Wahoos Coast To 8-3 Win Over M-Braves
May 5, 2022
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored eight early runs to coast to victory on Wednesday night, defeating the Mississippi Braves 8-3 to even up their road series one game apiece.
A five-run first saw the Blue Wahoos string together a season-high six hits, and was highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Paul McIntosh and Griffin Conine. McIntosh’s 454-foot blast off the batter’s eye in center field was a three-run homer, and began a 2-for-3 night with 4 RBI for the Pensacola catcher.
In the second, debuting Mississippi starter Tanner Gordon (L, 0-1) was unable to put his rough first frame behind him. The Blue Wahoos turned four walks and a pair of sacrifice flies from McIntosh and Victor Victor Mesa into three more runs, extending their lead to 8-0.
Blue Wahoos starter Cody Mincey (W, 1-1) earned his first Double-A win, completing 5.0 solid innings while allowing three runs. RBI singles from Logan Brown and Luke Waddell threatened to give the M-Braves some momentum, but Mincey retired the final five men he faced to prevent a significant threat.
Neither team collected a hit after the fifth inning. Eli Villalobos, Dylan Bice and Colton Hock combined to give the Blue Wahoos 4.0 scoreless innings of relief and seal the win.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Mississippi Braves on Thursday.
Tate Beats Crestview To Head To District Championship Game
May 4, 2022
The Tate Aggies advanced to the 1-6A championship game on Thursday with a big 12-2 semifinal win over Crestview Tuesday night.
Josiah Glodfelter pitched a complete game for Tate, allowing five hits and two runs in five innings while striking out three.
Cady Kelly led the Aggies at the plate with two hits. Clif Quiggins, Drew Reaves, Bray Touchstone, Jackson Penton and Jay Davis had one hit apiece.
No 2. Tate will face No. 1 Pace Thursday for the district championship.
For more photos, click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Laura Glodfelter, click to enlarge.
Northview Shuts Out Baker, Advances To District Championship Against Jay
May 4, 2022
Jamarkus Jefferson threw a complete game shutout Tuesday night as Northview beat No. 4 Baker 10-0 in Bratt.
No. 1 Northview advances to the District 1-1A championship against No. 2 Jay at 7 p.m. Thursday at Northview. Jay beat No. 3 Central 9-2 Tuesday afternoon.
Jefferson gave up just one hit in five innings while striking out eight for Northview.
Josh Landis went 3-3 to lead the Chiefs at the plate. Jefferson and Rustin Pope had two hits each. The remainder of Northview’s starting lineup had one hit each — Kaden Odom, Luke Bridges, Ethan Collier, Wyatt Scruggs, Trent Knighten and Cason Burkett.
For more photos, click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Softball Beats Paxton, Will Face Jay For District Championship
May 4, 2022
The No. 3 Northview Lady Chiefs beat No. 2 Paxton 4-3 Tuesday night in the district semifinals in Paxton.
They will advance to the district championship in Jay at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Jay Royals. No. 1 Jay beat No 4. Baker 12-0 Tuesday.
Northview’s Jamison Gilman allowed five hits and three runs while striking out five over six innings. Emma Gilmore pitched one inning in relief, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Kaitlin Gafford and Kayla Dixon had two hits each for the Lady Chiefs. Gilman, Gilmore, and Kailyn Watson each had one hit.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Lady Aggies Fall Short in District Semifinals
May 4, 2022
The No. 4 Tate Lady Aggies fell short in the 1-6A district semifinals Tuesday as they lost to No. 1 Pace 4-0.
Tate’s Courtney Lundquist gave up three runs on five hits in five innings while striking out four. Jordan Smith pitched one inning, surrendering one run.
Kara Wine went 2-3 with a double to lead the Lady Aggies at the plate. Lacy Wilson and Aaliyah Jordan added one hit each.
File photos.
M-Braves Top Wahoos 3-2 Despite Didder’s Dinger
May 4, 2022
Ray-Patrick Didder had three hits against his former team, including his third home run of the season, but the Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell short in their series opener against the Mississippi Braves by a score of 3-2 on Tuesday night.
George Soriano (L, 0-1) had his longest start of the season, allowing three runs on six hits over 5.0 innings, but was outdueled by Mississippi’s Darius Vines (W, 2-1), who held Pensacola to two runs, one earned, over 5.0 frames.
The Braves struck first in the second inning on C.J. Alexander’s first home run of the season. Didder evened the score with a solo blast of his own in the third, but Mississippi scored two more in the fourth to take the lead for good. Drew Lugbauer blasted a solo homer off of Soriano to start the inning, and a Justin Dean sacrifice fly followed to make the score 3-1.
Didder led off the fifth inning with a single, stole second and took third on a throwing error before scoring on a Jerar Encarnacion groundout. That cut the deficit to 3-2, but the Blue Wahoos couldn’t put anything together on offense for the rest of the night. Victor Vodnik (S, 1) worked a quick ninth to earn his first save.
Anthony Maldonado, Jefry Yan and Josh Simpson each contributed a scoreless inning of relief for Pensacola. Simpson has now started his season with 12.1 scoreless innings of three-hit baseball with 25 strikeouts.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Mississippi Braves on Wednesday.
by Erik Bremer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Tate And Northview Get Big Opening Night Wins In District Softball Tourneys
May 3, 2022
Tate 11, Crestview 0
Jordan Smith threw a shutout Tuesday night as the Tate Lady Aggies beat Crestview 11-0 in the first game of the 1-6A playoffs.
Smith gave up no runs on two hits in five innings, striking out one and walking none.
Kennedy Turner and Christina Mason both had homeruns for the Lady Aggies and led at the plate with two hits each. Sophia Jones, Courtney Lundquist, Kare Wine, and Aaliyah Jordan each added one hit.
No. 4 Tate will be at No. 1 Pace at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the district semifinal. The winner will face either No. 2 Niceville or No. 4 Navarre in the district championship game Thursday at 6 p.m.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Northview 14, Laurel Hill 2
The Northview Lady Chiefs earned a big blowout win over Laurel Hill 14-2 Monday night in the 1-1A district quarterfinals.
Aubrey Stuckey pitched a complete game, allowing three hits and two runs over five innings while striking out 10.
Jamison Gilman, Kailyn Watson and Kaitlin Gafford had two hits each for the Chiefs. Alanna Roberson, Payton Gilchrist and Emma Gilmore had one hit each.
No. 2 Paxton will host No. 3 Northview Tuesday at 6:30 in the district semifinal at Paxton. No. 1 Jay and No. 4 Baker will play at 4 p.m., with the winners facing off for the district championship on Thursday.
Pictured: The Tate Lady Aggies beat Crestview Monday. NorthEscambia.com photos by Stephani Pyron, click to enlarge.
Tate Gets Walk-Off Win Over Washington To Move To District Semifinal
May 3, 2022
A walk-off walk gave the No. 2 Tate Aggies a 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh over No. 7 Washington Monday night in the 1-6A district quarterfinal.
The game was tied at two when Tate’s Cade Kelly drew a walk to scored one run for the dramatic win.
Tate’s other scores came with a run on a sacrifice fly from Drew Reaves that score one run and a Reaves walk scored one.
Ethan McAnally allowed five hits and two runs in three innings on the mound for Tate while striking out two and walking one. Dalton Biggs pitched four innings, allowing no hits, no runs and striking out eight.
Clif Quiggins led the Aggies at the plate, going 3-4. Kirk Mosley. Bray Touchstone and Jackson Penton had one hit each.
The Tate Aggies will play No. 3 Crestview at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Pace High School in the district semifinals. Crestview beat No. 6 Fort Walton Beach 9-6 Monday night.
For more photos, click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Laura Glodfelter, click to enlarge.
NWE Softball Wins 16U Mid-Season Tourney, NWE Legit Finalist In 8U
May 2, 2022
Two Northwest Escambia teams placed in the GCGSA Mid-Season Tournament this past weekend. NWE Legit was the 8U B finalist, and NWE 16U Softball won the 16U A championship. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate High Football Alumnus Shermari Jones Signs With The Cincinnati Bengals (With Gallery)
May 2, 2022
Tate High School football alumnus Shermari Jones has signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Right after the NFL draft, the Bengals moved to sign Jones as an undrafted free agent.
Jones had 1,040 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns during his senior season with Coastal Carolina. He graduated in December 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in recreation and sport management.
In his senior season at Tate in 2017, Jones had 1,076 total rushing yards on 148 carries, averaging 7.3 yards per carry and 119.6 yards per game He had 15 rushing touchdowns.
We reached back into the NorthEscambia.com archives and pulled a collection of photos from Jones’ senior season at Tate. Look for #5 in this gallery.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge. (Coastal Carolina image courtesy CCU.)