Tate Tennis Defeats Gulf Breeze
April 10, 2019
The Tate Aggies girls tennis team defeated Gulf Breeze 4-3 in a hard fought match Tuesday.
Several players overcame early deficits to win their matches and maintain their seeding into the district tournament on April 15.
Their next match is at Pace on Wednesday, and the Aggies will finish their regular season Friday at Milton.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Senior Bryant Offered Troy University Fishing Scholarship
April 9, 2019
Northview High School senior Jacob Bryant has been offered a fishing scholarship by Troy University. He is currently a member of the Panhandle Youth Anglers and plays varsity baseball for the Chiefs. . He recently won “biggest fish” at a state qualifier at Lake Talquin. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Fall To BayBears 2-1 In Extra Innings
April 8, 2019
Griffin Jax continued the season-opening mastery by Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitchers, but Sunday became the first without a desired ending.
The Mobile BayBears got a walk-off hit from Roberto Pena in the 11th inning for a 2-1 victory to end the Blue Wahoos (3-1) perfect start at Mobile’s Hank Aaron Stadium.
The final score was Mobile’s first time in the lead the entire weekend.
“The offense unfortunately was not good,” said Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego after the game. “We had a couple chances with runners in scoring position, but didn’t do any damage. But you know, that’s baseball. We have been playing really good.”
This was the second extra-inning game of the series. Under the minor league rules adopted before the 2018 season, all extra inning, regular-season games begin with a runner on second base. The Blue Wahoos twice stranded their runner on third in the 10th and 11th.
Well before the game reached that point, Jax, an Air Force Academy graduate, had kept the BayBears in check with his array of breaking stuff and grit. He stranded baserunners in all five innings he worked, before exiting with a 1-0 lead.
It’s been four games with four terrific lines for the Blue Wahoos’ starters. They have combined for a 0.45 earned run average, allowing just one run in 20.0 innings. The foursome recorded 26 strikeouts. They’ve allowed just one run and 12 hits in four games.
“I’m just so happy right now with the pitching staff, especially the starters,” Borrego said. “Griffin was great. He gave us a really solid outing, but unfortunately we didn’t back it up with offense.”
After the Blue Wahoos missed a scoring chance in the ninth, reliever Dusten Knight, who got the extra-inning save Friday night, returned to throw a pair of scoreless innings. He retired Mobile in order in the ninth, then worked out of a bases-loaded, one out situation in the 10th with a strikeout and a ground out to force another inning.
The Blue Wahoos scratched across their only run in the fifth after an infield single from Drew Maggi, who went to second on an error, moved to third on a ground out, and beat a throw to the plate on a fielder’s choice grounder.
Unlike the past four games, the Blue Wahoos did not manage an extra base hit and finished with only four hits in the game.
Even after the loss, Borrego was positive about the team’s outlook and 3-1 start.
“This weekend has been fantastic for us,” Borrego said. “It is our first year in Pensacola and so far I like how our guys compete…pitching, offense, defense. When we match all that together you will have a really good game.”
Right hander Sean Poppen will try to complete the trend in the series finale Monday night at 6:35 PM in Mobile. After that, the focus will turn to Wednesday’s highly anticipated home opener against Jacksonville at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Looking ahead for the Blue Wahoos, they will have an off day on Tuesday before their home-opening debut Wednesday at 6:35 PM in Blue Wahoos Stadium against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. It will begin a new era in Hoosville as the Minnesota Twins affiliate.
Pictured: Griffin Jax on the mound for the Wahoos. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lady Aggies Take Second In Kissimmee Klassic In Lightning Coin Toss
April 7, 2019
The Tate Lady Aggies finished second in the annual Kissimmee Klassic Tournament Saturday night — due to lightning.
The Lady Aggies went undefeated through three games, scoring 21 runs while allowing only one earned run through the weekend. The championship game was decided by a coin toss due to lightning.
Earlier in the day, the Lady Aggies shut out Keystone Heights 5-0.
Abbie Burks earned the win in the circle. She surrendered no runs on five hits, had no errors and had two strikeouts.
Ryleigh Cawby and Gabby Locke had three hits each for Tate.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Get Shutout Win Over Mobile
April 7, 2019
After Blue Wahoos starting pitchers Jorge Alcala and Brusdar Graterol combined to allow just one run over 9.2 innings and strike out 12 batters during Friday evening’s doubleheader sweep in Mobile, Devin Smeltzer had a tough act to follow during his Saturday night start at Hank Aaron Stadium.
If the bar was set high, he raised it.
The 23-year-old lefty opened his season with one of the finest outings of his professional career, carrying a perfect game into the fifth inning and finishing the night with nine strikeouts over 5.2 two-hit innings.
Smeltzer was sharp from the beginning, striking out BayBears’ top prospect Brandon Marsh to open the game in a 1-2-3 first inning. The strikeouts kept coming in the second inning, as he struck out the final two batters of the inning before opening the third with two more strikeouts.
After another K in the fourth, he opened the fifth having not allowed a baserunner to reach. The leadoff hitter in the inning, Jhoan Urena, quickly ended the no-hit bid with a ground ball single through the right side, but Smeltzer was unfazed, striking out two more to strand Urena.
Opposing Smeltzer, BayBears starting pitcher Patrick Sandoval was also strong, striking out four in the first two innings. The Blue Wahoos manufactured a run against him in the third, with Jordan Gore reaching on a dropped third strike and then coming all the way around to score from first on a throwing error by Mobile third baseman Roberto Baldoquin.
The 1-0 score held until the fifth inning when the Blue Wahoos offense broke out. Jimmy Kerrigan led off the inning with a towering home run to left, his second in as many days to make it 2-0 in Pensacola’s favor. The Wahoos then strung together a walk and hits by Caleb Hamilton, Gore, Brian Schales, and Taylor Grzelakowski to score twice more.
With a 4-0 lead, Smeltzer cruised into the sixth inning. He allowed his second hit of the game with one out in the inning but struck out Jahmai Jones for the second out before turning the ball over to reliever Adam Bray.
Smeltzer finished with a line of 5.2 innings pitched, two hits, no runs, one walk, and nine strikeouts. With the strong effort by the lefty, Blue Wahoos starting pitchers now have a 0.59 ERA through three games, having allowed just one run in 15.1 innings while striking out 21.
Pensacola extended their lead to 5-0 on an RBI single by Jaylin Davis in the seventh inning while Bray combined with Ryan Mason to throw 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to secure the victory and the second shutout of the year by the Wahoos.
With the win, the Blue Wahoos improve to 3-0 on the season. Pensacola and Mobile will continue their five-game series at Hank Aaron Stadium Sunday.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FHSAA Moves Football Championship Games To Tallahassee, Daytona Beach
April 6, 2019
The road to the state football championship will be a shorter one for 1A-3A teams and a change of scenery for other classes.
The FHSAA announced Friday that the 1A-3A state championship games will be played in Tallahassee for at least the next three years, and the 4A-8A games will be held in Daytona Beach.
“I think this was a great move by the FHSAA,” Northview head coach Derek Marshman said. “The FHSAA is starting to listen more to schools’ requests, and this is a big step in what schools and coaches want. Over 90% of the 1A schools are from Pensacola to Jacksonville, so this makes sense.”
For Northview High School, for instance, the distance to a state championship game drops from about 450 miles to Orlando to about 200 miles to Tallahassee. That means a much easier trip for teams and fans, Marshman said.
When Northview defeated Trenton for the 2012 1A state championship in, over 3,000 Northview fans were on hand in Orlando in what was then known as the Florida Citrus Bowl. It’s now called the Camping World Stadium and holds 65,000 people.
The 1A-3A championship games will be played December 5-7 this year on the artificial turf in the 6,500 capacity Gene Cox Stadium.
“The smaller stadium will make a big difference in the feel of the game,” Marshman said. “There’s no way for a 1A team to fill the stadium in Orlando. But in Gene Cox in Tallahassee, teams can look up and it will be a big time feel with a stadium that’s nearly full.”
The 4A-8A games will be placed December 11-14 at Daytona Stadium, capacity 15,000.
“After listening to feedback from our membership, we felt having two locations stretched out over two weeks made the most sense,” FHSAA Executive Director George Tomyn said. “This new schedule gives families and fans the most flexibility when it comes to supporting their student-athletes.”
Both venues recently underwent significant renovations. Daytona’s $20 million renovation included new field turf, remodeled locker rooms, an open-air VIP club, VIP space with theater seating and a completely redesigned expansive concourse area. Gene Cox Stadium underwent an $800,000 renovation featuring installations of completely new field turf and a pair of HD video boards.
For a Pensacola area team, such as Tate High School, the distance to Daytona Beach and Orlando are essentially equal.
Pictured: The Northview Chiefs won the 2012 1A state championship in Orlando. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Beauchanie Throws Complete Game Shutout As Aggies Get Kissimmee Klassic Win
April 6, 2019
The Tate Aggies shut out Eau Gallie (Melbourne) 4-0 Friday afternoon in the 2019 Kissimmee Klassic Softball Tournament.
Avery Beauchanie threw a complete game shutout in seven innings, allowing three hits, walking three and striking out six.
Amber Decoux and Hannah Halfacre led the Aggies with two hits each.
Blue Wahoos Open Season With Doubleheader Sweep Over Mobile
April 6, 2019
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos unveiled their touted pitching tandem Friday night against the Mobile BayBears and witnessed a pair of gems.
In a memorable season-opening double-header sweep, Jorge Alcala tossed five shutout innings, helping lead the Blue Wahoos to a 7-0 victory in the first game. Brusdar Graterol, the Twins top pitching prospect, took the mound in game two and yielded only a run while pitching into the fifth inning in Pensacola’s 4-3 extra innings win at Hank Aaron Stadium.
“It was a good start. Those guys gave a good effort, especially on the pitching side,” said Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego, who was making his Double-A debut as Pensacola begins its new era as a Minnesota Twins affiliate.”The pitching was unbelievable.”
The Blue Wahoos knocked six hits and worked four walks in game one on their way to seven runs. Alcala, who struck out six in 5.0 shutout innings and allowed just three hits, was helped by some terrific defense. Jimmy Kerrigan made a highlight reel catch in the fourth inning, tracking a ball onto the centerfield warning track and holding on as he crashed into the wall. The next inning, Jaylin Davis made a diving catch in right to prevent a Mobile rally.
After his web gem, Kerrigan hit a two-run homer in his next at-bat. Offensively, Luis Arraezreached base three times, twice with base knocks and once on a walk.
The second game was far different than the opener. After going up 1-0 in the first inning on an RBI snigle by Taylor Grzelakowski, the Blue Wahoos didn’t score again until the fifth when Jordan Goresingled home Kerrigan. After Mobile answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth, the score held at 2-1 until the seventh.
In his Double-A debut, the 20-year-old Graterol allowed just three hits over 4.2 innings. He allowed one run and walked two while striking out six and flashing 100 miles per hour on the radar gun multiple times.
Graterol left with the 2-1 lead and Andro Cutura held the BayBears at check out of the bullpen for 1.1 innings, allowing no hits while striking out one. The lead didn’t hold, though, as the BayBears broke through with one swing in the home half of the seventh on a solo homer by Brendan Sanger off Cody Stashak.
Because it was a doubleheader, both games were seven-inning games. However, with the score tied 2-2 following the homer, the Wahoos headed to extra innings for the first time in 2019.
They quickly loaded the bases in the eighth. With the pace-of-play runner starting at second, Luis Arraez knocked a single, his fourth of the day, and Brian Schales walked. A ground out by Grzelakowski brought home Gore to put the Wahoos up 3-2, giving the Wahoos first baseman four RBIs on the night.
The Wahoos pushed home what ended up being a crucial insurance run, using a fielder’s choice ground out by Jaylin Davis to move Schales to third and a wild pitch to bring him home.
Mobile threatened to extend the game in the bottom of the eighth. A single by Jahmai Jonesleading off the inning scored the pace-of-play runner and cut Pensacola’s lead to 4-3. After Stashak struck out Jack Kruger, Borrego summoned reliever Dusten Knight from the bullpen to try and lock down the save. He delivered, getting a ground out and a strikeout to end the game and complete the doubleheader sweep by the Wahoos, capping off the evening by doing a backflip on the field.
“I saw what we expected,” Borrego said. “Those guys were aggressive. Those two guys were excited to start the season and they gave it their best,” Borrego said.
It was the first time Borrego had managed a team in the U.S. outside of Florida. Prior to joining the Blue Wahoos, all of his managerial stints were in Fort Myers with the Gulf Coast League Low-A team, and the High-A Fort Myers Miracle, who he led to the 2018 Florida State League title.
“I am really excited,” he said. “And hopefully my coaches and players, too. They are excited. We had some really bad weather but finally we got good weather. We have a really good team. Every game we are going to battle.”
The Wahoos (2-0) will continue the five-game home road series against Mobile Saturday night. The Wahoos and BayBears will play a total of 25 times in 2019. During the 2018 season, the Blue Wahoos hit .243 against the BayBears and were outscored 113-91.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Florida Deer Hunting Rules Approved: Statewide Bag Limit, Harvest Reporting Required
April 5, 2019
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has approved news deer hunting rules that are in effect this year.
Annual statewide bag limit
One of the rules establishes a new annual statewide bag limit of five deer per hunter, of which no more than two may be antlerless (any deer, except a spotted fawn, without antlers or whose antlers are less than 5 inches in length). However, antlerless deer may still only be harvested during seasons when they are legal to take, such as during archery season and on antlerless deer days.
“The annual statewide bag limit was developed through extensive collaboration with FWC staff and stakeholders, and aligns with the goals and objectives outlined in the Commission-approved strategic plan for deer management,” said Cory Morea, deer management program coordinator.
Florida was the only state in the Southeast without a specified annual bag limit for deer.
“This adaptive approach to deer management is intended to improve hunting opportunities by encouraging harvest among more hunters as well as greater selectivity, while helping maintain a healthy and reasonably balanced deer herd,”Morea said.
Deer harvested under permits issued to landowners of the following programs are excluded from annual statewide bag, daily bag and possession limits – antlerless deer permit program, deer depredation program and private lands deer management program. Deer harvested on licensed game farms and licensed hunting preserves are also excluded from annual statewide bag, daily bag and possession limits.
Harvest reporting system
New rules require all hunters – including youth under 16 years of age, resident hunters 65 years and older, those with a disability license, military personnel, and those hunting on their homestead in their county of residence – to report deer they harvest. However, deer taken with a deer depredation permit or from a game farm or licensed hunting preserve do not have to be logged and reported through the harvest report system.
“Before moving a deer from the point of harvest, hunters who harvest deer are required to record in their harvest log information such as their name, date of harvest, sex of the deer, and county or wildlife management area where harvested,” Morea said.
Before the start of the deer season, hunters can access harvest logs online at MyFWC.com. Hunters should keep their harvest log nearby when hunting deer.
Furthermore, this and possibly some additional information must be reported to the FWC’s harvest reporting system within 24 hours of harvest and prior to final processing of the deer, any parts of the deer being transferred to any meat processor or taxidermist, and the deer leaving the state.
“A harvest reporting system will foster bag limit compliance and give the FWC another source of deer harvest data,” Morea said.
Changes to private lands antlerless deer permit program
All antlerless deer taken on lands enrolled in the antlerless deer permit program must be tagged with an issued antlerless deer tag, even if they are harvested on a day when the take of antlerless deer is otherwise allowed (such as archery season) within the zone in which the enrolled lands are located. In addition, the deer must be recorded on the harvest log of and reported to the FWC’s harvest reporting system by the hunter who harvested the deer.
After the season ends, permittees must report the total number of antlerless deer taken on his or her enrolled properties by April 1.
“The antlerless deer permit program is intended to provide flexibility in managing deer populations. Tag issuance rates will be set by deer management unit and are designed to allow sustainable harvests while minimizing overharvest of antlerless deer, particularly females, on permitted lands,” Morea said. “Additionally, harvest information provided by antlerless deer permittees will help improve the FWC’s science-based deer management decisions.”
Because of this new tagging requirement for properties enrolled in the antlerless deer permit program, the application period for these permits and associated tags is earlier. May 15 is the earliest you may apply for all hunting zones, but deadlines vary by zone – July 14 for Zone A, Aug. 11 for Zone C and Sept. 29 for zones B and D.
Youth deer hunt weekend
Beginning with the 2019-2020 hunting season, youth 15 years old and younger who are supervised by an adult (18 years or older) may participate in a new youth deer hunt weekend. This new Saturday-Sunday youth deer hunt coincides with the muzzleloading gun season in all four hunting zones and is not available on wildlife management areas.
Youth may harvest one antlered or antlerless deer (except spotted fawn) and the deer counts toward their annual bag limit. Youth are allowed to use any method of take legal for deer and may even use dogs to pursue deer on deer-dog registered properties.
The dates for next season’s youth deer hunt weekend are December 7-8 in Northwest Florida’s Zone D.
No license or permit is required of youth hunters (15 years old and younger) or accompanying adults (18 years or older) who only supervise. Since the youth hunt coincides with muzzleloading gun seasons, supervising adults and other non-youth also may hunt but must use either a muzzleloader, bow or crossbow, and possess a hunting license, deer permit and muzzleloading gun permit, unless exempt.
If youth use dogs to pursue deer (only allowed on deer-dog registered properties), any person (16 years of age or older) participating in the hunt may not shoot or shoot at deer.
Tate’s McCammon Signs Soccer Scholarship With Thomas University
April 5, 2019
Tate High School’s Abbie McCammon signed a soccer scholarship Thursday with Thomas University in Thomasville, GA. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
