Blue Wahoos Schooled In 4-1 Education Day Loss

April 20, 2023

The near-miss left Nasim Nunez shaking his head in a play that epitomized the Blue Wahoos’ 4-1 loss in Wednesday’s matinee game against the Birmingham Barons.

Nunez thought he had enough distance on a seventh-inning fly ball for a 3-run homer that would have tied the game. Instead, it settled into the glove of Barons right fielder Ben Norman at the base of the wall for the third out.

As Nunez paused after rounding first base, visibly frustrated, the sequence was part of a day of missed opportunities with the Blue Wahoos, who fell for a second time in the series during the first “Education Day” game in franchise history. Nearly 1,000 school kids from the Pensacola area attended as part of a field trip experience.

The Blue Wahoos had never played a mid-week, home game with an 11:05 a.m. start until Wednesday. They will do again on May 3 against the Mississippi Braves.

The Barons scored the game’s first run on a two-out single by Yoelqui Cespedes in the first inning. They took a 2-0 lead in the third when Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Dax Fulton made an errant pickoff throw at first base with the ball going down the right field line, enabling Duke Ellis to score.

Nunez drove in the Blue Wahoos’ lone run in the bottom of the third on a bases-loaded groundout. But the Blue Wahoos missed a chance for a bigger inning when Barons starter Matthew Thompson retired the next two hitters.

Fulton (0-3) finished his third start with five innings pitched, four runs allowed on six hits with five strikeouts.

The Barons scored their other two runs in the fourth off Fulton after a double by Xavier Fernandez and Norman’s sacrifice fly.

The Blue Wahoos were held to five hits with leadoff batter José Devers going 2-for-5. Victor Mesa Jr., who hit for the cycle in Tuesday’s game, extended his hitting streak to nine games with an eighth inning single.

The teams will continue the series on “Mullet Thursday” with top-rated prospect Eury Pérez (0-1, 5.00 ERA) on the mound for the Blue Wahoos against the Barons’ starter Garrett Schoenle (0-1, 3.18).

In addition to the team wearing “Pensacola Mullets” uniforms, plus adult beverage specials, the game’s other promotion is “Legalize Marinara Night” as a spoof with the pasta sauce. T-shirts will be available for purchase.

written by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos

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