Northview Heads To State After First Ever Regional Win
May 9, 2015
The Northview Chiefs are headed to the Class 1A state baseball championship tournament for the first time ever after an 8-4 win over Bozeman Friday night in Panama City.
The Chiefs (19-2) will face Blountstown (21-8) Wednesday in the state semifinal round at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers. Blountstown beat Central Friday night 3-1.
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NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Tate Aggies Win Class 7A State Championship
May 8, 2015
The Tate High School Lady Aggies beat Sarasota 8-1 Thursday afternoon in Vero Beach to claim the FHSAA Class 7A state championship.
Tori Perkins slammed an infield homer in the top of the seventh to help seal the win, brining home Casey McCrakin and Rachel Wright.
Perkins pitched the win for the Aggies, allowing five hits, one run and striking out five. Tate hitters were Casey McCrackin 2-3, BB, 3R; Rachel Wright 2-4, 2R; Tori Perkins 3-4, 6 RBI, R; Lauren Brennan 2-4, R, RBI; Hayden Lindsay 1-2; Samantha Burks R, 2 BB.
Pictured: The Class 7A state champion Tate Aggies. Photos by Mike Brennan for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Jay Finishes As Class 1A Runnerups
May 8, 2015
The Chiefland Indians defeated the Jay Royals 3-2 in eight innings Thursday afternoon for the Class 1A softball state championship. It was the second consecutive championship for the Indians.
Jay was first on the board in the top of the third inning with a single from Kolby Bray. Chiefland took the lead 2-1 over Jay in the bottom of the fourth. The Royals tied it up 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth with a single from Emily Dobson, Miranda Roberts bunting to first and an RBI single from Destiny Herring.
The game went into extra innings, with Chiefland pulling off the win in the bottom of the 8th.
For the Royals, it was their third finish in second in the past four years.
Jay hitters were: Dana Blackmon 2-4, Samantha Steadham 1-4, Harley Tagert 1-4, Kolby Bray 1-4, Destiny Herring 2-4, Riana Wolfe 2-3. On the mound, Dana Blackmon allowed eight hits and three runs while striking out four.
Pictured top: Jay junior Michaela Stewart reacts to Jay’s heartbreaking loss in the Class 1A state championship game in Vero Beach. Pictured below: The Royals react after the loss. Images courtesy Bright House Sports Network for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos: Northview Teacher Tosses First Pitch, NHS NJROTC Presents Colors
May 8, 2015
Pictured: Escambia County Teacher of the Year, Anna Barry of Northview High School, tossed the first pitch at Thursday night’s Blue Wahoos game in Pensacola. The Northview High School NJROTC presented the colors before the game. Photos by Barrett McClean for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Beat Smokies
May 8, 2015
Jesse Winker’s first hit of the game Thursday at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium knocked in the winning run which led to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 100th home victory in its fourth season.
Winker’s single to center field scored Juan Perez from second base to give Pensacola a, 5-4, victory over the Tennessee Smokies in front of 4,386 fans. The Blue Wahoos are just 1,620 fans away from reaching one million Friday in its first four seasons of existence.
Winker said a chance for a walk-off is the position a hitter looks forward to being in. Friday’s was his third for Pensacola since being promoted mid-season last year from High-A Bakersfield.
“It’s always a situation you want to be in whether you are 10-for-10 or 0-for-10,” said Winker, the Cincinnati Reds No. 2 rated prospect according to MLB.com. “It’s the best feeling in baseball. Those are the moments you live for.”
After losing both doubleheaders in the last inning on Thursday, the Wahoos turned the tables on the Smokies, who scored its four runs in the first inning off of starting pitcher Daniel Wright on a walk and four hits. The big hit came on right fielder Bijan Rademacher’s bases-clearing double.
The first pitch for the game was tossed by Escambia County’s Teacher of the Year, Anna Barry from Northview High School, and the colors were presented by the Northview High School NJROTC. Click for photos.
Wright settled down and had two 1-2-3 innings and got out of a bases loaded jam in the third inning. He struck out 10 batters in five innings.
Meanwhile, the Blue Wahoos fought back with two runs in the bottom of the first inning when first baseman Kyle Waldrop singled to center field and Perez scored. Seth Mejias-Brean then singled sharply back up the middle to drive in Ryan Wright to bring Pensacola within, 4-2.
Winker scored in the fifth on a ground out by Mejias-Brean, his second RBI of the game. Kyle Skipworth, who led off the sixth with a single in his first game down from Triple-A Louisville, tied the game, 4-4, when he scored on a wild pitch by Smokies reliever Fernando Cruz.
Wright said the two runs in the bottom of the first helped calm him down on the mound. He was happy with pitching six innings and getting the no-decision.
“The two in the bottom of the first really settled me in,” Wright (0-4) said. “I have to spot up my fastball. I don’t throw 97 mph fastballs. That’s not my game.”
“He’s a Hall-of-Famer and you don’t get that chance every day,” Winker said. “I look forward to implementing some of the things he said.”
Both Winker and Wright hope the walk-off changes the course of the season for the last place Blue Wahoos who are 9-19.
“We haven’t started the season off like we wanted to,” Wright said. “We’ve got the batters to do it. We’ve got the pitchers to do it. Jesse coming through there for us is big for us.”
Added the ever-confident Winker: “Anything can happen from this point on.”
Pensacola Manager Pat Kelly said both Winker and Waldrop talked hitting with Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin before the game. Larkin has been in Pensacola during the Smokies series.
“They talked about hitting mechanics,” Kelly said. “We’ve been close a couple of times. Jesse’s been close. He’s worked really hard.”
Winker, who’s hitting .240 this season after winning the Arizona League batting crown in the fall, acknowledged getting some advice from Larkin earlier in the day.
Photos by Barrett McClean for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Beats Liberty County, Chiefs Head To Regional Finals
May 6, 2015
The Northview Chiefs beat Liberty County 7-0 in Bratt Tuesday night in the Region 2-1A semifinals.
With the playoff win, the Chiefs (18-2) will be on the road Friday to Panama City to take on Bozeman in the Region 2-1A championship game. The winner heads to the state tournament, the loser heads home.
Brett Weeks pitched seven for the Chiefs, allowing five hits and no runs, and striking out seven. Hitting for Northview were RBI; Chasen Freeman 2-3, 2 RBIs, run; Quentin Sampson 1-3, 2 runs, Dakotah Lowery 1-3, RBI; Brody Amos 1-2, 2 runs; Weeks 1-1, 2 RBIs.
Photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate’s Simmons Signs With Alabama State
May 5, 2015
Tate High School senior Regine Simmons has signed a volleyball scholarship with Alabama State University. Simmons is pictured being congratulated by Tate High Principal Rick Shackle. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate To State: Lady Aggies Hit The Road
May 5, 2015
The Tate Lady Aggies hit the road Monday for Vero Beach and the state semifinals. The Lady Aggies will face the Bartow High School Yellow Jackets in the Class 7A state semifinals Wednesday afternoon. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Beat Jackson
May 4, 2015
Pensacola Blue Wahoos pitcher Josh Smith picked up his second win of the season by throwing seven scoreless innings against the Jackson Generals on Sunday.
Smith, who last pitched for the Blue Wahoos in 2013, is now 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA after giving up six hits and striking out eight in Pensacola’s, 5-1, victory at The Ballpark in Jackson. The win ended a two-game losing streak to the Generals, who wrap up its five-game series Monday with Pensacola.
Smith wasn’t the only star for Pensacola on Sunday. Designated hitter Kyle Waldrop went 3-5 with a double, scored a run and drove in two more. Marquez Smith also had a 3-5 day and scored.
Pensacola scored first in the third inning. They took a 1-0 lead when Juan Silva tripled for the first time this season on a soft line drive to right field and Beau Amaral knocked him in with a single on a line drive to left field.
Marquez Smith then singled sharply to left field and Waldrop doubled on a fly ball to center field that drove in Smith to put Pensacola up, 2-0. Waldrop moved to third base on a Seth Mejias-Brean ground out to shortstop. Chris Berset drove Waldrop in on a sacrifice fly to center field for a 3-0 Pensacola lead.
Pensacola made it 4-0 when Jesse Winker reached first on a fielder’s choice and two out. Smith followed with a single to right field and Winker took third on a fielding error by Jackson right fielder Jabari Blash. Waldrop then drove in Winker with a two-out single to center field.
The Blue Wahoos added an insurance run in the ninth when Juan Perez singled on a ground ball to the second baseman and reached third on a wild pitch by Jackson’s Trevor Miller. Ryan Wright then drove Perez in on a sacrifice fly to go ahead, 5-0.
Perez went 2-5 and has now hit in six straight games and 15 of the last 16 games. He’s leading Pensacola with a .311 batting average.
Tate To State After Regional Final Win
May 2, 2015
For the second year in a row, the Tate Lady Aggies are headed to the State Final Four.
The Lady Aggies beat Atlantic Coast High School in Jacksonville 2-1 Friday night to claim the Region 1-7A championship.
Tate was led by pitcher Tori Perkins on the mound. In seven innings, she allowed five hits while striking out five. Hitting for Tate were Lauren Brennan 1-2, 2 RBI; Casey McCrackin 1-3, 2 R; Elizabeth Werdann 1-3; Hayden Lindsay 1-3; Savannah Rowell 1-2.
The Aggies will travel to Vero Beach to take on the Bartow Yellow Jackets Wednesday at Historic Dogertown in the Class 7A state semifinals.
Pictured: The Tate Lady Aggies celebrate their regional championship win Friday night in Jacksonville. Photo by Mike Brennan for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.