Alabama Teen Killed In Wreck
September 11, 2016
A Brewton reportedly headed to a high school football game was killed on I-65 Friday night.
Alabama State Troopers said 18-year old Darius Dramon Tolbert was killed when the 2004 Dodge Durango in which he was a passenger crashed and overturned. Troopers said the driver and three other passengers were injured in the crash.
The wreck occurred about 5:40 p.m. on I-65 near the 31.9 mile marker. Tolbert was transported to an area hospital where he passed away about 7:10 p.m. Further information has not been released by Alabama State Troopers as they continue their investigation into the fatal crash.
Slight Rain Chance, Otherwise Partly Sunny For Your Sunday
September 11, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Calm wind.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 88.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87.
9/11 Breakfast Honors Local First Responders
September 11, 2016
A 9/11 breakfast honored police, fire, public officials and other first responders from across Escambia County, Ala., Escambia County, Fla., and Santa Rosa County. The breakfast was held at the Little Escambia Baptist Church in Flomaton.
The 9/11 First Responders Appreciation Breakfast was held in memory of the first responders lost of 9/11 and in honor of all the local first responders that serve each day. Circuit Judge Dave Jordan and Tiffany Sullivan were the guest speakers. The men of LEBC prepared the breakfast and each first responder in attendance was given a “First Responder’s Survival Kit” and a New Testament Bible courtesy of the Atmore Camp of the Gideons International.
Each station or department represented was also presented with an American flag by Woodmen of the World to be flown or displayed at their station. Many departments were represented including the Flomaton Police Department, the Flomaton Fire Department, Atmore Police Department, Atmore Fire Department, Poarch Creek Fire Department, Atmore Ambulance, Escambia County (FL) EMS, D.W. McMillian Ambulance, Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Wawbeek VFD, Pineview VFD, Barnett Crossroads VFD, McCall VFD, Friendship VFD, ASAP EMS, Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office, Alabama State Troopers and others.
Photos by Courtney Rabon for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
One Person Injured In Crash With Tree In Molino
September 11, 2016
One person was injured in single vehicle crash early Sunday morning on Highway 95A at Chipper Road near Molino. The driver of a Ford Fusion lost control about 4 a.m. and slammed into a tree. Further information has not been released as the Florida Highway Patrol continues this investigation. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
UWF Football Wins Historic Home Opener
September 11, 2016
Quarterback Kaleb Nobles had a banner day for the University of West Florida football team, in the Argonauts’ 45-28 win over Missouri S&T on Saturday. The UWF defense stood out statistically again, allowing the Miners to total just 42 yards on the ground and keeping the opposition on its toes with six sacks on the day.
The team came out strong on the first drive of its home opener against MST, and the Argonauts never looked back. Nobles connected with freshman receiver Tate Lehtio for a gain of 33 yards in the first drive of the game to set the table for a phenomenal day. The Argonauts would later strike first on a 36-yard field goal from redshirt freshman Austin Peffers.
Nobles would find junior receiver Ishmel Morrow and senior receiver Anas Hasic in the end zone in the first quarter to jump out to a 17-0 lead. The trio of Morrow, Hasic, and Antoine Griffin combined for 19 catches and 425 receiving yards.
Led by linebacker Chris Sakamoto, West Florida would hold the Miners to just 44 total yards of total offense on 17 attempts in the first quarter. Sakamoto led the Argonauts with 11 tackles, and added a sack.
At the start of the second quarter, West Florida free safety Blake Norwood made a smart read, picking off Miners quarterback Tyler Swart. Norwood finished with two interceptions on the day. This would set up a go ahead touchdown for the Argos, as Nobles connected with Antoine Griffin for a 40-yard touchdown.
With West Florida up 24-0 early in the first half, it wouldn’t take long for Missouri S&T to strike back. On the Miners first drive of the second quarter, Swart would respond with an eight play, 77-yard drive, capping it off with a 1-yard touchdown run of his own.
With 9:32 remaining in the half, and Missouri S&T trailing West Florida 24-7, the Miners were not going to fold. Missouri S&T would force a West Florida three-and- out, followed by a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown from sophomore Braxton Graham.
Nobles and company would fire back quickly with a 67-yard touchdown pass, extending West Florida’s lead to 31-13. Just before the end of the half, Swart would respond with a 3-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The Argonauts would head into the second half with a 31-20 lead.
On West Florida’s second drive of the third quarter, Nobles would again connect with Griffin for his second touchdown of the day. Nobles would find Kevin Grant three minutes later for the quarterbacks sixth touchdown of the day, to put UWF up 45-20.
Nobles finished his career day with six touchdowns, which ranks seventh in GSC history and ties his single-game best. He also finished the day with 503 yards passing, placing him ninth all-time in the conference record books.
The Argonauts will visit Chowan in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, next Saturday, September 17, for the final non-conference game of the season. The game is set for a 6 p.m. ET kickoff.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Our View: Where Were You That September Morning?
September 11, 2016
We publish this piece on an annual basis, and we encourage you to comment below, answering the question ‘Where Were You That September Morning?
September 11, 2001. It’s been 15 years.
Life, at least when that morning began, seemed good. I’ve always been a work at home dad, so I was home with my two girls. The youngest was almost four months old, and the oldest was approaching her fourth birthday. It was a normal morning. The little one was asleep, “fat and happy” as we used to say, after a morning bottle. The oldest was in the living room just a few feet from my office watching PBS Kids on the TV as I worked on a project for a client.
Then this arrived in my inbox:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 08:52am– World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has
crashed into tower. Details to come.
I got up, walked to the living room and flipped the TV to CNN. They were talking about how a pilot could make such an error, hitting such a large building. They were speculating that it was just a small plane. But then as the TV news helicopters zoomed their cameras in closer, the anchors were beginning to notice what I had already thought….those holes the tower were to big to have been a small plane.
(continues below photo)
I called my wife at work in Atmore. She had seen the breaking news email, and had tried to visit the CNN website to see the story. If you remember trying to use the internet that morning, it was near impossible to get a news website to load; they were all overloaded. She was unable to see the pictures. I was describing what I saw on the TV to her.
I managed to grab a picture from CNN via my web server and then download and email it to her. We were speculating about how it could happen when the second one hit.
I remember saying “wait, hold on, wait…”. I told her what I just watched on the TV. The second plane had hit the other tower. We quickly decided that we were at war as the anchors on TV speculated again that perhaps there was a problem with some navigational system, causing jetliners on a beautiful, clear morning in New York to fly into some of the tallest structures in the world.
Another breaking news email arrived:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:21am– Second plane crashes into World Trade Center.
She and I began to speculate ourselves that we were at war. What would we do? What should we do? What about the kids? It was not panic, understand, but just that protective momma and daddy instinct, I suppose. Prayer. That was a good idea. Maybe go to the bank and get out a little cash. That seemed like a good idea. How would you prep for a war on American soil? We were not sure.
I continued to relay information about what I was seeing on TV to my wife at work, who, in turn, would relay the information to her coworkers. They had a TV, but no cable service or antenna. They ended up fashioning a homemade antenna to see a fuzzy picture.
Meanwhile, the breaking news emails kept arriving…
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:32am– Sources tell CNN one of two planes that crashed into World Trade
Center was an American Airlines 767.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:42am– President Bush calls plane crashes at World Trade Center a
terrorist act.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:45am– Significant fire at the Pentagon. Details to come.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:46am– White House evactuated. Details to come.
The Pentagon on fire? The White House evacuated? Notice that in CNN’s email they were in such a hurry that they misspelled “evacuated”. One sentence at a time, the situation became more grave.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:55am– CNN confirms a plane hit the Pentagon
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:03am– One of World Trade Center towers collapses; fire forces
evacuation of State Department
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:30am– Second World Trade Center tower collapses in Manhattan
Over and over, we watched those towers collapse on TV, and we watched our Pentagon burn.
Our almost four year old asked a lot of questions. “Were people hurt? Did they need a Band-aid?” The magnitude of the event was lost on a four year old. Looking back at those first few hours, I think the magnitude of the event was lost on all of us.
Like many Americans, I sat glued to the TV that day, continuing to watch the video of the towers falling. Our almost four year old asked if another building fell down or if it was the same one. It was time to change the channel on the TV.
You might remember that many of the entertainment TV stations ran network news feeds. Others just simply ran screens about the day’s events. There was no USA network, no ESPN, no MTV. But on PBS, we found children’s programming at a time it was not normally on. For a little while, sitting in the living room floor holding my kids, the world stopped turning that September day, as we watched Big Bird and the Cookie Monster.
Country artist Alan Jackson later wrote a song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”.
Some of those lyrics:
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cryDid you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left belowBut I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where where you when the world stopped turning that September day? Your comments are welcome below.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Bethany Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Poll Shows Trump, Clinton Tied In Florida
September 11, 2016
Two months to the day before the presidential election, a poll released by Quinnipiac University shows Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton tied among likely Florida voters.
Clinton and Trump both get the support of 47 percent of likely voters in a head-to-head matchup, according to the Quinnipiac poll. That is virtually unchanged from a month ago, when Clinton led Trump 46-45 — which is considered a statistical dead heat.
The two remain tied when the most prominent third-party candidates are thrown into the race, with Trump and Clinton drawing 43 percent apiece. Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, gets 8 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein was chosen by 2 percent of the people surveyed.
Those numbers are also basically the same as Quinnipiac’s August poll, though Johnson has moved up a point and Stein is down one.
The Connecticut-based Quinnipiac, which frequently conducts polls in Florida and other states, surveyed 761 likely Florida voters from Aug. 29 to Wednesday. The poll has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.
The university’s polling institute also released swing-state polls showing Clinton holding modest leads in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump has a one-point edge in Ohio that widens to four points when Johnson and Stein are added to the mix.
“The effect of the Republican and Democratic conventions on the presidential race has run its course,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the poll. “As the campaign enters its final stage, Florida and Ohio, two of the largest and most important swing states, are too close to call, while North Carolina and Pennsylvania give Hillary Clinton the narrowest of leads.”
The poll continues to show Floridians divided along racial, gender and party lines in the presidential race. Clinton does marginally better among Democrats than Trump does with Republicans in a head-to-head race, while independents favor Trump, 48-39. Trump, a real-estate mogul, wins men by 22 percentage points; Clinton, a former secretary of state, takes women by 20.
Meanwhile, Trump takes 59 percent of white voters, to 36 percent for Clinton. Nonwhite voters favor her by an even wider margin, with 67 percent backing Clinton and 25 percent choosing Trump.
The divide persists despite recent efforts by Trump to reach out to nonwhite voters, particularly African-Americans.
The picture for smaller slices of the electorate can change slightly with Johnson and Stein factored in — for example, Trump’s lead among independents falls to five points — but the outlines remain largely the same.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Woman Charged With Stealing From Seven Disabled Adults
September 11, 2016
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit arrested an Escambia County resident for exploitation of disabled adults. Penny Williams, 43, allegedly stole more than $12,000 from seven different residents while employed by Capstone Group Homes between April and June 2016.
Williams faces seven counts of exploitation of disabled adults, all third-degree felonies. If convicted, Williams faces up to 35 years in prison and $35,000 in fines. The State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit, Bill Eddins, will prosecute the case.
The Attorney General’s MFCU investigates allegations of patient abuse, neglect, and exploitation in facilities receiving payments under the Medicaid program. Additionally, the MFCU investigates and prosecutes providers that intentionally defraud the state’s Medicaid program through fraudulent billing practices. Medicaid fraud essentially steals from Florida’s taxpayers. From Jan. 2011 to the present, Attorney General Bondi’s MFCU has obtained more than $500 million in settlements and judgments.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Florida’s First Hurricane In 10 Years
September 11, 2016
The first hurricane to hit Florida in more than 10 years was followed by the first post-hurricane cleanup the state has seen in more than 10 years. And while it wasn’t as violent and noisy as Hurricane Hermine, the aftermath was not exactly smooth.
The pace of power restoration in Tallahassee and surrounding areas came under criticism — fair or not — from Gov. Rick Scott and more than a few utility customers. The fact that Scott, a Republican, was facing off with one of the Democratic Party’s rising stars in Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum did not go unnoticed.
When he wasn’t demanding that power be restored more quickly, Scott was out and about in Leon County, visiting crews who were clearing downed trees and other debris left behind by the storm — and sometimes getting in on the cleanup himself. Political posturing for a 2018 bid for the U.S. Senate, or a less likely 2020 attempt at the presidency? Perhaps. But Scott would hardly be the first governor to polish his credentials by responding forcefully to a hurricane.
A less-veiled version of politics would not wait for the storm, though. The presidential and U.S. Senate races this year continued to shape up, as the unofficial Labor Day kickoff for the general election campaign passed Monday. A new poll showed Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump neck-and-neck in the race for Florida’s 29 electoral votes, even as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio opened up a lead over his Democratic challenger, Congressman Patrick Murphy.
While it only took a week to clear away much of the debris from Hurricane Hermine, it will take a lot longer to cut through the last stage of the fall campaign. The true political storm, the one that hits Florida like clockwork every four years, has just begun.
POWER STRUGGLE
When he ran for governor in 2010, Scott’s campaign slogan was, “Let’s Get to Work.” Scott essentially spent the early part of this week saying the same thing to local officials about getting the lights back on in Tallahassee.
Even if the state hadn’t gone a decade between direct hits, Big Bend residents are perhaps not as hurricane-hardened as the denizens of the southern part of the state. And when the initial indication from Tallahassee officials was that it might take a week to get power fully restored, the reaction was not kind.
Scott decided to bore in. On Sunday, he called for Tallahassee and Leon County to bring in private contractors he had identified to help remove remaining downed trees and limbs. But he faced accusations that he might have taken things a step too far.
In a news release, Scott said Tallahassee and Leon County declined further state Department of Transportation “cut and toss” assistance to clear fallen trees and limbs.
But city and county officials were quick to say they had never declined assistance from the state. Instead, they had moved on to the next phase in the cleanup process — debris removal — which was being done with the collaboration of the state, they said.
“With respect to the city of Tallahassee declining ‘cut-and-toss’ assistance, that’s absolutely not where we are,” Mayor Andrew Gillum told Scott during a roundtable Sunday at the state Emergency Operations Center. “As far as we’re concerned, the city of Tallahassee has no intentions, nor have we given any signal — certainly not myself or the city manager — that we wish to disrupt that process.”
By Tuesday afternoon, power had been restored to more than 90 percent of residents who had lost it statewide. That included 94 percent of Leon County.
With more than 18,000 people still without power Tuesday, Scott dispatched 15 additional Florida Department of Transportation crews, totaling more than 250 people, to Leon County to remove debris and help power-restoration efforts.
The clashes between Scott and the city had eased by then, but the governor’s rhetoric was still focused on reaching 100 percent with power as soon as possible.
“You have to be frustrated,” Scott said, referring to local residents, while speaking to the media outside the state Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday. “Five days. Five days without power, and you actually don’t know when you’re going to get power.”
Gillum essentially pleaded for patience, saying there had been a range of feedback from residents and workers with the city-run utility involved in recovery efforts.
“They want people to know they’re out there working hard for them,” Gillum said speaking for recovery workers. “They’re not being lazy. They’re not taking breaks. For many of them, they don’t have power. So we just have to be really careful with the way in which we describe the pace and effort going on here.”
During an emergency meeting Tuesday of the Tallahassee City Commission, Gillum told residents the response could have been better, but significant damage to large trees and major power lines meant the recovery process would take time.
“Without a doubt, we have not been perfect in this process, and now is not the time to talk about whatever imperfections, because our staff morale needs to remain at the highest level possible,” Gillum said.
At the end of the week, power was being restored to the last few parts of the city still without lights. Perhaps the great electricity showdown of 2016 would end up being nothing more than a tempest in a teapot.
TIE GAME
At the same time that football began returning, the presidential campaign this week entered a kind of fourth quarter, with two months to go before voters choose between Clinton, a former secretary of state and the Democratic nominee, and Trump, the real-estate mogul who is her Republican opponent.
And as they begin the stretch run, according to a poll released Thursday by Quinnipiac University, the two candidates are tied in Florida.
Clinton and Trump both got the support of 47 percent of likely Florida voters in a head-to-head matchup, according to the Quinnipiac poll. That was virtually unchanged from a month ago, when Clinton led Trump 46-45 — which is considered a statistical dead heat.
The two remained tied when the most prominent third-party candidates were thrown into the race, with Trump and Clinton drawing 43 percent apiece, Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson, the former governor of New Mexico, getting 8 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein chosen by 2 percent of the people surveyed.
The Connecticut-based Quinnipiac, which frequently conducts polls in Florida and other states, surveyed 761 likely Florida voters from Aug. 29 to Wednesday. The poll had a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.
The university’s polling institute also released swing-state polls Thursday showing Clinton holding modest leads in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump had a one-point edge in Ohio that widened to four points when Johnson and Stein were added to the mix.
“The effect of the Republican and Democratic conventions on the presidential race has run its course,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the poll. “As the campaign enters its final stage, Florida and Ohio, two of the largest and most important swing states, are too close to call, while North Carolina and Pennsylvania give Hillary Clinton the narrowest of leads.”
The numbers were slightly more definitive in Florida’s U.S. Senate race, with Rubio taking a seven-point lead against Murphy. That poll included 601 likely voters surveyed between Aug. 31 and Wednesday. A poll released almost a month ago had Rubio leading by just three points, 48-45.
After failing to win the Republican presidential nomination this year, Rubio decided in June to seek a second term in the Senate.
“Democrats hoped they could use Sen. Marco Rubio’s change of heart on running for re-election against him, but so far the former presidential candidate has been able to keep a narrow lead,” Brown said in a prepared statement Friday. “Without Rubio’s double-digit lead among independent voters, he would be in much more trouble.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: The cleanup from Hurricane Hermine caused clashes between Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a Democrat.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Let’s be real, nothing matches up to the NFL.”—Shahid “Shad” Khan, owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, on his efforts to grow soccer in Florida.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Winning Season Ends With Loss To Mississippi
September 11, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos finished with its first winning season in its five-year history with a franchise record 81 wins this year.
But the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate, which won both the first and second halves this season, lost to the Mississippi Braves, 4-2, Saturday, ending its dream to win its first Southern League Championship.
It’s the second year in a row that Pensacola has lost in the opening round of the playoffs. After winning the second half of the season last year, it was swept in three games by the Biloxi Shuckers.
Mississippi’s victory at Trustmark Park earned it a 3-1 South Division playoff title. It advances to play the North Division title winner the Jackson Generals, who beat the Montgomery Biscuits, 8-2, Saturday.
Pensacola’s hitters were shut down by Mississippi’s pitching, generating just 10 runs and 30 hits in the four games. Meanwhile, the Braves scored 23 runs on 47 hits, getting 17 and 11 in the last two games.
In its three losses to the Braves, Pensacola seemed unable to get a clutch hit when it needed one. That was unusual for a team that set a franchise record with 12 walk-offs this season. But in the playoffs, the Blue Wahoos left 23 runners on base and was 5-31 or .161 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
The only player who did come through at the plate against Mississippi for Pensacola was shortstop Zach Vincej. He was 8-17 or .471 with two doubles, a triple, two runs scored and an RBI.
On Saturday, Mississippi right-handed starter Lucas Sims struck out the side in the third inning and struck out five of the six batters he faced between the second and third innings. He retired seven in a row. In his five innings of work, Sims allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out six.
He came out after Game 4 in Pearl, Miss., was delayed by rain for just over an hour at the end of the fifth inning.
The Braves loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning for right fielder Connor Lien who singled to right field to drive in second baseman Levi Hyams and left fielder Dustin Peterson to jump out in front, 2-0. Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde threw to second to catch Lien trying to stretch his single to a double to end the inning.
“They got some big two-out hits and that’s kind of what they did all series,” Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said after the game.
Mississippi third baseman Carlos Franco hit a two out double in the bottom of the third inning off the wall in right field to score Peterson from first to put Braves ahead, 3-0. Franco finished the series 7-15 or .467 with a home run and 6 RBIs.
Pensacola came back in the fourth inning when Elizalde singled to drive in Blandino, who walked, and left fielder Phillip Ervin, who doubled off the center field wall, and pulled the Blue Wahoos within, 3-2.
Mississippi went ahead, 4-2, in the bottom of the fourth inning when center fielder Mallex Smith singled on a ground ball to left field with two outs to score shortstop Johan Camargo. Pensacola reliever Barrett Astin came in and struck out Hyams to end the inning.
“I thought the fourth inning was huge,” Kelly said. “We throw a two-spot on the board, we come back 3-2, and then they score a run. The momentum switches a little bit right there.”
The run chased Pensacola starter Tyler Mahle out of the game. The 21-year-old right hander worked 3.2 innings, allowing four runs, three earned on seven hits and a walk.
In the seventh inning, Pensacola had second baseman Brandon Dixon reach base with a walk and shortstop Zach Vincej earned the Blue Waboos third hit of the game with no outs but they were both stranded on base.
Ervin got his second hit of the game Saturday when he hit a line drive off of Mississippi reliever Caleb Dirks hip in the eighth inning and the fourth in the game for the Blue Wahoos. Ervin went 2-4 in the game.