Make It Three Times In Five Days: Blue Wahoos Rained Out Again
August 21, 2022
For the third time in five days, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mississippi Braves were postponed due to rain and wet grounds at Trustmark Park on Saturday night. Originally scheduled as a doubleheader to make up Friday’s rainout, one of Saturday’s games will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday while the other will be canceled.
Blue Wahoos, Braves Rained Out Again In Mississippi
August 20, 2022
For the second time in four days, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mississippi Braves were postponed due to rain at Trustmark Park on Friday night. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.
Braves Score Early And Often As Blue Wahoos Fall 8-1
August 19, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost their second in a row on Thursday night, falling 8-1 to the Mississippi Braves.
Zach McCambley (L, 6-8) walked a career-high six batters over 3.2 innings, allowing four runs in the first and three more in the second. Mississippi starter Alan Rangel (W, 5-6) took the early lead and ran with it, allowing only one run over 6.0 innings.
The Braves used a pair of RBI doubles from Drew Lugbauer and Cade Bunnell in the first to jump out to their early lead. Lugbauer’s two-bagger was lost in the twilight by left fielder Davis Bradshaw, setting the tone for a challenging night for Pensacola.
Third baseman Demetrius Sims committed an error in the second inning, setting the stage for a two-run single from Justyn-Henry Malloy. Leading 7-0 after two innings, Mississippi had more than enough run support for Rangel and the Braves bullpen.
Pensacola’s lone run came in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from J.D. Orr. In an offensive bright spot, catcher Will Banfield was 3-for-4 with a pair of singles.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Braves on Friday.
Blue Wahoos Split Low-Scoring Doubleheader In Mississippi
August 18, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos split their doubleheader against the Mississippi Braves on Wednesday night, winning the first game 2-1 and falling in the nightcap by the same score.
In game one of the twin bill, a pair of RBI singles from Norel González provided all the offense that Pensacola would need. After the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Drew Lugbauer RBI single, the Pensacola bullpen cracked down and held Mississippi scoreless for the rest of the game. González’s first RBI single in the third tied the game 1-1, and his hit after a Paul McIntosh double in the sixth proved to be the game-winner.
Tyler Mitzel (W, 1-1), the third reliever in a scheduled bullpen game for Pensacola, earned the win with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. Eli Villalobos (S, 
got the final five outs for the save. Allan Winans (L, 0-3) turned in a complete game in the loss for the Braves, allowing two runs, one earned, over 7.0 innings.
In game two, Mississippi’s only hit came on the first pitch they saw from Zach King (L, 1-4) in the first inning. Cody Milligan’s single didn’t lead to anything, but a string of four walks and a throwing error in the second netted Mississippi their two runs against the Pensacola starter.
Tanner Gordon (W, 7-4) pitched 5.0 clean innings for the Braves, allowing only three singles in the span of four batters to Davis Bradshaw, Demetrius Sims and J.D. Orr in the third inning. Neither team had a hit from the third inning on, and Justin Yeager (S, 3) pitched a quick seventh inning to earn the save.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Braves on Thursday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Blue Wahoos, Braves Rained Out In Mississippi
August 17, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mississippi Braves saw their series opener postponed due to rain at Trustmark Park on Tuesday night. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.
Tate, Northview Kickoff Classics Are Friday Night
August 16, 2022
The Tate Aggies and Northview Chiefs have kickoff classics on the road this Friday night.
Tate High School
The Tate Aggies’ kickoff classic will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Catholic High School. Varsity will play the first half, followed by junior varsity in the third quarter and the freshman team in the fourth quarter. Tickets are $7 in the GoFan app or cash will be accepted at the gate. Parking will be $2. Credit cars will be accepted for concessions. (The Tate Showband does not attend away kickoff classics.)
Northview High School
The Northview Chiefs’ kickoff classic begins at 7 p.m. Friday at Baker High School. The Northview varsity, NHS junior varsity and the Ernest Ward Eagles will all play.
Pictured: Northview’s “Meet the Chiefs” last Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Beat Barons 13-12 In 12-Inning Marathon
August 15, 2022
T
he Pensacola Blue Wahoos played one of the most memorable games in team history on Sunday night, scoring four runs in the bottom of the 12th inning to walk off the Birmingham Barons 13-12.
With Birmingham’s bullpen exhausted, Davis Bradshaw capped the 12th inning by reaching on a walk-off error from shortstop Moises Castillo to score the Norel González from third with the winning run. The rally came against knuckleballing position player J.J. Muno (L, 0-1) after the Barons had scored three in the top of the 12th inning against Sean Reynolds (W, 2-0).
After a 55-minute weather delay, the Blue Wahoos and Barons got underway for their series finale with Marlins rehabber Trevor Rogers on the mound. The lefty went 4.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits.
Birmingham’s D.J. Burt got the scoring started in the third with a solo homer, but Pensacola answered with four runs in the home half of the inning thanks to a solo homer from Thomas Jones and a two-run blast from González. The Barons answered back with three runs in the fourth to tie the game on the strength of a Castillo RBI double and Burt RBI single.
Raudy Read put the Barons ahead 5-4 in the fifth with a sacrifice fly, but the Blue Wahoos charged back in their half of the inning on a three-run double from Cobie Fletcher-Vance. Barons homers from Evan Skoug and Jose Rodriguez gave Birmingham an 8-7 edge in the sixth before Bubba Hollins lifted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning.
An Oscar Colas solo homer put the Barons ahead once more in the seventh, but Hollins delivered again with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to bring home Nasim Nuñez to tie the game 9-9. José Devers tried to score from second on the Hollins single, but left fielder Craig Dedelow threw him out at the plate to preserve the tie game.
Dylan Bice threw a perfect top of the ninth, and the Blue Wahoos had Edgar Navarro on the ropes in the bottom of the inning as they loaded the bases with no outs. Navarro retired the next three batters, leaving the winning run at third and forcing extra innings.
Bice continued his stellar relief in the 10th and 11th, striking out six over 3.0 perfect innings while stranding the placed runners in both extra frames, but Pensacola was unable to score in their halves of the innings.
Reynolds allowed three runs in the top of the 12th on singles from Dedelow and Castillo, but the Blue Wahoos had arrived at the end of the Birmingham bullpen. Muno, a position player with eight prior pitching appearances, was tasked with protecting the 12-9 Barons lead. Singles from Jan Mercado, Devers and González tied the game before Muno got a pair of outs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Bradshaw hit a chopper to short that drew an off-target throw from Castillo to end the game.
At 4 hours and 14 minutes, it was the longest game of the year for Pensacola. Their 13 runs also marked a season high as they won their ninth walk-off of the season.
After an off day on Monday, the Blue Wahoos begin a six-game road series against the Mississippi Braves on Tuesday.
Conine Blasts Two Homers As Blue Wahoos Cruise To 10-2 Win
August 14, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos put together a team effort on “Do-It-Yourself Jersey Night,” defeating the Birmingham Barons 10-2 in front of a sellout crowd on Saturday.
Griffin Conine hit a pair of home runs, Will Banfield hit his first at the Double-A level, and Cobie Fletcher-Vance went 4-for-5 for Pensacola’s most lopsided win in more than two months.
Birmingham’s Jose Rodriguez blasted the first pitch of the game for a solo homer to put the Barons ahead 1-0, but Pensacola starter Patrick Monteverde settled in from there. The lefty allowed two runs over 4.2 innings, striking out seven in his second Double-A start.
Conine answered back immediately in the bottom of the first with his 18th home run of the season against Barons starter Garrett Davila (L, 5-4) to give the Blue Wahoos a 2-1 edge. A Banfield sacrifice fly in the third stretched the Pensacola lead to 3-1.
J.J. Muno hit an RBI single against Monteverde in the fifth to draw the Barons to within a run, but Justin Evans (W, 1-0) entered in relief to prevent further damage. Evans retired all seven men he faced, and Conine’s second homer of the night in the bottom of the fifth stretched the Pensacola advantage back to a pair of runs at 4-2.
Pensacola broke the game open in the seventh inning, scoring six runs on only three hits to take a 10-2 lead that would hold for the final score. Banfield launched a two-run homer, a pair of runs scored on a throwing error from Rodriguez, and Fletcher-Vance capped his four-hit night with a two-run single.
The Birmingham bats were kept completely quiet for the back half of the ballgame, as Evans and Josh Simpson combined to retire all 13 men they faced. Thomas Jones contributed defensively, robbing Oscar Colas of a home run with a leaping catch at the center field wall in the sixth.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series against the Barons on Sunday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Photo Gallery: Northview’s Meet The Chiefs (And The Blackcats)
August 13, 2022
Northview High School held “Meet the Chiefs” before a large crowd Friday evening.
Fans were introduced to the Northview Chiefs football team, cheerleaders and Tribal Beat band. The football teams and cheerleaders from the Northwest Escambia Chiefs and Century Blackcats were also introduced.
Tip: If you are looking for your favorite Chief of Blackcat in the photo gallery, the photos are presented in the same order as the program.
For a photo gallery click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
McCambley Shines, Nuñez Delivers In 6-3 Wahoos Win
August 13, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos won their second game in a row over the Birmingham Barons on Friday night, as Zach McCambley and Nasim Nuñez led the way in a 6-3 victory.
McCambley (W, 6-7) struck out 10 batters over 6.0 one-run innings, biding his time until the Blue Wahoos exploded for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to swing the game in their favor.
The Blue Wahoos and Barons traded zeroes until the fifth inning, when Evan Skoug hit a solo homer to put Birmingham ahead 1-0. Pensacola finally broke through against Barons starter Emilio Vargas (L, 1-5) in the sixth, as Griffin Conine doubled and Will Banfield singled before J.D. Osborne tied the game with an RBI single to left field.
Banfield scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch from reliever Taylor Broadway, and Nuñez capped the big inning with a two-out, two-run single to put Pensacola ahead 4-1.
In the seventh, Jose Rodriguez got the Barons within a run at 4-3 with a two-run homer against Eli Villalobos. Pensacola answered back in the bottom of the eighth, however, as Will Banfield led off the frame with his fourth hit of the night and Thomas Jones brought him home with an RBI triple. Jones scored on a wild pitch from Vince Vannelle to extend the Blue Wahoos lead to 6-3.
In the ninth, Sean Reynolds (S, 2) walked the first two batters but struck out the next three to earn the save.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Barons on Saturday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos