Pensacola Tops Biscuits 6-5

April 10, 2012

Blue Wahoos first baseman Mike Costanzo hit a third-inning grand slam off the right field video board, while right fielder Josh Fellhauer hit an eighth inning RBI single to give Pensacola a 6-5 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits in front of a capacity crowd of 5,038 on Monday night at Pensacola’s bay-front stadium. The crowd was the fifth straight sell-out to start the season.

The win gave the Blue Wahoos a 4-1 series win over the Biscuits to cap the opening homestand of their inaugural season.

With the game tied at 5-5 in the eighth, left fielder Cody Puckett singled to left with two outs and then stole second to set the stage for Fellhauer. The 23-year-old lined a 3-1 pitch into left to bring home Puckett for what turned out to be the difference.

After Pensacola center fielder Ryan LaMarre led off the third with a walk, shortstop Didi Rodriguez and designated hitter Joel Guzman singled to load the bases for Costanzo, who launched a 1-0 pitch in the right field scoreboard to make it 4-1. It was the first home run of the year for Costanzo and his first grand slam since April 11, 2011, when he did so for the Carolina Mudcats against the Mobile BayBears.

Montgomery made things interesting with a pair of solo home runs from right fielder Henry Wrigley, while designated hitter Cole Figueroa blasted his second roundtripper of the year in the sixth. It was Wrigley’s first multi-homer game since July 7, 2010, when he launched two longballs for the Biscuits versus Mobile.

Blue Wahoos reliever Justin Freeman (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO) earned the victory in relief after allowing an earned run on two hits in his two frames, while Biscuits RHP Jim Paduch (2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 SO) suffered the loss after giving up a run on two hits in the final 2.1 innings. LHP Clayton Tanner (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) finished off the game for Pensacola to notch his first save of the season.

Catcher Mark Fleury (2-4, 1 2B), along with Gregorius (2-4, 1 R), Rodriguez (2-4) and Puckett (2-3, 1 R, 1BB) all tallied multi-hit efforts for the Blue Wahoos, while Figueroa and Wrigley recorded two hits for the Biscuits.

The Blue Wahoos will now travel on the road for the first time this season, with a five-game series with the Mobile BayBears, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, at Hank Aaron Stadium. First pitch for the series opener Tuesday night is set for 7:05 pm, with RHP Pedro Villarreal getting the nod for Pensacola. He is scheduled to be opposed by top prospect RHP Trevor Bauer.

By Andrew Green

Pictured top: Mike Costanzo hit a grand slam for the Wahoos Tuesday. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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