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Drone Show Wows Sellout Crowd in 5-1 Wahoos Loss
July 21, 2024
by Bill Vilona
The game itself evolved with the Blue Wahoos limited to few opportunities in a 5-1 loss against the Mississippi Braves.
But Saturday night’s sellout crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium remained in their seats to become wowed by a Sky Elements Drone Show, one of the few of its kind shown at a Minor League Baseball stadium nationwide and the first in this region of the country.
Blue Wahoos owners Quint and Rishy Studer became enamored with the idea of bringing such an experience to Pensacola, along with the Beloit Sky Carp’s ABC Supply Stadium in Wisconsin, which hosted a show July 10.
The Studers wanted to provide both communities a drone show event that has primarily occurred, so far, only at Major League Baseball ballparks.
They made it happen two weeks apart.
After the Sky Elements company performed a show Friday in Orlando, the company’s production team stopped in Pensacola on its way back to its Fort Worth, Texas headquarters to produce Saturday’s show at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The 15-minute display featured an outline of a Blue Angels plane, which drew a loud cheer, and an outline of Florida with a baseball stopping at Pensacola’s location.
It became another unique event for the ballpark, featuring approximately 100 drones staged on the grass fronting the amphitheater located behind right field on the bayfront.
The show followed a game where M-Braves starter Lucas Braun held the Blue Wahoos to one hit and four walks in his six innings of work to record his second win. Braun was the Atlanta Braves’ sixth round draft pick in 2023 out of Cal State-Northridge.
Braun’s teammates gave him a 2-0 lead. Justin Dean scored an unearned run in the fourth inning after reaching on an infield error and scoring on a sacrifice fly.
Dean scored again in the sixth inning when he singled, stole second and scored on Keshawn Ogans’ single off Blue Wahoos starter Patrick Monteverde.
It was a hard-luck loss for Monteverde (1-1, 4.76 ERA), who allowed no walks, struck out five and was effective in his six innings, but received no run support.
The M-Braves broke open the game in the ninth inning by scoring three runs against Blue Wahoos reliever Woo-Suk Go, a 25-year old from South Korea, pitching for the first time in Pensacola. He was among the four prospects sent to the Miami Marlins from the San Diego Padres in exchange for MLB star and former Blue Wahoos player (2019) Luis Arraez, who has won the American League and National League batting titles.
The Blue Wahoos got a run in the ninth on Cody Morissette’s double that scored Zach Zubia.
The win enabled the M-Braves (42-46 overall, 11-9 in second half) to win the weekend series against the Blue Wahoos (49-39, 11-9) heading into Sunday’s series finale.
GAME NOTABLES
— The crowd Saturday broke into loud cheers for 6-year-old Abraham (Bram) Cook, who circled the bases on his “Home Run For Life” to celebrate being cancer-free after being diagnosed with stage 3 Burkitt Lymphoma, an aggressive form of lymphoma which affects white blood cells.
After four rounds of treatment at the Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Ascension Sacred Heart, which occurred last December, Cook returned home on Christmas Eve after showing good progress. In March, Bram rang the bell, surrounded by family and friends, to celebrate the end of his treatment. He is now in remission and was even able to return to school to finish Kindergarten with his classmates.
With his mother, Ashley, and father Aaron hugging and coaxing him into rounding the bases, Cook began running as players from both teams lined the baselines to high-five and congratulate him. It was a special moment at the end of the fifth inning.
— The Freeport Little League Association had a group outing of 100 people, including team members who were part of the on-field pregame events and ran out with players.
— Pensacola Christian College led a wide variety of faith organizations attending Saturday’s game with a 100-member group. Five church organizations were also in attendance.
— The sellout crowd of 5,038 was Pensacola’s 22nd capacity crowd in 43 home games.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Mississippi Braves vs. Blue Wahoos
WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
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