Smith Hits Back To Back Homers In Wahoos Win

July 21, 2015

Pensacola Blue Wahoos first baseman Marquez Smith showed off the power that he has displayed throughout his nine seasons in the minor leagues.

The 30-year-old lined a two-run home run to left center in the first inning and then crushed a solo shot to left field in the second inning. Smith became the first Pensacola player to hit back-to-back home runs this season.

Pensacola downed Jacksonville, 7-4, Monday in front of 3,973 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium and now leads the Florida rivals’ race for the Golden Skillet, 8-6. The Blue Wahoos, who have one more five-game series left with the Suns, have never won the trophy since its inaugural season in 2012.

Smith has averaged just over 15 homers a season and last year smacked 30 mostly for the High-A Bakersfield Blaze. Besides his two home runs, he had a double and four RBIs. Smith now has seven homers and 33 RBIs and improved his batting average to .278 this season for Double-A Pensacola.

“It was a big one,” Smith said about his night. “A pretty huge one for sure.”

Smith said he cranked a slider and fastball out of the park. His play in the Mexican League earned him 300 more at bats during the winter. He said everyone on the team is stepping up their play in the second half.

“You go up every at bat just trying to battle,” he said. “I was just trying to move the runners over. I was able to get it in the air and drive it out.”

In the first inning, Smith lined a two-run home run to left center that also brought in left fielder Jesse Winker, who had hit a stand up double, to put Pensacola ahead, 3-0. In his next at bat, he crushed a solo shot to left field that put the Blue Wahoos up, 5-0, after two innings. Then, in the sixth inning, Smith doubled to score center fielder Bryson Smith for a 7-2 lead.

Smith became the eighth Pensacola player to clobber two homers in a game. Former outfielder Kyle Waldrop was the last to do it against Jacksonville on Aug. 19, 2014. No Blue Wahoos player has hit three homers in one game.

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said Smith is now hitting like he did in Bakersfield, where he coached him last year.

“This is how he was swinging the bat last year,” Kelly said. “You’re starting to see it in this second half. I think he’s hitting extremely well.”

The fifth inning was the Seth Mejias-Brean inning. After making a diving grab at third of Jacksonville left fielder Eudy Pina’s sharp grounder and barely getting him out at first, Mejias-Brean came to the plate and crushed a solo homer to left field, which was his fifth of the year, and put Pensacola ahead, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Pensacola starter Josh Smith rebounded from his loss to Birmingham Barons who scored six runs before chasing him after 3.2 innings. It wasn’t pretty but Smith lasted 5.1 innings and gave up just two runs to Jacksonville and struck out eight. However, he also gave up 10 hits and two walks to the Suns. He improved to 5-2 on the season with a 3.00 ERA.

Four times Jacksonville loaded the bases and four times Pensacola thwarted the Suns from scoring.

Smith had given up two singles and a walk after getting the first two batters out in the fifth inning and got out of the bases-loaded jam.

Blue Wahoos reliever Patrick Schuster came in for Smith, who loaded the bases on three singles, and got a strike out and ground out to shortstop to end the sixth inning with no runs.

Then, Jacksonville loaded the bases in the eighth inning but Blue Wahoos reliever Miguel Celestino struck out the Suns’ cleanup hitter Matt Juengel on a 94 mph fastball.

Finally, Zack Weiss struck out two batters and got a ground out to escape with the bases loaded in the ninth inning without a score. Weiss now has a team-leading 11 saves.

“You can’t give them that many opportunities,” Kelly said. “Eventually, it comes back and bites you.”

The final game of the two-game series is scheduled at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday with the Miami Marlins Double-A affiliate Jacksonville Suns

Comments

Comments are closed.

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