17 homers and 56 RBIs.
In the fourth inning, Pensacola scored two more to go up, 5-0. LaValley scored the first run when center fielder Jonathan Reynoso hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Hudson then smacked his 15th double of the season to drive in Aquino.
Aquino went 2-for-4 with a homer, his 20th double, scored twice and knocked in two in Monday’s game. LaValley went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and his 34th RBI in the second half for Pensacola.
Jacksonville avoided being shutout when third baseman David Vidal scored in the bottom of the fourth inning when catcher Rodrigo Vigil grounded out into a double play to trail Pensacola, 5-1.
Pensacola starting pitcher Jesus Reyes worked five innings allowed one run on eight hits, walked one and struck out one.
The Blue Wahoos starting pitchers Austin Ross, Keury Mella and Reyes allowed three earned runs in 18 innings for a 1.50 ERA in the last three games. Pensacola owns the second-best ERA in the Southern League at 3.14 this season.
Pensacola and Jacksonville have the day off Tuesday and then start the best of five game playoff series for the Southern Division crown scheduled to start at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Pensacola also hosts the second game before heading to Jacksonville.
The Blue Wahoos won a Southern League record four halves in a row this season to tie the Tennessee Smokies, which also won four straight halves between 2009 and 2011.
Pensacola improved to 34-36 in the second half and 74-66 this regular season. Meanwhile, Jacksonville fell to 39-31 and 69-71 to end the year.
Wahoos Beat The Jumbo Shrimp
September 4, 2017
Pensacola starting pitcher Keury Mella turned in his fourth strong start in a row for the Blue Wahoos.
This time, the 24-year-old Dominican allowed one run in seven innings, while Pensacola third baseman Josh VanMeter singled in the winning run to help the Blue Wahoos overcome the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, 2-1, Sunday at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The win tied the series, 2-2.
Mella gave up just four hits, no walks and struck out six. In the past four games, the right-hander has given up six runs, five earned in 25 innings for a 1.80 ERA, while striking out 23. He has turned his year around since the Mobile BayBears chased him from the game by scoring seven runs in 2.2 innings on Aug. 10
The victory improved his regular season record to 4-10 with a 4.30 ERA.
Blue Wahoos closer Tanner Rainey picked up his fourth save in his last four appearances since Aug. 28. Rainey, whose fastball touches 100 mph, has not allowed a run or hit in his last six games, recording 13 strikeouts in 6.2 innings.
Sunday, the big right-hander made it interesting, though. Rainey walked the first two batters he faced in the ninth inning. However, he got a strikeout and then Jacksonville right fielder John Norwood hit a line drive to second baseman Shed Long, who quickly threw to first to get Austin Dean out for a double play to end the game.
Pensacola rallied to beat Jacksonville with two out in the sixth inning by getting three singles in a row by right fielder Gabriel Guerrero, Long and third baseman Josh VanMeter. Guerrero’s single scored Mella, who had singled, to tie the Jumbo Shrimp, 1-1. Then VanMeter singled up the middle to drive in Long and put Pensacola up, 2-1.
Jacksonville’s only run of the game came on a solo home run by first baseman Justin Bour, who is on a rehab assignment from the Miami Marlins where he hit 21 homers this year.
Because Pensacola won the Southern Division in the first half, it will play Jacksonville, the second half champion, in the best of five game playoffs scheduled to start Sept. 6 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos won a Southern League record four halves in a row to tie the Tennessee Smokies, which also won four straight halves between 2009 and 2011.
Pensacola improved to 33-36 in the second half and 73-66 overall, while Jacksonville fell to 39-30 and 69-70.
UWF Gets Late Stops To Preserve 20-16 Season-Opening Road Win
September 3, 2017
On a night when the UWF offense wasn’t as prolific as it had been a year ago, the defense came up huge with multiple ‘bend but don’t break’ stops and two turnovers to secure the season-opening 20-16 road win over Missouri S&T at Allgood-Bailey Stadium Saturday.
The Argonauts got a huge break at the start of the fourth quarter when S&T kick returner Rod Chapman fumbled a punt that gave UWF the ball at the 19-yard line. Three plays later Mike Beaudry connected with sophomore Gage Krull inside the five before Krull carried a defender into the end zone that gave the Argos a 20-13 lead.
The Miners got four first downs on the ensuing drive but were stood up inside the 10 and had to settle for a 25-yard Ben Styron field goal – his third of the game.
Both teams traded 3-and-out possessions before the Miners made a push across midfield into UWF territory. Sitting at the 44, Tyler Swart went for a home run ball but graduate transfer Josh Marshall went up and intercepted it at the eight.
The Miners got the ball back again 59 seconds later and drove to the 8-yard line with less than a minute to play. Deshawn Jones found a seam up the middle and was hit at the three, where he launched towards the goal line but saw the ball slip out of his hands inside the one when sophomore Martes Wheeler hit him, allowing sophomore Trent Archie to recover it for the Argos and clinch the victory.
UWF (1-0) finished with 265 yards of total offense. Beaudry, a redshirt sophomore who missed last season while rehabbing a foot injury, was 20-of-31 for 192 yards and a pair of touchdown passes in his first college game. Sophomore Grey Jackson was 5-of-8 for 32 yards.
The Argonauts rushed for just 41 yards, with sophomore Chris Schwarz gaining 34 on 19 carries. He had 10 yards on five trips with a 1-yard score late in the first quarter that put the Argonauts ahead 6-0.
On defense, UWF sacked S&T’s Tyler Swart five times and limited the rushing attack to 65 yards. Wheeler led the defense with nine tackles and junior Marvin Conley added eight.
Missouri S&T (0-1) had 422 yards with 357 through the air, but committed three turnovers in its final five possessions.
The Miners held their only lead at 7-6 following a 65-yard Swart touchdown pass early in the second quarter. The Argos regained the lead with six seconds to play in the half when Beaudry found Rodney Coates in the end zone on a 25-yard pass that ended a drive that covered 75 yards on seven plays in 1:45.
UWF will return home for three-consecutive games at Blue Wahoos Stadium, beginning next Saturday, Sept. 9 against No. 24 Midwestern State (1-0).
Wahoos Win Over Jacksonville
September 3, 2017
In his sixth start since spending a month on the disabled list for shoulder tightness, Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Austin Ross finally looks 100 percent healthy.
The 29-year-old Ross allowed one run in six innings to snap Pensacola’s two game losing streak with a, 3-1, victory Saturday over the second half Southern Division champion Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Ross improved to 9-0 with a 1.87 ERA, allowing just five hits, no walks and striking out six.
Ross loaded the bases with one out in the second inning but struck out the final two batters of the inning to escape that scoring threat and blanked Jacksonville the first five innings.
However, with two outs in the sixth inning Jumbo Shrimp right fielder John Norwood his 16th double of the year. Jacksonville third baseman David Vidal followed with a single to center to drive in Norwood to trail Pensacola, 3-1. On the play, Blue Wahoos catcher Joe Hudson threw Vidal out trying to take second base on the throw home.
The Blue Wahoos scored all its runs in the third inning benefitting from two Jacksonville errors to go ahead, 3-0. Pensacola shortstop Blake Trahan reached second on a throwing error by Jacksonville’s Vidal. Trahan scored the first run when Jumbo Shrimp first baseman Justin Bour committed an error on a grounder by Pensacola third baseman Arismendy Alcantara. Pensacola went up, 2-0, when second baseman Shed Long doubled to drive in Ross. Guerrero then grounded out to third, allowing Alcantara to score for a 3-0 Pensacola lead.
Long was 3-for-3 in the game with the double, walk and RBI to lead the Blue Wahoos. He is 5-for-11 in the first three games of the five-game series against Jacksonville with two RBIs and a run scored.
Pensacola reliever Zack Weiss entered the game in the seventh inning and threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. Weiss has now thrown 6.2 shutout innings and has not allowed a hit, while striking out four over his last four appearances.
Blue Wahoos closer Tanner Rainey picked up his third save in his last three appearances. Like Weiss, the flame throwing Rainey has not allowed a run or hit in his last five appearances, getting 12 strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Jacksonville starter Trevor Richards, picked up the loss to fall to 5-7 on the year, but also pitched a good game. The 24-year-old righty worked six innings, allowing three unearned runs, five hits, walked none and struck out seven.
Jacksonville leads the series, 2-1.
Because Pensacola won the first half, its Southern League record fourth in a row, the two teams meet again Sept. 6 at Blue Wahoos Stadium in a best of five series in the Southern Division playoffs.
Only the Tennessee Smokies have also won four straight halves between 2009 and 2011.
West Florida Topples Tate (With Photo Gallery)
September 2, 2017
The West Florida Jaguars came from behind to defeat the Tate Aggies Friday night 41-28.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Two touchdown passes by Tate junior quarterback Hunter Riggan on the Aggies’ first two drives made it 13-0 after just four minutes of play. The Aggies were back on top late in the second quarter on a short Shermari Jones touchdown run to make the score 22-14. The Aggies saw their lead cut to 22-20 by halftime.
Early in the third quarter, West Florida junior quarterback Trever Jordan and Ko Burrell linked up for another aerial touchdwon. West Florida converted the 2-point try for a 28-22 lead. The Jaguars held the lead the remainder of the game.
The Aggies (1-1) will host Gulf Breeze (2-0) next Friday night at 7:00 while West Florida (2-0) will hit the road to take on D’Iverville, MS.
Look for more photos to be posted by Tuesday on NorthEscambia.com.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
Escambia Academy Beats Northview, 41-14 (With Gallery)
September 2, 2017
The Northview Chiefs were beat at home Friday night by the Escambia Academy Cougars, 41-14.
“They were better than us tonight in every facet of the game. They fought better, they tackled better, they ran better. They ran routes better, they covered better…every facet of the game,” Northview head coast Derek Marshman said. “There were some positives. We had some young guys step up. We had freshman and sophomores on the field. We’re a young team. I mean this is like a JV team playing a varsity team age-wise. So in the grand scheme of things we had some young guys really step up and fight but overall they just out performed us tonight.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
The running-clock loss will serve as one of those character building, a team building lessons in life for the Chiefs.
“To see competition like this you know, No. 3 (Fred Flavors) and No. 7 (Trey Turner) are just helluva football players. You get competition like that and you see there speed it helps, it really does, but overall like I said, it’ll help us because we had young guys stepping up, and that’s what matters. We are a young football team and our leaders are young guys,” Marshman said.
Turner had three touchdowns on the night, including a 55-yarder, for the Cougars, while junior Patrick McGhee had two touchdowns.
Escambia Academy held a 28-0 lead at the half, with Northview coming back to outscore EA 14-13 in the second half.
Northview scored with a 70-yard touchdown run from Jaden Jackson and a 5-yard run by Aunterrio Minor.
Next week, the Chiefs (1-1) make the trek to South Walton (1-1) while Escambia Academy will host Pickens Academy.
“Next time we go to South Walton and they got moved up to 4A so it’s going to be a challenge for us. They are going to throw the ball around and they are going to do some really good things in the spread so it’s going to be a little different type of look for us,” Marshman said.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Look for cheerleader, band and other photos to be posted by Tuesday on NorthEscambia.com.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
High School Football Scores
September 2, 2017
Here are week two high school scores from around the North Escambia area Friday night:
FLORIDA
West Florida 41, Tate 28 [Read more...]
Escambia Academy 41, Northview 14 [Read more...]
Cottondale 28, Jay 27
Navarre 27, Washington 12
Gulf Breeze 38, Catholic 25
Pensacola 40, Pace 14
Milton 27, Choctaw 13
Pine Forest (OFF)
Escambia at Archbishop Shaw (LA) – Saturday
ALABAMA
Escambia County 8, Wilcox Central 0
Escambia Academy 41, Northview 14
Flomaton 53, Billingsley 7
T.R. Miller 54, Opp 0
Tallasee 28, W.S. Neal 13
Pictured: Tate hosted West Florida Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photo by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Drops Second In A Row To Jacksonville
September 2, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost its second straight game to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, 6-3, Friday at the Baseball Ground of Jacksonville.
Pensacola scored first in the second inning when Blue Wahoos center fielder Jonathan Reynoso scored on a wild pitch. The team wouldn’t score again until the eighth inning when they trailed Jacksonville, 6-1.
Jacksonville starter Matt Tomshaw shut down the Pensacola lineup after that. Tomshaw worked seven innings, allowed just three hits, one unearned run, walked one and struck out seven. He improved to 13-6 with a 3.48 ERA. The 28-year-old lefty tied for the Southern League lead in wins.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville scored two runs in the third inning to take a 2-1 lead. Austin Dean crushed a solo homer, his fourth of the year, to left center field. Then Taylor Ard singled in Dustin Geiger to put Jacksonville on top for good.
The Jumbo Shrimp tacked on another run to go ahead, 3-1, in the sixth inning when Kyle Barrett hit a line drive single to center field that drove in Alex Yarbrough.
Geiger made it, 6-1, when he launched his fifth homer to left field with Dean and KC Serna on base.
Pensacola scored in the eighth inning when Shed Long singled in Blake Trahan to trail Jacksonville, 6-2. It also scored a run in the ninth when Josh VanMeter hit a sacrifice fly to left field to scored Reynoso.
The Blue Wahoos fell to 31-36 in the second half, while the second half champion Jumbo Shrimp improved to 39-28. The two teams meet again Sept. 6 in the Southern Division playoffs at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Wahoos Fall To Jumbo Shrimp, Head To Playoffs
September 1, 2017
For the first time in three seasons, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos are not the Southern Division champions.
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp ended Pensacola’s reign by overcoming the Blue Wahoos, 5-2, with three runs in the eighth inning at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Pensacola, which had its three game winning streak snapped, won the Southern League crown in the first half. The Blue Wahoos won a Southern League-record four straight halves. The only other team to do that was the Tennessee Smokies between the 2009 and 2011 seasons.
Pensacola and Jacksonville, not only finish the regular season schedule against each other, but will face each other in the Southern Division League playoffs that begin Sept. 6 and 7 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos fell to 31-35 in the second half, while the second half champion Jumbo Shrimp improved to 38-28.
Blue Wahoos left fielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a deep sacrifice fly to right field in the fifth inning that scored shortstop Blake Trahan to tie the game, 2-2, with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
But the Jumbo Shrimp went ahead, 3-2, when left fielder Austin Dean hit a ground ball single up the middle to score first baseman Taylor Ard, who Pensacola reliever Alex Powers hit with a pitch to lead off the eighth inning.
Jacksonville right fielder John Norwood then his fourth triple of the season to right field that drove in both center fielder Braxton Lee and Dean for a 5-2 lead.
In his last regular season start, Pensacola starting pitcher Deck McGuire was going for his career-high 10th win of the season for the seventh time. But after working six innings, McGuire left the game tied 2-2. The 6-foot-6 righty allowed two runs on three hits, no walks and struck out 11, which tied his career high with Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers in 2015.
It was an excellent regular season for the minor league veteran, who was selected to the Southern League All-Star game.
The former first round pick in 2010 by the Toronto Blue Jays finished the regular season 9-9 with a 2.79 ERA. He led the Southern League with 168 innings pitched and 170 strikeouts, which are also both franchise records. He had a WHIP of 1.10 and held opponents to a .208 batting average.
Jacksonville reliever Miguel Del Pozo ended up earning his first Double-A victory (1-0) in his fourth appearance for Jacksonville, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings and striking out two.
The Jumbo Shrimp had c0me back and tied Pensacola, 1-1, in the bottom of the first inning when third baseman David Vidal smacked a single that scored Lee. The Jumbo Shrimp then went ahead, 2-1, when John Norwood crushed a solo homer, his 19th of the year, in the fourth inning.
The Blue Wahoos scored first in the first inning when first baseman Gavin LaValley singled in second baseman Shed Long to put Pensacola ahead, 1-0.
Wahoos Sweep Doubleheader Against Mississippi Braves
August 31, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos catcher Joe Hudson hit a slow roller toward Mississippi Braves second baseman Travis Demeritte who fielded the ball on the infield grass, but threw the ball wide past the first baseman Jonathan Morales.
The result — a walk-off error — scoring center fielder Jonathan Reynoso from third base to give Pensacola a, 6-5, victory in the second game of the doubleheader Wednesday in front of 4,789 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola won the first game, 4-3, to sweep the Braves and capture the series, 3-2. It snapped a streak of two series losses at home.
Hudson, not exactly known for his speed, said he closed his eyes and ran as fast as he could once he made contact.
“I really got a hold of that one,” Hudson said jokingly of the Blue Wahoos sixth walk-off win this season. “You can hit four liners in a game and not get a hit and hit one off the end of the bat and get a game winner. That’s baseball.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly also teased Hudson about the game-winner in the 10th inning that improved the Blue Wahoos’ record in extra-inning games to 3-6.
“It’s the Wahoo Way,” Kelly said. “He put the ball in play and obviously his speed is what got it.”
Pensacola trailed Mississippi, 5-4, heading into the bottom of the 10th. Right fielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a one-out double down the right field line. With two outs, Reynoso lined a single to center field, scoring Guerrero to tie the game, 5-5.
Reynoso also had the clutch, game-winning hit in the first game Wednesday as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning. The 24-year-old, hitting .286, singled to right field with two outs to drive in first baseman Gavin LaValley, who led off the inning with a double off the top of the yellow bumper pad in left-center field.
“He’s been really clutch since coming up,” said Kelly of Reynoso who came up from High-A Daytona Tortugas on Aug. 5. “He has a knack for putting the ball in play and finding holes.”
In the second game, Blue Wahoos second baseman Arismendy Alcantara tripled to right field when the ball scooted by Mississippi’s Connor Joe, allowing LaValley to score and tie the game, 4-4, in the fifth inning.
Mississippi took the lead, 4-3, in the fifth inning when catcher Joseph Odom crushed a solo homer to left field, his first for the Braves this season.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos first baseman Reydel Medina launched a two-out, three-run homer to left field in the fourth inning with Guerrero and Reynoso.on base to tie the game, 3-3.
Leading Mississippi at the plate was Austin Riley who hit a solo homer in both of Wednesday’s games to increase his total to eight on the season.
Mississippi hit four homers total including one by the Braves Game 2 starting pitcher Wes Parsons who ripped his first career homer to left field with two outs in the fourth inning for a 3-0 lead. Mobbed by his teammates in the dugout, Parsons is now 3-18 with two RBIs this year.
Other first game highlights included Pensacola taking a 3-1 lead in the second inning when Alcantara lined a two-out, bases-loaded doubled into the left center gap, driving in right fielder Aristides Aquino, catcher Chad Tromp and pitcher Jesus Reyes.
Additionally, Pensacola closer Tanner Rainey picked up his second save in two days for the Blue Wahoos. In his last three relief appearances, the 24-year-old, whose fastball reaches triple digits, has struck out nine of the 11 outs. For the Blue Wahoos he has 25 strikeouts in 15 innings over 12 appearances with a 1.80 ERA.
The Blue Wahoos, who improved to 31-34, are guaranteed to play in the Southern League South Division playoffs after winning the first half. They play their last five-game series of the regular season against first place Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, who they will likely play again Sept. 6 in the playoffs.
Kelly said he hopes that Cincinnati Reds top ranked prospect, third baseman Nick Senzel, is in the starting lineup soon after taking medication for an inner-ear infection.
Hudson, who has played in four consecutive minor league playoffs in the Reds farm system, said it’s odd playing Jacksonville in two-series in a row.
“We’ve always fallen short,” Hudson said. “We’d like to win one for (manager) Pat (Kelly) and for our city.”