Olympics: Women’s Cycling (With NorthEscambia Gallery)
July 31, 2012
American Shelley Olds (Groton, Mass.) finished in seventh place in the women’s cycling road race at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
A Molino family living in England was there for the women’s cycling road race with photos for NorthEscambia.com. To view the photo gallery, click here.
The gold medal went to the Netherlands’ Marianne Vos, who covered the route in 3:35.29. Elizabeth Armitstead gave host Great Britain its first medal of the London 2012 Olympic Games with her silver medal finish, while Olga Zabelinskaya of Russia won the bronze in 3:35:31.
Other American finishers were: Evelyn Stevens (Acton, Mass.), 24th, 3:35:56; Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho), 35th, 3:36:16; and Amber Neben (Irvine, Calif.), 36th, 3:36:20.
Pictured top: Marianne Vos of the Netherlands (in orange, near the left) took the gold medal in women’s cycling during the Olympic Games in London. Pictured inset: Locals support the Great Britain team. Pictured below: The women’s cycling race winds through Box Hill in Surray England. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tennessee Smokes The Wahoos In Twin Bill
July 31, 2012
The Tennessee Smokies swept the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in the doubleheader at Smokies Park in Kodak, Tenn. on Monday night. The Smokies took game one 6-3 before edging out the Wahoos in game two 3-2. Billy Hamilton stole third base in the sixth inning for his 116th steal of the season, his 12th with the Blue Wahoos. He is now 29 steals shy of the record.
Tennessee wasted no time in the first game getting on the board first with five first-inning runs against Wahoos starter Mark Serrano. Matt Szczur plated the first run of the inning when he came home on a double by Junior Lake. Juntin Bour brought home Logan Watkins a batter later with a base hit to put the Smokies ahead 2-0. With two on, Greg Rohan cleared the bases with his fifth home run of the season opening up the score making it 5-0.
Mike Brenly made it 6-0 with an RBI single in the fifth scoring Lake from third. Pensacola would cut into the lead in ensuing frame. Hamilton singled home Andrew Means for the Blue Wahoos’ first run of the game in the sixth. Hamilton scored later in the inning with Ryan LaMarre on a Bryson Smith triple but that’s all the Blue Wahoos would get.
Serrano (6-3) took the loss after giving up a season-high six runs on 10 hits over four innings. He struck out five and walked one. Smokies starter Eric Jokisch (7-2) picked up the win after working a seven inning complete game. All three runs he allowed were earned. He faced the minimum and surrendered just one hit over the first five innings of the game.
In game two, the Blue Wahoos and Smokies traded zeros through the first three innings before the Smokies broke through in the fourth. Tony Cingrani uncorked a wild pitch to Mike Burgess allowing Nate Samson to score from third to give the Smokies a 1-0 lead. The Wahoo starter ran into problems again in the fifth. Dustin Harrington scored from third on an errant throw to the plate on a fielder’s choice groundball to the shortstop. The second run in the inning scored when a pickoff attempt at first base got away into foul territory allowing Szczur to score from third making it 3-0 Smokies.
Mark Fleury added some excitement in the seventh when he blasted his first home run of the season with a man on. His shot completely cleared the stadium just inside the right field foul pole. That made it 3-2, and that was as close as the Wahoos would get.
All three Smokies runs were charged to Cingrani (5-3), but only one was earned. He took the loss after going 4.1 innings. The lefty struck out three, walked two and allowed three hits. Casey Weathers (4-1) earned the win out of the bullpen for Tennessee. He worked a scoreless fifth to pick up his fourth win of the season. Despite allowing the home run to Fleury in the seventh, Frank Batista (19) still earned the save.
The two teams will continue the series on Tuesday. RHP Kyle Lotzkar will get the nod for the Blue Wahoos against Smokies RHP Dae-Eun Rhee. First pitch is slated for 6:15 p.m. central time at Smokies Park in Kodak, Tenn.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured: Mark Fleury went 2-for-3 with his first home run of the year Monday night against Tennessee. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Olympics: Men’s Cycling (With NorthEscambia Photo Gallery)
July 30, 2012
In the men’s cycling road race at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Team USA’s Taylor Phinney (Boulder, Colo.) narrowly missed a podium finish as he place fourth.
A Molino family living in England was there for the men’s cycling road race with photos for NorthEscambia.com. To view the photo gallery, click here.
The gold medal went to Alexandr Vinokurov of Kazakhstan, who out-duelled Rogoberto Uran Uran of Colombia after the two had broken away from the lead pack in the final few kilometers. Alexander Kristoff of Norway edged Phinney at the front of the lead pack to win the bronze medal.
Tyler Farrar (Wenatchee, Wash.) finished 32nd, while Timmy Duggan (Nederland, Colo.) faded from second place earlier in the race to finish 87th. Chris Horner (San Diego, Calif.) ended up in 92nd place.
Pictured above and inset: The men’s cycling road race as seen from The Mall outside Buckingham Palace during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Pictured below: Team USA’s vehicle. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Powered By Chocolate Milk: Run Across Four States For Pensacola Lighthouse
July 30, 2012
A New Orleans man — powered by chocolate milk — has completed a run from New Orleans to Pensacola to raise money for the Pensacola Lighthouse.
Billed as the ‘Krewe du Shoe’ Run, long distance runner George Melichar averaged 60 miles per day to cover the 230 mile distance in four days. Along the way, he could be seen refueling with chocolate milk — one of his run sponsors.
In addition to raising money for the restoration of the Pensacola Lighthouse, Melichars run honored the children attending the Salvation Center School in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
“My passion for running in New Orleans has lead me to serve my community by aiding in recovery.” says Melichar, “As I have traveled the world running marathons, I have come to appreciate the city landmarks, the neighborhoods I run through, and the residents’ enthusiasm as I run pass.”
While the final tally was not immediately available, Melichars goal was to raise $800,000 needed to repoint or restore the weathered masonry in this historical lighthouse tower to ensure it is around for future generations.
“I also hope that by helping to preserve this historical landmark with my four-state run I will also generate attention to the beauty and tourism opportunities available to Gulf Coast visitors.”
To donate or learn more about the Pensacola lighthouse, visit www.pensacolalighthouse.org.
Pictured top: Long distance runner George Melichar on Pensacola NAS near the lighthouse. Pictured inset: Melichar’s run was fueled by chocolate milk. Pictured below: Melichar reaches the Pensacola Lighthouse. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enalrge.
Pensacola Runs Past Huntsville In Front Of Sellout Crowd
July 29, 2012
The Blue Wahoos stole a season-high five bases, including two from Billy Hamilton to increase his season total to 115 as part of a two-hit game, as Pensacola defeated the Huntsville Stars 6-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 on Saturday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
With the victory, the Fish improved to 20-15 in the second half to remain one game behind the Montgomery Biscuits in the South Division, while the Stars fell to 16-19 since the league’s All-Star Break. The capacity crowd was the 34th of the season for the club in their inaugural season of play at the bayfront stadium.
Four of Pensacola’s five stolen bases came in the opening frame, when the Blue Wahoos plated three early tallies. Hamilton got the rally started with a single, before promptly stealing second and third, before coming across on LF Bryson Smith’s sacrifice fly to center. The swiped bags moved the speedster’s total to 115 this year, bringing him to within 30 of Vince Coleman’s record of 145, which was set in 1983.
CF Ryan LaMarre and 1B Donald Lutz each drew free passes later in the inning before they came home on 2B Brodie Greene’s two-run single to left, which gave Pensacola a 3-0 advantage.
Following a single score from the Blue Wahoos in the third, Huntsville got on the board in the fourth thanks to the longball. LF Khris Davis reached on a base hit, before 1B Hunter Morris mashed his 19th homer of the year to left. It was also the fourth roundtripper of the series for Morris, and the Stars’ ninth of the series.
Hamilton would later drive home a run with his second hit of the game in the fourth, bringing in 3B David Vidal after he doubled to left to extend the margin to 5-2, though the Stars mounted a comeback attempt in the late innings. CF Josh Prince singled before 2B Scooter Gennett reached on a fielder’s choice being both came plateward on Kris Davis’ two-run single to center, cutting their deficit to one. The Blue Wahoos however, tacked on an insurance run in their half of the inning thanks to consecutive triples from Lutz and Smith.
Hamilton (2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI) was the lone Blue Wahoos batter to record two hits in the win, while Khris Davis (3-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB) collected three base knocks for Huntsville in the defeat. The Pensacola shortstop has now reached base in all 16 of his games for the Fish.
Fish starter Wirfin Obispo (5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO) earned the victory after giving up two earned runs on just two hits while fanning seven, while Stars RHP Jimmy Nelson (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year. Four Blue Wahoos relievers, including Drew Hayes (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO), Mark Serrano (1.0 IP), Brian Pearl (0.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER) and Wilkin De La Rosa (1.2 IP, 1 H) fired the last four innings in support of Obispo. Hayes, Serrano and Pearl all earned holds, while De La Rosa notched his first save of the year.
Pensacola will travel on their offday Sunday to Tennessee to begin a ten-game road trip, with five-game series versus the Tennessee Smokies and at Huntsville. The Blue Wahoos will begin their five-game set with the Smokies on Monday, July 30 for a scheduled double header, with the first contest slated to begin at 4:30 p.m.
The next homestand at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium begins on Wednesday, August 8th with a five-game series against the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
By Andrew Green
Pictured top: Pensacola’s Billy Hamilton stole two bases to extend his total to 115 on Saturday night. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Flag Football Tournament Benefits Youth Football Program
July 29, 2012
An adult flag football tournament was held Saturday in Walnut Hill, with proceeds benefiting the Northwest Escambia youth football program.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
USA Gets First Gold; Phelps Fails to Medal in Olympics Swimming Opener
July 29, 2012
There was a shocking result in the very first swimming race at the London Olympics.
American swimmer Ryan Lochte won the men’s 400-meter individual medley (4:05.18) by an impressive margin of more than three and a half seconds, capturing the gold medal.
Brazil’s Thiago Pereira took the silver (4:08.86) and Japan’s Kosuke Hagino got the bronze (4:08.94).
While Lochte himself is a star and was one of the favorites, it was the placement of his superstar teammate Michael Phelps that came as a big surprise. The record-setting eight-time Olympic gold medalist in Beijing had narrowly qualified for the final out of the morning heats and ended up fourth.
Phelps did not hide his disappointment.
“It’s frustrating. It’s all I can say,” he admitted. “You know, it’s pretty upsetting. But I think the biggest thing now is just to try to get past this and move forward. I mean I have a bunch of other races and hopefully we can finish a lot better than how we started.”
Lochte said he was surprised Phelps was not next to him on the podium.
“I mean whenever Michael swims he’s always on the medal stand, no matter what,” Lochte noted. “But he did 110%. He gave it everything he had.”
But it was not enough this time, and Lochte won the difficult race that features all four strokes: butterfly, back, breast and freestyle.
“Feels amazing that knowing the last four years I’ve put in that hard work that it finally paid off,” Lochte said during post-race press conference, “and to not only swim for my country but to have my whole entire family there in the stands cheering for me definitely gave me a little bit more of a boost.”
Lochte was asked if Phelps had anything to say to him after the race.
“He came up to me and he congratulated me and he said ‘Way to go’ and ‘we haven’t lost the 400 IM for the USA in a long time, so way to keep it going,” Lochte said.
The first swimming world record of these Games came on the opening night in the women’s 400-meter individual medley. China’s Ye Shiwen clocked 4:28.43 seconds to break the four-year-old mark (4:29.45) by about one second set at the last Olympics by Australian Stephanie Rice, who placed sixth Saturday. American Elizabeth Beisel won the silver (4:31.27) and China’s Lu Xuanxu got the bronze (4:32.91).
China’s Sun Yang took the gold medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, and Australia earned gold in the women’s 4×100 meter freestyle relay, with the Netherlands getting silver and the USA bronze.
Earlier Saturday evening, the U.S. men’s archery team upset three-time defending champion South Korea in the semifinals (224-219). But in a dramatic battle for the gold medal, Italy’s last archer scored a 10 when his arrow landed on the ring to give his nation a one-point victory, 219-218.
South Korea won the bronze in a shoot-off against Mexico.
Pcola Blue Wahoos Beat The Huntsville Stars 7-5
July 28, 2012
Pensacola and Huntsville totaled nine runs in four innings, including scores in each frame from the bottom of the fifth until the bottom of the eighth, while four Blue Wahoos batters recorded multi-hit efforts to lead the Fish to a 7-5 victory over the Huntsville Stars on Friday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The win combined with a Montgomery loss means Pensacola is now just one game behind the Biscuits for first in the second half standings of the South Division with a 19-15 record. The Stars fell to 16-18 in the second half, with the defeat snapping their five-game winning streak.
Once again Pensacola struck first, with RF Josh Fellhauer leading off the second with a double, before 3B David Vidal drove home Fellhauer with a run-scoring ground-rule double to left-center. Vidal would then come across when starting pitcher J.C. Sulbaran singled to left to push Pensacola to a 2-0 margin.
Following a solo homer from Huntsville LF Khris Davis, his eighth of the year, the Blue Wahoos started the scoring streak with a two-run fifth frame. SS Billy Hamilton led off with a triple and scored on an error on the play, while LF Donald Lutz drew a free pass and was brought home on an RBI double by 1B Beau Mills, making it 4-1.
Both teams subsequently exchanged single tallies in both the sixth and seventh innings to keep Pensacola ahead 6-3. The Stars scored thanks to a sacrifice fly from 1B Hunter Morris in the sixth, which was followed by a run-scoring single from SS Tommy Manzella in the next frame. CF Ryan LaMarre drove a run home with an RBI single in the sixth, while Vidal brought in his second tally with a single in the seventh.
After Huntsville cut their deficit to one with a pair of scores in the eighth courtesy of a two-run double by CF Josh Prince, the Fish added an additional insurance run in the bottom of the frame when LaMarre brought across pinch hitter Miguel Rojas, extending the Pensacola advantage to two.
Blue Wahoos starter J.C. Sulbaran (5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 SO) earned the victory after giving up just two earned runs on five hits while fanning five in 5.1 frames, while Stars RHP Evan Anundsen (4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss for Huntsville. Pensacola closer Justin Freeman (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 SO) notched his 11th save of the year by firing the final 1.2 innings.
Lamarre (2-4, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB), along with Mills (2-5, 2 2B, 1 RBI), Fellhauer (2-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 BB) and Vidal (2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI) all recorded multi-hit efforts in the win for the Fish, while Khris Davis (2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB) and 2B Scotter Gennett (2-5, 1 R, 1 2B) each collected two base knocks in the contest. Mills extended his on-base streak to 30 consecutive games, which is the second longest active streak in the Southern League this year.
Pensacola and Huntsville will meet in the series finale Saturday night, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. at the bayfront stadium. RHP Wirfin Obispo is expected to get the nod for the Blue Wahoos, while the Stars have not yet announced their starter.
By Andrew Green
Pictured: David Vidal collected two RBI in Pensacola’s 7-5 win over Huntsville Friday. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Huntsville Stars Edge The Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3-2
July 27, 2012
Huntsville center field Josh Prince dropped down a suicide squeeze bunt in the seventh inning for what turned out to be the game-winning play, while left fielder Khris Davis launched his seventh homer of the season to lead the Stars to a 3-2 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in front of a capacity crowd of 5,038 on Thursday evening at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
It was the fifth straight win for Huntsville, who also clinched a series victory and improved to 16-17 in the second half, while the Fish fell to 18-15 mark since the league’s All-Star Break. The sellout was the 33rd of the year for the Blue Wahoos in their 52nd home opening this year.
For the third straight night, Pensacola scored the game’s first run, with LF Donald Lutz leading off the second frame by launching a longball to right center. The homer was the second since the left-handed slugger joined to Wahoos and gave the Fish the early 1-0 advantage.
Huntsville however answered back with single tallies in the third and fourth frames to take a 2-1 lead. Prince reached with a one-out double, before eventually coming plateward on SS Tommy Manzella’s RBI single to right. The Stars subsequently scored in the next inning when Davis drove a solo homer to left, his seventh of 2012.
The Blue Wahoos would then even the count at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. 3B David Vidal doubled to deep center and moved to third on Lutz’s single prior to a Stars fielding miscue, which brought home Vidal. Lutz later attempted to score on a fly out to right, but was gunned down by RF Kentrail Davis after Lutz ran into C Adam Weisenburger, who held on to the throw at the plate.
Huntsville would then break the draw in the seventh to grab the lead for good. 3B Hainly Statia led off with a base knock, took second on Kentrail Davis’ single and third on an error, before Prince put down the suicide squeeze bunt to bring across Statia.
Manzella (2-5, 1 RBI) and Statia (2-4,1 R) each recorded two base knocks to pace the Stars, while Lutz (3-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI) led the Blue Wahoos with his three hits. 1B Beau Mills collected a hit in the sixth frame to extend his team-record on-base streak to 29 contests.
Huntsville starting pitcher Josh Stinson (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO) earned the win to up his record to 11-5, while right-handers Darren Byrd (2.0 IP, 1 SO) and Brandon Kintzler (1.0 IP) combined for three perfect innings in support of Stinson. Byrd recorded his ninth hold of the season, while Kitzler notched his fifth save of 2012.
Pensacola starter Daniel Corcino (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) did not factor in the decision despite yielding just two earned runs on five hits in his six innings, while LHP Wilkin De La Rosa (0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 SO) suffered the loss for the Blue Wahoos.
The Blue Wahoos and Stars are slated to meet again on Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the bayfront stadium. Pensacola is expected to give the nod to RHP J.C. Sulbaran, while RHP Evan Anundensen is slated to toe the rubber for Huntsville.
By Andrew Green
Pictured: Daniel Corcino yielded just two runs in six innings in Pensacola’s 3-2 loss Thursday night. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Huntsville Homers Past The Pensacola Blue Wahoos 6-2
July 26, 2012
The Stars slammed four home runs, including two from first baseman Hunter Morris and one each from left fielder Khris Davis and right fielder Kentrail Davis, as Huntsville powered past the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 6-2 on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
The victory was the fourth in a row for the Stars, who improve their record in the second half to 15-17. The defeated dropped the Fish to a 18-14 mark since the league’s All-Star Break. The team wore Reds jerseys for the contest in honor of the club’s affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds, while fans in attendance also wore red.
Pensacola got the scoring started in the opening frame to take the early 1-0 lead. SS Billy Hamilton drew a free pass and subsequently swiping second for his 113th steal of the year before moving to third on an error and home on an RBI single by RF Bryson Smith. The theft means the speedster is now 32 steals away from Vince Coleman’s all-time mark of 145, which he set in 1983 with Single-A Macon.
Huntsville would then launch their first homer of the contest in the next inning, when Morris led off the second with a solo shot to right. The left-handed slugger then mashed his second longball of the evening in his next at bat in the fourth to up his season total to 18. Kentrail Davis followed Morris with a solo blast of his own to combine for back-to-back jacks. A third Stars tally would come across in the fourth thanks to a Blue Wahoos error to make it 4-1.
The fourth and final Stars shot would come in the fifth, when Khris Davis deposited the first pitch of the at bat to left for his sixth roundtripper of the year, extending the advantage to five. Pensacola pinch hitter Josh Fellhauer cut the deficit to three in the fifth, scoring 3B David Vidal from third, but Huntsville answered right back in the sixth with a run-scoring single by SS Tommy Manzella to complete the scoring.
Morris (2-3, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB) was the lone Huntsville hitter to collect two or more hits in the contest, while Smith (2-4, 1 RBI) also recorded a multi-hit effort for the Blue Wahoos. 1B Beau Mills drew a free pass in the sixth to extend his team-record on-base streak to 28, accounting for every game he has played for Pensacola this year.
Stars starter Johnnie Lowe (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) earned the win after yielding just two earned runs on four hits in his five innings of work, while the relief trio of Dan Meadows (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SO), Darren Byrd (1.0 IP, 1 SO) and Brandon Kintzler (1.0 IP, 1 H) combined for the final four shutout frames. Pensacola RHP Kyle Lotzkar (4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 4-5, as Josh Ravin (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 SO), Justin Freeman (1.0 IP, 2 SO) and Chris Manno (1.0 IP, 2 SO) totaled seven strikeouts in the last three innings.
The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Thursday evening, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. at the bayfront stadium. RHP Daniel Corcino is slated to toe the rubber for the Blue Wahoos, while Huntsville is expected to counter with RHP Josh Stinson.
By Andrew Green
Pictured: Pensacola’s Billy Hamilton stole his 113th base of the season in Wednesday’s 6-2 loss to Huntsville. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.