Wahoos Beat Biloxi

May 5, 2016

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound right-handed Sal Romano looks like a menacing pitcher, especially when he throws a fastball in the mid- to upper-90s off the mound.

But believe it or not, his first Double-A victory came in his 12th start between last season and this season as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos rolled over Biloxi, 8-3, in the series opener Wednesday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Pensacola gained a game on Biloxi, improving to 15-11, while the first-place Shuckers dropped to 17-8.

Romano is now 1-1 in five starts this season with a 3.86 earned-run average. He gave up three runs, two earned, to Biloxi in the first inning and then settled down. He allowed five hits, two walks and struck out eight. Last year, for Pensacola the big righty was 0-4 in seven starts with a 10.96 ERA.

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said the difference is a smarter Romano.

“We’re seeing his maturation,” Kelly said. “He started getting his curveball over the strike zone instead of burying it all the time. He’s still a thrower, though.”

Romano said he had to put the first inning out of his mind after walking to the dugout.

“My fellow staff and guys told me to leave it out there,” said Romano, who committed himself to becoming a Major League pitcher at 15 years old. “I said in my head, ‘Sal, let’s restart this.’”

And getting that first victory in the Southern League?

“Wins are wins, but obviously it’s nice to get one here in Double-A,” Romano said. “That is nice.”

In the first inning, Biloxi jumped out to a 3-0 lead when third baseman Javier Betancourt smashed a two-out, 3-2 pitch down the left field line clearing the bases for all three runs.

Pensacola came back, though, in the second inning when catcher Chad Wallach hit a two-run bomb over the left field fence with two outs that also scored shortstop Calten Daal. Daal, who was 3-4 and scored twice Wednesday, had got on base with a low line drive to left field to extend his hitting streak to seven games.

Wallach was also 3-4 and scored twice, hitting in the No. 8 spot in the lineup. He raised his average to .209 on the season and leads the team in walks with 13.

“It felt good,” said Wallach, who hit his second homer of the year. “I’ve been struggling a little bit, so it was nice to square up on the ball.”

Kelly said Wallach’s homer changed the complexion of the game.

“Wallach’s blow was big,” Kelly said. “The big key was Wallach getting that two-run home run. We didn’t have that three-run deficit.”

Blue Wahoos fans were being treated to a pitching duel when all of a sudden the force was with Pensacola hitters in the bottom of the fifth inning.

The flood of runs started with a dribbler by shortstop Calten Daal and ended with Pensacola sending all nine batters to the plate and scoring six runs on six hits to go up, 8-3.

The first five batters of the inning all got on base-on four singles and a fielder’s choice-against Adrian Houser, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 17 prospect according MLB.com. Houser struck out nine in four innings, retiring seven in a row at one point, but gave up seven earned runs on seven hits. Houser’s earned-run average jumped from 7.20 to 8.63, as he fell to 1-3 in five starts this season.

The biggest hit that inning came on a line drive triple by Phillip Ervin past a diving right fielder that cleared the loaded bases, giving Pensacola a 7-3 lead. Ervin then scored the final run of the game, when Biloxi catcher Jacob Nottingham dropped the ball trying to tag him out.

Ervin extended his hitting streak to seven games. In the last 11 games, after working with hitting coach Alex Pelaez, is 11-34 for a .294 average, with three home runs, 10 RBIs and 14 runs scored. He’s raised his average from .179 to .244.

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