Blue Wahoos Rally Late For 5-4 Win Over Lookouts
September 1, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos clinched a winning August with a comeback 5-4 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Wednesday night.
Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, the Blue Wahoos strung together three hits and a pivotal error to claim a two-run lead. With the win, the Blue Wahoos ended August with a 13-12 record, their fourth winning month in a row.
For the second straight night, the Blue Wahoos jumped ahead in the first inning. Paul McIntosh doubled to the left field corner and Norel González singled him home to put Pensacola up 1-0.
Starter Cody Mincey worked effectively through three innings, but allowed a game-tying RBI single to Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the fourth and solo homers to Garrett Wolforth and Michael Siani in the fifth to put the Lookouts in front 3-1.
Griffin Conine hit his team-leading 21st home run off the left field foul pole in the sixth, trimming the deficit to 3-2 and putting him just two homers away from tying Pensacola’s single-season franchise record of 23 set by Peyton Burdick in 2021.
Tyler Eckberg (W, 1-0) twirled 2.0 scoreless innings of relief in his Double-A debut to take the game to the eighth, where McIntosh doubled and González singled once again to tie the game 3-3. Cobie Fletcher-Vance hit a sharp grounder that was misplayed by Wolforth at first to score the go-ahead run, and Davis Bradshaw capped the rally with an RBI single to bring the score to 5-3.
An opportunity for a sixth Pensacola run was foiled on a rare “fourth out” play, as Fletcher-Vance was ruled to have left early from third on a tag play that resulted in the end of the inning. Though the third out had already been recorded as Bradshaw was thrown out attempting to advance to second, the Lookouts successfully appealed and Fletcher-Vance’s run was negated.
The Lookouts got a run back in the eighth on a Tyler Mitzel wild pitch, and looked poised to tie the game in the ninth when Allan Cerda hit a leadoff double against Robinson Martínez (S, 1). The reliever coaxed a strikeout and deep flyout before fanning pinch hitter James Free to end the game with the tying run on third base.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Thursday in Chattanooga.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
UPDATE: ECSO Locates Missing, Endangered Girl Last See In Walnut Hill
August 31, 2022
UPDATE: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says this missing and endangered juvenile has been located.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is search for a missing and endangered 16-year old juvenile last seen Wednesday in Walnut Hill.
Larissa Beth Wenger is 5-feet, 4-inches tall, 150 pounds and has brown hair and green eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the ECSO at (850) 436-9620.
Century’s Water Well Supplying Prison Suffers ‘Catastrophic’ Failure
August 31, 2022
The Town of Century water well that serves the Century Correctional Institution has suffered catastrophic failure, according to Mayor Ben Boutwell, focing the town to switch to a backup plan that has water flowing to the facility on Tedder Road.
“It’s just catastrophic. I mean it just failed,” Boutwell said of the town’s well. “But there is water going to the prison.”
The water is flowing through a permanent interconnect from Central Water Works to the Century water system that was completed in late May 2020 to provide a dependable water supply to the prison. The interconnect was installed after the town’s water well that was the sole water supply for the prison suffered a repairable failure in early May 2020. That forced the town to use two-inch fire hoses from a Central Water Works fire hydrant on the south side of Tedder Road to the prison on the north side of the road until a permanent solution was in place and the well was repaired.
The current well failure, according to the town, is much more severe. A shaft reportedly shattered into a dozen or more pieces and fell to the bottom of the well.
The backup water supply from Century Water Works has cost the town $17,000 so far, but the time period for that bill was not immediately known during a council workshop Tuesday night. Because the backup water supply is so expensive, the town is looking at options to restore their own water supply to the prison.
There are two other wells on Century’s water system, but neither can currently supply water to the prison due to elevation. The entire town is currently running off just one of those wells, because one, known as Well No. 2, has been out of service for around two years.
“What we’re doing is we’re bringing Well No. 2 back on, and we’re doing our sampling for it,” he said. The well must first pass bacteriological testing before the water can be used. “We have a booster pump that goes up Tedder Road to the prison. So that’s going to be our new backup. “We have Central until we can get our system up and running like we’re working out tails off to do.”
The mayor said he expects the bacteriological sampling will be done by September 9.
“Then we’ll be good to go until we find out where we are going to find $500,000 for a new well, or we find $60,000 for a new temporary well.”
Century Water Department Supervisor Heath Burkett said Tuesday night that the estimated $60,000 temporary well equipment could be a very short term solution that he’s been told might last anywhere from two months to two years.
Pictured: The Town of Century’s water tower at the Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
The Buzz: Bees Swarm At Beulah Middle School
August 31, 2022
The Beulah Middle School campus was abuzz Tuesday after a swarm of bees was discovered.
BMS tech coordinator Laura Lee discovered the bee swarm on a tree branch in the courtyard outside her window.
Joan Strickland from Urban Farmer Supplies beekeeping in Molino and Beulah Middle agriscience teacher Charlotte Davis suited up and went to work. They carefully harvested the bees and lowered them in a nuc — that’s a smaller version of the traditional wooden beehive. The bees were not happy with the move and flew to the next tree.
Strickland and Davis captured the queen and placed her in the beehive where she was joined by the swarm.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Damages Structure In Barth
August 31, 2022
The cause of a structure fire in the Barth community is under investigation.
A passerby on Barth Road reported seeing flames coming from the building about a half mile off Highway 29 about midnight Tuesday. Firefighters arrived to find a working fire that took about 40 minutes to completely extinguish.
There was no one present at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported. Escambia County Fire Rescue reported the building was being used a commercial structure. The building was a total loss.
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to investigate the cause of the blaze.
NorthEscambia.com stock photo, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Gets Life In Prison For 2020 Shooting Death
August 31, 2022
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to life in prison for a 2020 murder.
Charlie Richardson, Jr.was sentenced to life by Circuit Court Judge Jennie Kinsey following his conviction for second degree murder with a firearm. He has no possibility of parole.
Richardson shot and killed 32-year old Kewhan Thompson on Concordia Boulevard on December 16, 2020.
Following the shooting, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said the incident was drug related and involved synthetic spice, noting that two separate search warrants dealing with spice had been served at the house.
Richardson had seven prior felony convictions, including two for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Man Arrested In Flomaton On Multiple Florida Warrants
August 31, 2022
A man wanted on multiple charges in Florida was arrested by Flomaton Police Tuesday afternoon.
Nikki Lee Odom, 31, was taken into custody without incident. Authorities said he is wanted on multiple warrants from Escambia County in Florida, including theft.
Odom was booked into the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center where he was held without bond awaiting extradition to Florida.
Additional details have not been released.
Blue Wahoos Hold On For 9-8 Win Over Chattanooga
August 31, 2022
Nine early runs were just barely enough for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday night, as a late Chattanooga Lookouts charge came up short in a 9-8 Wahoos win.
Leading 9-0 after 5.0 scoreless innings from starter Zach King (W, 2-4), the Pensacola bullpen allowed eight unanswered runs before Jefry Yan (S, 3) got the final out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Pensacola jumped out to an immediate 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a Griffin Conine sacrifice fly and Will Banfield RBI single. They added to the lead in the fourth against Lookouts starter Andrew Abbott (L, 5-7) with an RBI single from Nasim Nuñez and an RBI double from Norel González, stretching the lead to 5-0.
The Blue Wahoos added three more in the fifth and one in the sixth against reliever Myles Gayman, as Demetrius Sims hit an RBI double, J.D. Orr hit a two-run single and Conine drove in his team-leading 65th run with a fielder’s choice.
King allowed only two singles to Christian Encarnacion-Strand over 5.0 scoreless innings, but the Lookouts jumped on Blue Wahoos reliever Andrew McInvale as soon as the game turned to the bullpen. Encarnacion-Strand hit a three-run homer in the sixth and Mike Siani hit an RBI double in the seventh to cut the Pensacola lead to 9-4.
In the ninth, Sean Reynolds had a shaky outing as the Lookouts rallied to bring the game within reach. Elly De La Cruz and Encarnacion-Strand each hit RBI doubles before Yan came on and allowed a hit batsman and bases-loaded walk to bring the score to 9-8. With the tying run at third and the winning run at second, Brian Rey’s bid for a game-winning hit was foiled on a diving play by third baseman Cobie Fletcher-Vance and a scoop at first from Marcus Chiu to end the game.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Lookouts on Wednesday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
‘Safety Concerns’ Move Tate Vs. PHS Football Game To Saturday Morning At Tate
August 30, 2022
Friday night’s schedule Tate Aggies at Pensacola High School football game has been moved to 9 a.m. Saturday at Tate High School.
According to an email from Escambia School Superintendent Tim Smith, the game was moved to Tate High School due to safety concerns shared by local law enforcement.
Escambia County Public Schools spokesperson Cody Strother said there were some “neighborhood issues” that spilled over into the stands last week at the PHS at Washington game. “We are just trying to be proactive and do what’s best.”
“There were several incidents and fights following the PHS and Washington game last week,” Pensacola Police Department spokesman Officer Greg Gordon told us. “We support (the school district’s) safety concerns, and this will let things cool off.”
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Commander Andrew Hobbs said there will be extra deputies at Saturday morning’s game.
“Now that it has been moved into the county, we will have a presence there and ensure everyone’s safety,” he said.
The scheduled Friday, September 9 Pensacola at Pine Forest game has moved to 9 a.m. Saturday, September 10 at Pine Forest.
Pictured: Game action at last Friday night’s Tate at Pine Forest game. NorthEscambia.com photo by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
UPDATE: ECSO Seeks Suspect In Gas Station Shooting
August 30, 2022
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for the suspect in a shooting at a gas station midday Tuesday.
The suspect has now been identified as 21-year old Shannon Wheat, Jr. According to jail records, he has a previous known address in Atmore.
The shooting occurred about 11:45 a.m. at the Beacon store on Mobile Highway near New Warrington Road. The victim was shot several times and transported to an area hospital. An update on his condition was not available.
Investigators released a surveillance image of Wheat and said he may be driving a silver Ford Mustang with front-end damage.
Deputies said the suspect is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the ECSO at (850) 436-9620.