Pine Forest Beats Escambia For First District Title In 12 Years
May 11, 2019
The Pine Forest Eagles won their first district championship in 12 years Friday night, claiming the District 1-7A title with a 3-0 win over the Escambia Gators.
Jason Roberts pitched a complete game win for Pine Forest, giving up zero runs on four hits and striking out three over seven innings.
Tekoah Roby led Pine Forest, going 2-2 with one RBI. Also for Pine Forest: John Pinette 1-3, R; Timmy Williams 1-3; Nolan Rigby 1-3, R; Chase Gullat 1-2, RBI.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Aggies Football Players Volunteer At Molino Park, Kingsfield Elementary Schools
May 11, 2019
Tate Aggie football players continued their outreach service Friday morning, helping out in the car rider lines at Molino Park and Kingsfield elementary schools. Next week, they will be at Jim Allen and Lipscomb elementary schools.
Photos by Kristi Barbour and Dorrian Vance for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Lady Aggies Top Navarre By One In Regional Semifinals
May 9, 2019
The Tate Lady Aggies beat Navarre 1-0 Wednesday night in Region 1-7A semifinals.
The only score of the game came in the sixth inning when Shelby McLean was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in Gabby Locke.
Avery Beauchanie allowed two hits and no runs while striking out two in seven innings for the Lady Aggies.
Libby Locke and Gabby Locke were both 2-3 at the plate to lead Tate.
The Lady Aggies advance to face Niceville next Tuesday night in Niceville.
Pictured: Shelby McLean was hit by a pitch Wednesday night to score Tate’s only run Wednesday night. Images courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate High Aggie Cheerleaders Receive State Championship Rings
May 9, 2019
The Tate High School varsity cheerleaders received their state championship rings Wednesday.
The Aggie cheerleaders won the Florida High School Athletic Association Region Small Coed Championship in late January. They went on took take fifth place in the nation in their division Sunday night at UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando.
The Tate Aggie state championship cheerleaders are Kyndell Ammons, Morgan Austin, Jonah Cass, Bailey Carter, Shelby Fleming, Isabella Floyd, Kensley Foley Hagyn Helton, Payton Herring, Madeline Hughes, Erin Johnson, Elena Lucci, Abi Manoso, Keaden Martin, Kyndal Milsted, Ashlyn NeSmith, Madelyn Ray, Emma Romero, Payton Simmons, Ariyana Wyatt, Krysanne Hagen – co-captain, Emilee Potter – co-captain, and Kennedy Bellard – captain. This year’s head coach is Morgan White and the assistant coach is Annie Wiggins.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pine Forest Tops Tate 6-0 In District Semifinal
May 9, 2019
The Pine Forest Eagles defeated the Tate Aggies 6-0 Wednesday night in the District 1-7A baseball semifinals.
Tekoah Roby earned the win for Pine Forest allowing two hits and no runs while striking out 11 over seven innings.
Christian Munoz went 3-3 at the plate and Keith Robbins went 2-2 to lead the Eagles.
Cole Fryman allowed six hits and three hits over three innings while striking out five for the Aggies. Brantley Culbertson entered the game to pitch two innings and Jace Dunsford threw one.
Hunter McClean and Raymond Lafleur had one hit each for Tate.
Also Wednesday, Escambia beat Pace 5-2.
Escambia and Pine Forest will face off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Washington High School for the district championship.
NorthEscambia.com file photo by Crystal Tolbert, click to enlarge.
Tate Beats Washington, Northview Tops Freeport In District Playoffs
May 8, 2019
Tate and Northview earned district wins Tuesday night.
Tate 8, Washington 6
The Tate Aggies defeated Washington 8-6 Tuesday night in District 1-7A playoff action.
Darrien McDowell took the win on the mound For Tate, giving up six runs on seven hits and striking out six in six innings. Easton Sidner closed out the game in the seventh, recording three outs to earn the save.
For Tate: Hunter McLean 3-4, 2RBI, R; Jadon Fryman 1-4, RBI, 2R; Raymond Lafleur 1-4, R; Cole Fryman 1-3, RBI, R: Chase Tolbert 1-3, 2RBI; Darrien McDowell 1-3, RBI; Michael Potts 1-2; Trevor Norton R; Dylan Godwin R; Aaron Noack R.
Tate will take on Pine Forest Wednesday at 7:00 in the semifinals at Washington.
Northview 8, Freeport 2
The Northview Chiefs beat Freeport 8-2 Tuesday afternoon in the District 3-1A Semifinal in Baker.
Northview went into the game ranked fourth in the state and the top seed in the tournament.
The Chiefs jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first inning before adding a couple of runs in the fifth.
Tanner Levins earned a complete game win for the Chiefs, allowing two hits and to runs and striking out three.
For the Chiefs: Nick Venable 3-3, R; Jacob Bryant R; Seth Killam 2R; Jackson Moore 1-3, R, RBI; Adam Aliff 1-2, 2R; Ben Wilson R, 2RBI; Tanner Levins RBI; Bryson Love 1-3.
Northview will face Jay Friday night at 7:00 at Northview for the district championship. (Updated: The game has been moved from Baker to Northview.)
Pictured: The Tate Aggies beat Washington Tuesday night. Photos by Crystal Tolbert for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Waters Walks Off Against Wahoos
May 8, 2019
Pensacola’s four-game winning streak was ended by one swing of the bat from Mississippi’s Drew Waters, as the Braves #8 overall prospect launched a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to hand the Wahoos a 5-3 loss in game two of their ten-game road trip.
Jorge Alcala started on the mound for Pensacola fresh off being named the Minnesota Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Week. He provided a solid but unspectacular outing, allowing three runs on eight hits over 5.0 innings and struck out three.
Pensacola scored first in the game for the 24th time this season in 31 games. Luis Arraez led off the game with a double to center, extending his ongoing hit streak to eight games. Alex Kirilloff pulled a ground ball to the right side, moving him over, and Miguel Sano plated Arraez with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Wahoos extended their lead in the second. Caleb Hamilton was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. A fielding error by Mississippi on a ground ball off the bat of Tanner English put runners at the corners. Taylor Grzelakowski then bounced into a double play, scoring Hamilton from third and putting Pensacola up 2-0.
Mississippi used a walk, a stolen base, and a single to cut Pensacola’s lead in half in the home half of the second. In the third, Christian Pache launched a two-run home run to give the M-Braves a 3-2 lead.
The Blue Wahoos tied the score up in the fifth inning. Kirilloff led the inning off with a walk, and Sano followed with a double. With one out, Travis Blankenhorn lofted a sac fly to center, scoring Kirilloff and making it 3-3.
Despite putting at least runner on in each of the last four innings, including getting two runners in scoring position with just one out in the top of the ninth, Pensacola didn’t score again.
After Huascar Ynoa escaped the jam in the top of the ninth for Mississippi, Waters launched his two-run walk-off shot off Alex Phillips with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Mississippi received a quality start from top prospect Joey Wentz, who allowed three runs (two earned) over 6.0 innings on five hits. Ynoa, a former Twins prospect, threw 3.0 shutout innings to earn the win in relief.
After receiving 5.0 innings from Alcala, the Twins turned to Adam Bray out of the pen. The Minneapolis native was brilliant, throwing 3.0 hitless innings of relief and striking out four.
Phillips took the loss, allowing two runs (one earned) on the Waters homer in the ninth.
Sano was 3-4 with a pair of doubles for the Wahoos. Kirilloff was 1-4, his fifth straight game with a hit.
After the loss, Pensacola’s record sits at 21-11 while Mississippi improves to 16-14. The two teams will continue their five-game set Wednesday in a showdown of top pitching prospects between Brusdar Graterol (3-0, 2.23 ERA) and Tucker Davidson (0-0, 1.46 ERA).
File photo.
Blue Wahoos Beat The Mississippi Braves
May 7, 2019
In a match-up of the two top pitching teams in the Southern League, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos came out on top in the opener of a five-game set in Mississippi against the Braves thanks to a five-run seventh inning. Trailing 2-1 in the seventh, the Wahoos strung together four hits, a walk, and two M-Braves errors to take a 6-2 lead on their way to an eventual 6-3 win.
After walking four in just 2.0 innings in his last start, Sean Poppen took the mound for Pensacola looking to shake off last week’s disappointing start. While the walks were still (5 tonight), Poppen went 5.0 innings and struck out seven while allowing just three hits and a pair of unearned runs.
Pensacola got on the board first in the third inning, using a two-out single by Luis Arraez and a triple by Alex Kirilloff to go up 1-0. The base hit extended Arraez’s current hitting streak to seven games, the second longest by a Wahoo this season (Jaylin Davis, 10).
In the fourth, the Braves ran together a fielder error by Pensacola, a walk, and a two-run single by Luis Valenzuela to take a 2-1 lead.
The score remained at 2-1 until the seventh. Facing Braves reliever Jeremy Walker, Davis led off the inning with a walk. Mitchell Kranson followed with a single. Tanner English then knocked a two-run double to take the lead back for Pensacola. Jordan Gore and Kirilloff followed with singles and a pair of fielding errors helped two more runs score, putting Pensacola up 6-2.
A single by Daniel Lockhart and triple by Tyler Neslony took a run back for Mississippi in the home half of the seventh, but Cody Stashak entered in relief of Jeff Ames and worked out of a first and third jam and then set down the Braves in order in the eighth and ninth to preserve the win.
Ames (1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K) earned his first win of the season. Stashak (2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 K) picked up his second save.
Kirilloff was 3-5 with a triple and two runs batted in. Arraez and Travis Blankenhorn each had two hits. For Arraez, it was his fourth consecutive multi-hit game, raising his season average to .336.
The win improves Pensacola’s league-best record to 21-10. Mississippi, in second place in the SL South, falls to 15-14 with the loss. The two teams will continue their five-game set in Mississippi tomorrow evening in a showdown of top 30 prospect pitchers between Pensacola’s Jorge Alcala (4-1, 4.71 ERA) and Mississippi’s Joey Wentz (1-1, 4.13 ERA).
File photo.
Wahoos Beat Biloxi
May 6, 2019
After scoring just three runs in the first two games of their series against Biloxi, the Blue Wahoos scored 30 runs in the final three games, sweeping the final trio of games to earn their sixth consecutive series win to open the season. On Sunday, rehabbing Twins All-Star Miguel Sano hit a towering three-run home run in the first inning that was quickly followed by a solo shot from Jaylin Davis, giving the Wahoos an early lead they never relinquished.
On the mound for Pensacola, Griffin Jax entered the game with the second best ERA in the Southern League (0.66), trailing recently promoted teammate Devin Smeltzer (0.60). Jax went 6.2 innings, allowing a pair of unearned runs, and struck out five to lower his ERA to a now league-best 0.53.
After the four-run first inning, the Wahoos didn’t score again until the seventh. Entering the seventh with a 4-2 lead, Caleb Hamilton opened the frame with a walk. with one out, Jordan Gore and Luis Arraez hit back-to-back doubles to extend the lead to 6-4. For Arraez, the double was his third in the last two games and gave him three consecutive games with multiple hits.
The game unraveled for Biloxi in the eighth. After Travis Blankenhorn reached on a drop third strike to open the inning, the next two batters walked. With the bases loaded, Hamilton laced a double to the left field gap, clearing the bases and putting Pensacola up 9-2.
Ryan Mason entered in relief of Jax with two outs in the seventh inning in a two-run ballgame with a runner on second. He worked out of the jam and then worked the eighth and ninth, striking out the side in the final inning, to earn his fifth save of the season.
Sano finished 1-4 with three RBI in his second game with the Wahoos. Arraez was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Hamilton drove in three in a 1-3 day.
The win improves Pensacola’s record to 20-10, making them the first team in the Southern League to amass 20 wins. They head on the road to Mississippi to face the pitching-laden Braves (15-13) for a five-game set starting Monday, the first leg of a 10-game road trip that will also take them to Chattanooga for the first face off with the now-Reds affiliated Lookouts.
Wahoos Beat Biloxi 11-2
May 5, 2019
The Blue Wahoos beat the Biloxi Shuckers 11-2 Saturday night.
The capacity crowd (5,038) at Blue Wahoos Stadium, which included PGA Tour star Bubba Watson and family, along with 1,000 ticket-holders from a youth sports association, got a full night of entertainment.
“A great moment here with the crowd and everything. It’s the best minor league ballpark the Twins have,” said third baseman Miguel Sano, the Minnesota Twins third baseman and 2017 American League All-Star who is spending the weekend in Pensacola on injury rehab assignment. He’s expected to soon return to boost the first-place Twins.
Sano drove in one of the runs for first place Blue Wahoos (19-10) who advanced their best record in the Southern League and first-place lead in the South Division. He also generated a crowd reaction with his first at-bat foul that traveled far out of the ballpark.
He will be the designated hitter in Sunday’s series-deciding finale. The Blue Wahoos have won every series so far this season.
Saturday, the Blue Wahoos won by scoring runs in six of their eight inning at-bats. They blasted a pair of homers into the right-center berm filled with kids, and had every player in the lineup factor into the game box. Some of that due to nine walks issued by four Biloxi pitchers and two infield errors that allowed runs to score.
“We took advantage of the mistakes they made and were able to do some damage,” said Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego. “We had really good discipline at the plate. That was one of the best nights we’ve had offensively.”
Luis Arraez and Alex Kirilloff, hitting back-to-back at the top of the order, both had two hits, combined for three RBI and Arraez scored three times.
“I think we really stay focused,” said Arraez, who is batting .330. “We do a good job. We play hard every time. We have a great team.”
In his third game with the Blue Wahoos, Kirilloff delivered his first pair of RBI. It was also the first time in his professional career he’s played first base. He played that position as well as outfield in high school.
“We know he can do that,” Borrego said. “We need to keep working with him, but I like what I see. I like the way he moved.
On the mound, Blue Wahoos’ Randy Dobnak, a former Independent League teammate with Taylor Grzelakowski, made his first start. He worked four innings, allowing two runs and had five strikeouts. Relievers Adam Bray (2 innings) and Tyler Jay (3 innings) were flawless