Wahoos Walk Off 10-9 In 13

May 15, 2013

Newcomer Luis Durango scampered home on a wild pitch with two outs in the 13th inning and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos walked off winners for the first time this season, 10-9, over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Tuesday night in front of 3,981 fans at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.

The 13th inning was set up by the speed of Durango who coaxed a two-out walk and went first-to-third on a single from Bryson Smith. Danny Vicioso was then called on to pinch hit as the last Wahoos position player left on the bench. Two pitches into the at-bat, Luis Vasquez (1-2) uncorked a wild pitch to the backstop and Durango sped home to score the winning tally.

The final inning capped a wild night that saw Pensacola jump out to a 6-0 lead after three innings. In the first inning, Ryan LaMarre started the scoring with an RBI groundout to score Durango. After a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases, Devin Lohman unloaded them with the team’s first grand slam of the season. For Lohman, it was his fourth homer of the year and it gave the Wahoos a 5-0 lead after one.

In the third inning, it was again Lohman providing the RBI, this time on a double to score Travis Mattair. Lohman tied a team record with the five runs driven in and blasted Pensacola’s first grand slam since Mike Costanzo connected for one on April 9, 2012.

The tide turned in the fourth, though, as the Lookouts chipped away with the long ball. After Yasiel Puig walked and scored on an RBI single from Blake Smith, C.J. Retherford launched a no-doubt, two-run shot to left field, cutting the Wahoos lead to 6-3. An inning later, pinch-hitter J.T. Wise blasted a two-run homer to make it a one-run contest.

Things fell apart for the Wahoos in the sixth inning. Entering the frame up by two thanks to a sac fly from David Vidal, Pensacola gave up three runs and the lead. Puig led off the inning with a solo shot that barely cleared the wall in left. That forced starter Daniel Renken from the game in favor of Kyle Lotzkar who created his own jam by loading the bases with two walks and a single. Lotzkar then forced in the tying run with a bases loaded walk to Chris Jacobs and two batters later, plunked pinch-hitter Brian Cavazos-Galvez to give Chattanooga its first lead of the night at 8-7. Chris Manno came in and averted further damage by inducing a double play.

Chattanooga added an insurance run in the eighth inning as Miguel Rojas reached on an error that scored Griff Erickson.

That proved to be a rather large insurance run as Pensacola came to bat in the last of the ninth trailing by two. With one out, Ryan LaMarre and Travis Mattair homered on back-to-back pitches to knot the game at nine and send it in to extras.

Both pitching staffs traded zeros before Vasquez lost his control in the 13th. Brian Pearl (1-0) earned the win for Pensacola by retiring all six batters he faced in the 12th and 13th innings.

Renken received a no-decision but was hit hard for six runs on seven hits in five-plus innings while striking out six. Manno, Josh Ravin, Lee Hyde, Shaun Ellis, Loek Van Mil, and Pearl combined to fire 7.2 innings of relief without allowing an earned run.

The Wahoos will now have a chance to win the series on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. Josh Smith (3-3, 4.28) will get the start for the Wahoos against the Lookouts’ Rob Rasmussen (2-2, 3.13).

story by Kevin Burke, photos by Gary McCracken

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports