Blue Wahoos Win Southern League Title

September 29, 2022

The Blue Wahoos just put a shining, championship bow Wednesday night on their special, 10th anniversary season.

Exhibiting the resiliency that carried them to this point, the Blue Wahoos got a fifth inning, grand slam, from infielder Cobie Fletcher-Vance to turn the game, then rode the strength of their pitching to cruise into an 11-4 win against the Tennessee Smokies in the deciding game of the Southern League championship series.

After losing Sunday’s first game 4-1 to the Smokies at Blue Wahoos Stadium, the Blue Wahoos won twice on the road at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, Tennessee – located east of Knoxville — to claim the first outright Southern League title in franchise history. They were co-champions in 2017 when weather concerns wiped out the championship series.

In their 10-year history, the Blue Wahoos have been to post-season six different times with three different affiliations. They became the Miami Marlins Double-A affiliate in 2021. Manager Kevin Randel won a championship as a player in the Marlins organization and now did as the Blue Wahoos manager.

The Smokies, the Chicago Cubs’ long-time Double-A affiliate, who knocked off the Rocket City Trash Pandas – the league’s best record team — were seeking their first Southern League title since 1978.

Trailing 3-2 in the fifth, the Blue Wahoos loaded the bases on two walks and an error. Fletcher-Vance then blasted the first pitch he saw from reliever Blake Whitney over the left field wall, just inside the foul pole and above the fence line.

They expande6-3 lead with a four-run seventh inning. The first five batters reached on hits, including Fletcher-Vance who drove in his fifth run in the game with a bases-loaded single. Pinch-hitter J.D. Osborne followed with a two-run double. The fourth run scored when reliever Riley Martin failed to catch a throw from his catcher Harrison Wenson after a pitch.

From that point, the bullpen finished it off. Sean Reynolds, the reliever star of back-to-back wins against the Montgomery Biscuits in the South Division series, recorded the final five outs to celebrate again with teammates.

The game began with an incredible start from Blue Wahoos 19-year-old star prospect Eury Perez. The 19-year-old Perez tied a Minor League Baseball record by striking out the first eight batters he faced.

But he ran into trouble with two outs in the third as the Smokies took a 3-2 lead, causing Perez to throw 40 pitches in that inning and requiring the bullpen to be summoned earlier than hoped.

The Blue Wahoos regained an emotional edge two innings later.

Nasim Nunez led off by hitting a grounder that Tennessee first baseman Nelson Maldanado mishandled for an error. Will Banfield followed with a walk. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. With one out, Griffin Conine checked his swing on a 3-2 pitch and the umpires agreed to load bases.

That moment became pivotal.

On the next pitch, Fletcher-Vance clubbed a sinker out of the ballpark and the Blue Wahoos never trailed again.

The Blue Wahoos were Southern League co-champions in 2017 with the Chattanooga Lookouts, after the league opted to cancel the title series due to concern with a hurricane approaching from the Gulf of Mexico.

This time, the Blue Wahoos twice won best-of-three series after dropping the first game. They forced a deciding game against the Montgomery Biscuits in the South Division series, after trailing 5-0 at one point. They won the deciding game 1-0 on a sensational game-saving catch from centerfielder Thomas Jones.

BLUE WAHOOS IN POST-SEASON

  • 2015 Lost South Division Series 0-3 vs. Biloxi Shuckers
  • 2016 Lost South Division Series 1-3 vs. Mississippi Braves
  • 2017 Won Southern League Co-Championship 3-0 vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
  • 2018 Lost South Division Series 1-3 vs. Biloxi Shuckers
  • 2019 Lost South Division Series 2-3 vs. Biloxi Shuckers
  • 2021 Won South Division Series 2-1 vs. Montgomery Biscuits, Won Southern League Championship Series 2-1 vs. Tennessee Smokies.

The 2023 Blue Wahoos season will open on April 7, 2023.

by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer

Comments

3 Responses to “Blue Wahoos Win Southern League Title”

  1. John Bone Jones on September 29th, 2022 8:56 am

    Woohooo!!!! Go Wahoos!

  2. DLo on September 29th, 2022 7:55 am

    Congratulations Gentlemen, well done!

  3. Denbroc on September 29th, 2022 4:54 am

    Congratulations on a well deserved championship! What an exciting year with all of the walk off wins.

    WA-HOOOOOOO!

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