Wahoos Top Braves
May 26, 2017
In a game that featured arguably the Southern League’s two best pitchers, one swing of the bat by Josh VanMeter proved to be the difference.
Austin Ross and Kolby Allard own the two lowest ERAs in the Southern League and Thursday’s contest proved exactly why. Ross held the Braves to just three hits over his seven innings while his only walk occurred when he gave Keith Curcio a free pass to lead off the second inning.
After allowing a first-inning double to Travis Demeritte, Ross settled in and only allowed two hits the rest of the night. He wound finishing the game retiring 18 of the last 20 batters improving his perfect record to 5-0.
Kolby Allard, who is the third best prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization according to Baseball America, lasted only five innings and was touched up for six hits in his fifth start of the year at Trustmark Park.
After a one-two-three first inning, Allard allowed baserunners in each of his last four innings. In the fifth inning after Allard struck out Ross, Tyler Goeddel hit a ground-rule double before Alex Blandino popped out for the second out of the inning. That set the stage for Josh VanMeter to uncork his first homerun of the season and put the Wahoos up 2-0.
The Wahoos had a chance to put up even more offense in the inning after back-to-back hits from Aristides Aquino and Eric Jagielo before Allard intentionally walked Gabriel Guerrero to load the bases. However, Blake Trahan ended the inning when he grounded out to Joey Meneses to end the threat.
Pensacola’s bullpen turned in another exemplary performance with two more shutout innings in relief. Ariel Hernandez pitched a scoreless eighth inning to pick up his league-leading seventh hold of the season. Jimmy Herget came into the ninth and despite allowing a base hit to Meneses struck out the side to clinch his 12th save of the year.
The Wahoos bullpen has only allowed one earned run in their least 20.1 innings pitched (0.44 ERA).
With the victory, tonight in conjunction with the Shuckers loss to Jacksonville, Pensacola moves into sole possession of first place in the Southern League South Division with their 26-21 record. In the 2017 season the Wahoos have spent 44 of 49 days either tied or alone in first place.
Deputies: Man Douses Girlfriend With Gas, Threatens To Set Her On Fire
May 25, 2017
A Walnut Hill man has been charged with attacking his live-in girlfriend, dousing her with gasoline and threatening to set her on fire.
Dustin Lamar Hastings, 29, was charged with kidnapping/false imprisonment and battery after the incident on Pineville Road.
The victim told deputies that Hastings became enraged, throwing a coffee table across the couple’s living room and throwing a lamp through a window.
The victim exited the home, she told deputies, with Hastings following. She said he poured gasoline on her and her vehicle, telling her that if she tried to leave he would set her on fire. He then grabbed her by her hair, pushed her down and dragged her up a driveway and forced her back inside. She attempted to leave, with Hastings pushing her against a wall, according to an arrest report.
The victim was eventually able to escape and called law enforcement from a relative’s home. Atmore Ambulance also responded, but the victim refused medical treatment.
Hastings was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $15,000 bond.
Tate High Names Top Graduates, Presents Senior Awards
May 25, 2017
Tate High School named their top graduates and presented senior awards Wednesday night for the Class of 2017.
Samantha Elizabeth Brown was named valedictorian with a final GPA of 5.2706. She was a member of the Tate Orchestra where she was an All-County Violinist, Assistant Principal Violin and Concertmaster. She was a member of the Tate Academic Team and All-County Academic Team member, and a member of the Tate Robotics Team. Brown was also a member of the National Honor Society, president of Mu Alpha Theta and vice president of the Science National Honor Society. She volunteered at the West Florida Public Library and was assistant coach of the Ransom Middle School Academic Team. Brown will attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville to study chemical engineering.
Taylor Bay Best was named salutatorian with a final GPA of 5.0963. She is a Biomedical Science Academy graduate and a member of the National Honor Society, Science Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society, Rho Kappa, Community Caregivers and the National Beta Club. Best has volunteered at West Florida Hospital for three years. She will attend the University of West Florida to major in Chemistry, minor in Spanish, and later aspires to attend medical school to become an ear, nose and throat surgeon.
The Tate High School Class of 2017 will graduate at 6 p.m. Friday at the Pensacola Bay Center. A live video stream will be available by clicking here.
Notable awards presented to the Tate High Class of 2017 Wednesday night included:
United States Military Academy (West Point) Appointment — Shania Harris
National Merit Commended Scholars – Matthew Fowler and Ethan Sutley
The Top Ten Percent of the Tate High School Class of 2017 is as follows:
- Samantha Elizabeth Brown — Valedictorian
- Taylor Bay Best — Salutatorian
- Delaney Isabella Beal
- Megan Elizabeth Gulsby
- Alyssa Baye Spencer
- Raymond Andrew Freeman
- Ethan Charles Sutley
- Carmen Elizabeth McCrackin
- Hayden Michael Aiken
- Jacob Herrington Ishee
- Katherine Claire Luebke
- Kathryn Rilla Orren
- Sally Jane Van Raemdonck
- Alexander Joseph Miller
- Matthew John Fowler
- Abigail Elizabeth Edgar
- Shaylyn Marie Caro Thompson
- Brennan Steven Infinger
- Jakira Ashley Davis
- Sheradan Maclean Stillwell
- Alexis Nicole Wilson
- Chance Riley Bellflower
- Hannah Marie Saulnier
- Dawn Margaret Looney
- Zyreshia Kapri Jackson
- Kyle Randall Cooper
- Kayli Lyn Talbot
- Sarah Ann Cavanaugh
- Brooke Ashley Robertson
- Madison Rose Rondeau
- Kristen Elaine Schultz
- Jacob Tyler Atkins
- Samantha Nicole Monasterio
- David Wayne Oglesby
- Hayley N Brown
- McKenna Leigh Smith
- Michael Joseph Brennan
- Corben Zachary Young
- Brine Deborah Bennett
- Joe Ed Estes
- Michael Jerome Roberts
- John Daniel Franklin
- Logan Gregory Blackmon
- Skye Madison King
- Madeline Rose Caranci
- Morgan Leanne Snow
- Kayla Nicole Underwood
- Joanna Deveda Snow
Tate Drops Regional Final To Nease In 10
May 25, 2017
The Tate Aggies fell in extra innings Wednesday to the Nease Panthers in the Region 1-7A Final.
The lead passed back and forth between Tate and Nease (Ponte Vedra, FL), with the Panthers prevailing 5-4 on a single in the top of the tenth.
The Aggies took an early lead in the second inning. Hunter NeSmith’s sacrifice fly scored one run for Tate. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tate tied things up at four when NeSmith drove in one when he doubled.
Logan McGuffey took the loss for Tate. He went four innings, giving up one run, two hits, striking out four, and walking zero.
For Tate — Reid Halfacre 3-5, 2B; Logan Blackmon R; Kyler Hultgren 1-3; Michael Potts 2 R; Jesse Sherrill 1-3, R, RBI; Hunter NeSmith 1-3, 2 RBI 2B; Corben Young 1-3.
Tate was state ranked and won the Aggie Classic and the Sarasota Classic during the regular season.
Food Network Brings ‘Great Food Truck Race’ To Pensacola
May 25, 2017
An episode of the Food Network reality TV competition show “The Great Food Truck Race” was filmed in the Pensacola area Wednesday.
For lunch aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher Martin helped the show’s host, Tyler Florence, announce the winning team as decided by 50 service members who acted as judges in a taste testing.
Then it was off to downtown Pensacola for the competitors, who are vying to win their food truck plus $50,000. Several trucks set up at the Pensacola City Hall, while others found vending location along the Palafox Street area.
The food trucks are expected back in the downtown area from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The episode of The Great Food Truck Race filmed in Pensacola will likely air in late August or early September on the Food Network.
Ernest Ward Teens For Christ Says Goodbye To SRO Gill
May 25, 2017
There was one final goodbye party Wednesday for now-retired Ernest Ward Middle School SRO Ronnie Gill.
Last week, Ernest Ward Middle School, Northview High School, and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office celebrated his retirement (read more). Wednesday, the last day of school, the members of the EWMS Teens for Christ surprised Gill with another retirement party. The students were treated to a sermon and Deputy Gill treated to handmade cards, gifts and a special cake created by student Naudia Carach and her grandmother.
Gill sponsored the Teens for Christ group at EWMS.
Gill officially retired March 30 from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office after 15 years with the agency. The school resource officer has volunteered his time as a reserve deputy since March 30 to continue his service at Ernest Ward Middle School until the end of the school year.
Last year, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Florida Association of School Resource Officers Monday named Gill as the 2016 School Resource Officer of the Year for Florida. Gill was also awarded the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Meritorious Service Medal for the crucial role he plays in breaking down the barriers between law enforcement and youth.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mississippi Outlasts Pensacola, 2-1
May 25, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos loaded the bases in the seventh inning with one out. But the team’s best chance to pull off a come-from-behind victory over the Mississippi Braves fell short.
Mississippi reliever Evan Phillips entered the game and forced left fielder Tyler Goeddel to line out to the shortstop and second baseman Alex Blandino to ground out to third base. The Braves went on to win, 2-1, Wednesday at Trustmark Park.
Pensacola fell to 8-9 in one-run games this season and is 25-21 on the season in a tie for first place with the Biloxi Shuckers in the Southern League South Division. Mississippi evened its record at 23-23 and is in third place.
Pensacola scored in the top of the first inning when first baseman Eric Jagielo hit a two-out single to center field that drove in Goeddel to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 1-0. The ballclub earned two of its four hits in that inning with the other hit by Blandino, who hit a sharp grounder that deflected off the shortstop’s glove into left field.
But Mississippi came right back in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back home runs by center fielder Ronald Acuna and third baseman Travis Demeritte off Pensacola ace Tyler Mahle. It was Acuna’s third homer with Mississippi and Demeritte’s seventh.
Neither team would score the rest of the way.
Mahle picked up his second consecutive loss, falling to 5-2, with a 1.72 ERA. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched six innings and gave up two runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out five.
Domingo Tapia relieved Mahle and threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and striking out three.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Mississippi starter Mike Soroka improved to 5-3 with a 2.96 ERA. The first-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2015 pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits, walked two and struck out a career-high 10.
The Braves bullpen pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowed one hit, four walks and struck out three Pensacola batters. Pensacola hitters struck out 13 times in Wednesday’s game.
Pensacola, which leads the Southern League with a 2.70 ERA, added another arm to its pitching staff Wednesday when the Cincinnati Reds promoted High-A Daytona Tortugas righty Robert Stock. Blue Wahoos catcher Garrett Boulware was returned to Daytona.
Scott Vetoes Bill To Tear Down ‘Liquor Wall’
May 25, 2017
Pointing to concerns about preserving small-business jobs, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday vetoed a heavily debated and lobbied measure that supporters said would repeal a relic of the nation’s emergence from Prohibition.
The so called “liquor wall” law, which requires hard spirits to be sold in separate facilities from most retail goods, will remain in place after Scott’s veto of the repeal bill. The veto was a victory for independent liquor-store owners, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits and Publix Super Markets, which fought the bill during the legislative session that ended May 8.
Scott’s decision on the proposal (SB 106) also ends for now the noisy legislative battles about the issue. Supporters of eliminating the law, including retailers Target, Costco and Walmart, argued that a repeal would promote free markets and customer convenience.
“We have made tremendous progress in the last four years, and there is a clear momentum in Florida for this common-sense approach to liquor sales,” said Michael Williams, a spokesman for the group Floridians for Fair Business Practices, which supported the repeal. “While Governor Scott ultimately chose to veto Senate Bill 106, we look forward to working with state leaders in the future to finally put an end to this outdated, Prohibition-era law.”
Scott, in a letter accompanying his first vetoed bill of the year, said the proposal’s impact on small businesses outweighed his desire to further cut regulations.
“I carefully reviewed this bill and I have met with stakeholders on both sides,” Scott said. “I listened closely to what they had to say and I understand that both positions have merit. Nevertheless, I have heard concerns as to how this bill could affect many small businesses across Florida. I was a small business owner and many locally owned businesses have told me how this bill will impact their families and their ability to create jobs.”
Opponents of the bill argued that a repeal would hurt small liquor stores, eliminate jobs, result in a greater ability for minors to get liquor and lead to more impulse-buying of alcohol.
“We applaud Governor Scott for saving hundreds of Florida small businesses that employ thousands of Floridians, while at the same time keeping safeguards in place for minors,” ABC Fine Wine & Spirits Chief Executive Officer and President Charles Bailes said in a prepared statement.
Along with the independent liquor stores, Publix has been involved because it operates stand-alone liquor stores in many of the same shopping centers as its grocery stores. Meanwhile, retailers such as Target and Walmart — battling online sales — have been looking to sell liquor in the same stores where shoppers pick up groceries and other goods.
The bill was highly controversial, passing the Senate in a 21-17 vote and the House by a 58-57 margin.
Members of the Florida Independent Spirits Association, which also opposed the repeal, mobilized after the bill received final legislative approval April 26.
“More than 1,000 letters and 3,000 petitions from around the state were delivered to the governor with the message that vetoing this bill would save our Florida small retailers and jobs that help our local economies,” Florida Independent Spirits Association President Rory Eggers said in a release thanking Scott.
In addition to repealing the Depression-era law, the bill would have prohibited new package stores from being licensed within 1,000 feet of schools; required small bottles, 6.8 ounces or less, to be displayed only behind the counter; and required that checkout clerks under the age of 18 be supervised by people 18 or older when alcohol is purchased.
To help Publix with its existing leases, the bill would have staggered the repeal, limiting the percentage of liquor that could have been stocked in chain stores over a four-year period.
Scott had until Wednesday to act on the bill. As the deadline approached, he offered little as to what he would do.
Scott on Tuesday scheduled a telephone call with Walmart President and CEO Greg Foran and a meeting at the Capitol with Bailes of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits.
Bailes said after his meeting he had no indication how Scott would handle the bill.
“I think he’ll do the best thing for the state,” Bailes said. “He gave me the opportunity to state what our position is, which hasn’t changed, and he was very gracious about it.”
On Wednesday, Scott attended the summer board meeting for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, which was part of the coalition pushing to tear down the wall.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: A separate liquor store next to the Publix in University Town Center on West Nine Mile Road. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Local Student Grows Giant Cabbage
May 25, 2017
Savannah Hudson, who just finished the third grade at Byrneville Elementary School, is participating in the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program. Her cabbage weighs 17.5 pounds.
Bonnie Plants’ program originated to get more students interested in gardening. Bonnie Plants passes out cabbages to third graders with the students asked to grow and care for the plants. At harvest time, students can send a picture along with the weight to Bonnie Plants where they are entered into a $1,000 scholarship contest.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Man Charged With Battery Of Pregnant Girlfriend
May 24, 2017
A Molino man has been accused battery on his pregnant girlfriend, who is the mother of his four other children.
Kendall Rashad Kennedy, 27, allegedly went to his girlfriend’s home and used his arm to hold her against a wall and choke her. The victim told deputies that the two began to argue over dinner when he pinned her against the wall and began slapping her in the face. The victim told deputies that Kennedy was fully aware that she was nine months pregnant.
The victim refused treatment by Escambia County EMS. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $5,000 bond.