Berry’s Dramatic Homer Lifts Wahoos to 4-2 Win Over Biloxi
June 30, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
Jacob Berry hit a go-ahead three run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, sending the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to a 4-2 win over the Biloxi Shuckers on Saturday night.
Berry’s third homer of the year, and first since late April, turned a 2-1 deficit into one of the most memorable wins of the season for the Blue Wahoos. It caps a resurgent month for the club’s top prospect, who is now batting .299 in June with eight extra-base hits and 13 RBI.
The Blue Wahoos jumped ahead 1-0 in the first inning with an opposite-field home run from Joe Mack against Shuckers starter Shane Smith. It was Mack’s 13th Double-A homer, putting him just one shy of a tie for the Southern League lead.
In his Blue Wahoos debut, Pensacola starter Tristan Stevens turned in a quality start. The righty went 6.0 solid innings, allowing two runs in the fourth on an RBI triple to Carlos Rodriguez and RBI single to Ernesto Martinez as the Shuckers took a 2-1 lead.
The Pensacola bullpen kept the game within reach, holding Biloxi hitless after the fifth inning. Raffi Vizcaíno (W, 3-1) worked a spotless eighth, and the Blue Wahoos turned a Bennett Hostetler walk and Dalvy Rosario single into a last-gasp threat against Shuckers closer Justin Yeager (L, 2-5).
The Blue Wahoos had gone 0-for-9 with men in scoring position on the night, but Berry lifted a Yeager offering over the left-center wall for the biggest hit of his season. It was the second two-out, three-run homer Yeager had allowed to Pensacola in the series after Harrison Spohn took him deep on Tuesday.
Austin Roberts (S, 13) breezed through the ninth to earn his league-leading 13th save.
The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series against the Shuckers on Sunday. First pitch from Keesler Federal Park is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
Wahoos Stymied By Henderson, Shuckers in 7-2 Loss
June 29, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos couldn’t solve Logan Henderson in a 7-2 loss to the Biloxi Shuckers on Friday night.
Henderson (W, 4-0) continued his impressive first impression at Double-A with 5.2 innings of three-hit ball. The righty tied a career high with 10 strikeouts, and improved to 4-0 in his first four Southern League starts after a June 1 promotion from the Midwest League.
The Blue Wahoos managed only four hits, highlighted by a two-run homer from Jakob Marsee on his 23rd birthday. Harrison Spohn and Joe Mack added doubles in the losing effort that saw Pensacola strike out a season-high 15 times.
Biloxi jumped ahead 4-0 in the second inning with a two-out rally against Luis Palacios (L, 5-5). Zavier Warren, who had driven in all three runs in Thursday’s 3-2 Shuckers win, kept up his hot hitting with a two-run homer before Carlos Rodriguez followed with a two-run double.
Darrien Miller added insurance with an RBI double in the fifth before capping the night with a two-run homer off Jeff Lindgren in the seventh. Nate Peterson (S, 1) earned a rare three-inning save by getting the final nine outs of the night for the Shuckers.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Shuckers on Saturday. First pitch from Keesler Federal Park is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
Chosen 12u Wins Brewton YMCA All-Star Tournament
June 28, 2024
The Chosen 12u softball team recently went undefeated to claim the Brewton Area YMCA All-Star Tournament. The victories included an eight inning 9-8 victory in the championship game against Monroeville’s all-stars.
The Chosen 12U softball team is home-based in Century with players from Century, Northwest Escambia and the surrounding area.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Warren’s One-Man Show Sends Wahoos To 3-2 Defeat
June 28, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos fell 3-2 to the Biloxi Shuckers on Thursday night in a game dominated by Shuckers first baseman Zavier Warren.
Warren, who had just been activated off Biloxi’s development list earlier in the day, hit an RBI single in the second inning and the eventual game-winning two-run triple in the fourth off Cade Gibson (L, 0-1) to account for all three Shuckers runs.
The Blue Wahoos went 1-for-11 with men in scoring position on the night, squandering an early opportunity with the bases loaded and nobody out in the second inning and finding little success later in the game. Biloxi starter Brett Wichrowski danced around trouble for 3.0 scoreless innings before a 29-minute rain delay in the bottom of the third hastened his departure.
Paul McIntosh got Pensacola on the board with a solo homer, his sixth of the year, in the fourth. TJ Shook (W, 4-7) also allowed an RBI triple in the seventh to Jacob Berry as the Wahoos drew to within a run, but Craig Yoho escaped the jam with the potential tying run in scoring position to end Pensacola’s final threat of the night.
Both teams’ bullpens performed well in the late innings, as Pensacola’s Zach McCambley and Patrick Murphy combined for 4.0 scoreless frames and Blake Holub (S, 6) sealed the one-run Biloxi victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Shuckers on Friday. First pitch from Keesler Federal Park is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Molino 12U All-Star Softball Wins State Championship
June 27, 2024
Molino 12U All-Star softball are state champions . Up next, they are headed to the World Series in Gardendale, Alabama, July 10-14. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Show Stoppers Stop The Show With Undefeated USSSA Summer Classic Win
June 26, 2024
The Show Stoppers 2030 ladies stole the show recently in Tiger Point as they went a perfect 6-0 in the USSSA Summer Classic for the championship.
They are now preparing for the national championships in Gulf Shores in a few weeks.
The Show Stoppers finished the season ranked No. 4 in Florida and No. 18 in the country in USSSA amongst 12uB class teams.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Rally Falls Short In 5-4 Loss To Shuckers
June 26, 2024
written by Erik Bremer
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped their second half opener on Tuesday night, falling 5-4 to the Biloxi Shuckers despite a spirited ninth-inning rally.
Down to their final strike in the ninth, Harrison Spohn hit a three-run homer to draw the Blue Wahoos to within a run before Jakob Marsee struck out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.
The Shuckers manufactured an early run against Pensacola starter Adam Laskey (L, 3-2), turning a hit-by-pitch of Darrien Miller in the second inning into a 1-0 lead thanks to an Adam Hall sacrifice fly. That would be the only blemish for Laskey, who completed a season-high 5.0 innings and struck out six.
Biloxi starter Jacob Misiorowski (W, 2-2) was even better, turning in 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in an encore performance after earning Southern League Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday.
The Shuckers extended their lead to 2-0 without a hit in the sixth, as Carlos Rodriguez drew a walk against Chandler Jozwiak and stole two bases before scoring on a throwing error from catcher Joe Mack. Three more unearned runs scored in the seventh, as a Jacob Berry throwing error at third base opened the door for RBI singles from Dylan O’Rae and Rodriguez.
The Blue Wahoos got on the board in the seventh with an RBI double from Cody Morissette, but even the Spohn homer in the ninth was not enough as Pensacola dropped just their third game out of 12 against the Shuckers this season.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Shuckers on Wednesday. First pitch from Keesler Federal Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Molino 9U Wins Escambia Annual All-Star Tournament Championship
June 24, 2024
The Molino 9U All-star team won the championship in the Escambia County Parks and Recreation 3rd Annual All-Star Tournament held at the NEP Bark.
The undefeated Molino 9U team defeated NEP Gold for the title.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Drop Series Finale To Chattanooga As Montgomery Clinches Division
June 24, 2024
written by Bill Vilona
Sometime in the top of the sixth inning Sunday, it became official from afar that the Montgomery Biscuits had clinched the Southern League’s first half South Division crown.
Coincidentally, the Blue Wahoos had their game lead evaporate and never reclaimed as the Chattanooga Lookouts took a 6-4 win in the series finale that left a quiet mood among a crowd of 4,488 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola’s bid for a third straight First Half divisional win in the league, and accompanying playoff qualifying spot, came up 1.5 games behind Montgomery in the standings as the season now resets for the second half.
But the week still ended full of impact.
The Blue Wahoos twice wore jerseys this week, including Sunday, to honor the Pensacola Seagulls and their impact during a segregated era. Sunday’s game was part of Minor League Baseball’s “The Nine” to recognize the number Jackie Robinson wore during his Minor League career before breaking baseball’s color barrier in 1947.
The Blue Wahoos’ (38-30) second-place finish came with a seventh winning record in the past eight half-seasons with three different affiliations.
And this year’s edition stayed in contention until the Biscuits scored an eighth-inning run and held off the Birmingham Barons 5-4 in their final first half game.
Sunday started just fine for the Blue Wahoos.
They took a 4-0 lead after two innings. Three of the first four batters in the first inning reached base. Zach Zubia hit a two-run double and Nathan Martorella followed with a sacrifice fly for a 3-0 lead.
Cody Morissette blasted a solo homer in the second inning on a ball that traveled 455 feet and hit the top of a table umbrella on the Coors Light Cold Zone in right field.
Paul Mcintosh led off the third inning with a double, but was stranded. It became one of the Blue Wahoos’ last scoring opportunities.
The Lookouts (20-49), the Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate, who struggled to finish with the worst record in all minor league levels, concluded their final first half with a series split in Pensacola.
They got a two-run homer from Ivan Johnson off Blue Wahoos starter Jonathan Bermúdez in the third inning, then a solo blast from No. 9 hitter Jose Torres in the fifth inning.
In the eventful sixth, the Lookouts loaded the bases, got an RBI groundout by Torres, then a two-run double by Johnson off reliever Dale Stanavich that became the game-winner.
Two Chattanooga relievers to shut out the Blue Wahoos in the final four innings.
The Blue Wahoos will now take Monday off, recharge, then begin the second half of the schedule on Tuesday in Biloxi against the Biloxi Shuckers.
WHAT’s NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Biloxi Shuckers
WHEN: Tuesday through Sunday (June 30).
WHERE: Keesler Federal Park, Biloxi, Miss.
Undefeated Century 10U Lady Legends Win rewton YMCA All-Star Tourney
June 23, 2024
The Century Baseball Association 10U Lady Legends went undefeated in the Brewton YMCA All-Star tournament to claim the championship Saturday. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.