Blue Wahoos Beat Biloxi in Finale
August 7, 2023
The bases were loaded, the lead was halved and dangerous hitters were up as the Blue Wahoos faced seventh-inning trouble on Sunday.
Pitching coach Dave Eiland went to the mound. In less than 60 seconds, his message to reliever Zach McCambley was heeded.
McCambley struck out the next Biloxi Shuckers batter with a well-placed fastball, ended the inning on a ground out and the Blue Wahoos responded with more runs to balloon a 6-4 lead into an 11-6 victory against the Shuckers to claim the series, thus ending the homestand at Blue Wahoos Stadium in the best way.
“Dave is such a good guy to have on your staff. He’s been around baseball a long time,” said catcher Bennett Hostetler, who went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in a big run in the bottom of the seventh to extend the lead.
“He just told Zach to trust your stuff and to make pitches, throw one at a time and that’s what Zach did,” Hostetler said. “He did a good job of limiting damage in the inning and got us out of it. And we were able to score some runs after that.”
That seventh-inning sequence could have gone the wrong way. Instead, it led to the Blue Wahoos’ (61-40) fourth win in six games against the Shuckers, who entered Sunday having won 14 of their last 19 games, including two of the first three games this week in Pensacola.
We always have tough games with those guys,” Hostetler said. “They are always back and forth. We did a good job this week of putting together good innings when we needed them. When they scored, it seemed like we would always had an answer, Just a good job by everybody, really.”
In the ninth inning Sunday, the Shuckers (53-48), the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, had three of their four batters reach base against closer Jefry Yan. A run was scored. Eiland again went to the mound, this time to calm Yan.
Result? Two strikeouts against the next three batters to end the game.
“He has a great relationship with pretty much all of his pitchers,” Hostetler said of Eiland, a former major league pitcher, who has been pitching coach for the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals. “He knows what to say in the moment and he gets the best out of who we have on the mound.”
The Blue Wahoos used five pitchers Sunday. It started with Collin Lowe making his Double-A level debut. The 24-year-old righthander was summoned from the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Miami Marlins’ Low-A affiliate.
A free agent signee in 2022, Lowe impressed with five innings pitched, two runs allowed, no walks and three strikeouts to get the mound win. Four relievers followed.
Run support was quickly provided. In the first inning, Jacob Berry blasted a two-run homer into the right field berm. He then followed with a two-run triple in the second inning.
Berry, the Marlins’ No. 1 draft pick last year out of LSU, reached based four times Sunday, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBI in his biggest game since joining the team last week from the Beloit (Wisconsin) Sky Carp, the Marlins’ High-A affiliate.
José Devers had a two-run single in the fourth inning for a 6-2 lead. Will Banfield, used as designated hitter Sunday, blasted a two-run homer in the eighth to further pad the lead.
All nine Blue Wahoos batters reached base. Eight scored runs.
The Blue Wahoos’ next home series begins on Aug. 15 against the Montgomery Biscuits.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Wahoos Wait Out Rain And Rally Late For 4-3 Win
August 6, 2023
The Blue Wahoos’ recent good fortune without rain delays at home ran out Saturday.
But they maintained a season-long feat of late-inning success.
After the longest rain delay of the season – two plus hours – the Blue Wahoos erased a sixth-inning 3-0 deficit, got a clutch go-ahead, run-scoring double from catcher Will Banfield in the eighth inning, and pulled off a 4-3 victory against the Biloxi Shuckers before Saturday night fireworks lit up Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Reliever Luarbert Arias earned his first Double-A win for Pensacola after pitching two scoreless innings. He yielded a two-out single in the ninth, then threw a perfect tailing slider to strike out Biloxi’s designated hitter Tristen Lutz and end the game.
He followed a superb night by M.D. Johnson, who pitched seven innings for the first time this season, and was nearly as sharp as his last start at home when he blanked Rocket City in a six-inning outing.
The Blue Wahoos are now 53-3 when leading after eight innings, which is why this team is now 20 games above .500 at 60-40 and on pace to set a franchise record for most wins in a season.
The game was delayed 2 hours and 11 minutes following after a massive thunderstorm with strong winds in the late afternoon engulfed the stadium. It then turned into a slower, steady rain until 7:30 before the field tarp could be removed.
The fans among a once-capacity crowd who waited it all out saw another Blue Wahoos comeback. It led into the fireworks show sponsored Saturday by Hill-Kelly Dodge Chrysler Jeep – a Blue Wahoos charter partner since the inaugural season.
Biloxi hit the first of its three homers Saturday, all solo shots, when Isaac Collins hit a two-out shot in the first inning. Carlos Rodriguez, a Mobile native, made it 2-0 in the third inning with his two-out homer.
In the fourth inning, the Blue Wahoos’ Griffin Conine again showed his defensive skills by making a sensational leaping catch over the right field wall to rob Biloxi’s Ethan Murray of a 3-run homer.
That play, that catch, proved to be a game-deciding moment.
After Shuckers star Jackson Chourio, a 19-year-old phenom centerfielder, hit the team’s third solo homer in the sixth inning, the Blue Wahoos began the comeback. Chourio is one of the top prospects in Minor League Baseball.
But other than those three pitches, Johnson was effective all night working fast and throwing strikes. He allowed just five hits, four walks and struck out four to earn his second win.
Blue Wahoos newcomer Jacob Berry, the Miami Marlins’ top draft pick last year from LSU, hit a sacrifice fly RBI for the team’s first run.
Bennett Hostetler followed in the seventh with a two-run, bases-loaded single that scored Banfield and Victor Mesa Jr. to tie the game. Those led off the inning with a single and walk, followed by Cody Morissette’s walk to load the bases.
In the eighth inning, Berry led off with a single. He moved to second on José Devers’ sacrifice bunt, then over to third on Conine’s groundout. Banfield hit a 1-2 fastball high in the strike zone and just missed a homer off the right field wall for the game-winning RBI.
The Blue Wahoos waited out the weather, knowing it was eventually going to clear. Their previous high for rain delay this year was 1 hour and 16 minutes.
But with the artificial turf surface and drainage system at Blue Wahoos Stadium, the field can drain 16 inches of water in an hour. It can easily handle any extended set of thunderstorms.
The Blue Wahoos will now try to win the series in final game of the six-game homestand on Sunday afternoon.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Hostetler Homers, Bermúdez Pitches Blue Wahoos To 8-1 Win
August 5, 2023
The morning temperature Friday was already well-past uncomfortable when Bennett Hostetler was on the field at Blue Wahoos Stadium, helping create memories for youth baseball players.
Hostetler and six other Pensacola teammates were volunteer instructors at the annual Chevy Youth Clinic weekend.
Many hours later, he produced a good memory of his own.
Hostetler hit a two-run homer, reached base three times, scored a pair of runs and made several strong notable putouts at first base as the Blue Wahoos cooled off the Biloxi Shuckers with an 8-1 victory before a sellout crowd.
The win evened the series at two games apiece and was the first time Biloxi was held under five runs since July 15. The Shuckers’ 8.1 runs per-game in the stretch is the best in Minor League Baseball. The Blue Wahoos (59-40) also evened the well-contested season matchup with Biloxi at 11-11.
Blue Wahoos starter Jonathan Bermúdez had his second-best outing in a season of majority quality starts. He shined with his array of breaking pitches, twirling six scoreless innings with three hits, two walks and five strikeouts on 89 pitches.
He got run support early.
In third inning Friday, Hostetler, 25, a Bozeman, Montana native, was part of a 3-run rally when he followed Cody Morissette’s single with his own base hit. Morissette had a big game as well, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Morissette scored on Dalvy Rosario’s sacrifice fly. Hostetler scored on José Devers’ two-run double.
In the Shuckers’ sixth inning, Bermudez gave up a leadoff double, then hit the next batter. Biloxi’s Tyler Black then followed with a line drive that Hostetler snared, then stepped on first base for a pivotal double play. Bermúdez ended the inning with a flyout.
The Blue Wahoos followed in the bottom half of the inning with a 4-run burst. Morissette’s RBI double was followed by Hostetler’s 2-run homer. Rosario made it back-to-back bombs with his solo shot that produced a 7-0 lead.
Griffin Conine hit the Blue Wahoos’ third homer of the night in the seventh inning. Relievers Chandler Jozwiak and Eli Villalobos finished off the win.
Blue Wahoos righthander M.D. Johnson (1-4, 5.57) will be on the mound against Shuckers righthander Tobias Myers (6-3, 5.67).
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Karl King Named Head Coach Of Tate Aggie Baseball
August 4, 2023
Tate High School announced Friday afternoon that Karl King as been named head baseball coach for the Aggies. He has served as an assistant coach since the 2017 season.
“Since his arrival, he has completely bought into the traditions of our school and community and has always been an avid supporter of all of our athletic programs and activities,” Principal Laura Touchstone said. “With his intentions to add enhancements to our facility, expected staff additions, and the infusion of his tremendous character and unquestionable desire to uphold the standards of Tate High School and our community, we feel Coach King will help us raise the bar and once again make strides toward playing for another state championship.”
King was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is a 1989 graduate of Mount Saint Mary High School where he won a state championship his junior year along with being named to the Oklahoma All-State team his senior year as a pitcher. Following graduation, he was selected in the Major League Baseball draft as a catcher by the Minnesota Twins. After a short career in the Twins organization, he completed his post secondary degree in secondary math education at the University of Central Oklahoma and began his coaching and teaching career in 1995.
King started his teaching career at Summit Middle School in Edmond, Oklahoma, while coaching baseball as an assistant at Edmond Santa Fe High School. After two years, he made the move to Edmond Santa Fe as a math teacher and continued his duties as an assistant baseball coach where he would experience four trips to the state tournament including a state runner-up finish in 2002. After six years at Santa Fe, King had his first opportunity as a head coach at Putnam City North High School and would spend the next six years there leading their baseball program and teaching math. He guided the Panthers to a state semi-finalist finish in 2009 losing to the eventual state champion Owasso Rams. In 2010, King made the move to Edmond North High School as the head baseball coach and math teacher. He would spend seven years there making three consecutive trips to the state tournament from 2012-2014 including a state championship in 2012 where he was recognized as the Oklahoma Coach of the Year as well as the ABCA National Region 8 Coach of the Year and was nominated as National Coach of the Year.
During his seven years at Edmond North, the Huskies participated in the Aggie Classic during Spring break from 2013-2016 playing for the championship in 2013 where they finished runner up. Upon completion of the 2016 season, King and his family decided to make the move to the beach where he and his wife accepted teaching positions at Tate High School and Lipscomb Elementary respectively. He has spent the past seven years at Tate High School as a math teacher and assistant baseball coach.
King said he is excited about the opportunity to lead the Aggie baseball program into the future as he starts his 29th year in education. He said he recognizes what the school and program means to the community along with the program’s history and rich tradition. King is looking forward to moving the program in a positive direction both on and off the field that will impact not only the school but the community as well.
King is moving into the head coaching job vacated with the recent resignation of Karl Jernigan who stepped down to spend more time with his family.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mesa’s Multi-Homer Game Not Enough Wahoos 7-4 Loss
August 4, 2023
One out into the third inning, the Blue Wahoos’ lefthander Luis Palacios was repeating his past two stellar outings.
The next five Biloxi Shuckers batters, however, changed the script and the game.
The top of their order ignited for five runs off Palacios in that sequence, including back-to-back homers, that led to Biloxi’s 7-4 win Thursday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
It continued Biloxi’s power brigade that has now produced 146 runs since mid-July’s season resumption – the most scored by any team in Minor League Baseball. The Milwaukee Brewers affiliate is 14-4 during this stretch.
Palacios, who had allowed just one unearned run on six hits in his past two starts, retired seven of the first eight batters he faced Thursday. But a one-out single against No. 9 hitter Felix Valerio was followed by a double, a run-scoring single, then a two-run homer by Isaac Collins and solo shot by Wes Clarke. For Clarke, this was his ninth homer since July 1 and fourth of the series.
The Blue Wahoos took a 2-0 lead in the second when Victor Mesa Jr. led off with the first of his two home runs Thursday. Bennett Hostetler then drove home Griffin Conine with a single.
Mesa repeated the leadoff feat in the sixth inning with his blast over the center field wall, which became the first multi-homer game of his career. He finished 3-for-4 with two RBI. Conine then reached on a hit batter and scored on Hostetler’s second RBI single, cutting Biloxi’s lead to 5-4.
But an errant throw by Hostetler after a seventh-inning strikeout against Shuckers star Jackson Chourio resulted in teammate Lamar Sparks scoring after he was headed for second on the play.
The Blue Wahoos had just one hit in the final three innings.
Pregame activities Thursday included the Jay High marching band, which performed the National Anthem and played outside the stadium before the game. The Jay High cheerleading squads were also part of pregame performances as part of the annual Jay High Spirit Night.
Jay baseball coach Duane Raley threw out a ceremonial first pitch and was among the athletic staff attending the game.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
New Tate Aggies Video Scoreboard Is Up And Running
August 3, 2023
The new video scoreboard at Tate High School is up and running at Carl Madison Field in Pete Gindl Stadium.
In addition to scores and game information, the board can be used to display hype videos before the games, senior interviews and more.
The Aggies will host Washington in kickoff classic on Thursday, August 17 at 7 p.m.
The video board was privately funded by football boosters.
Pictured: The new Tate Aggies video scoreboard is operational. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Pounds 21 Hits In 12-9 Win Over Shuckers
August 3, 2023
The sun was still bright, the crowd just settled and game still fresh when the Blue Wahoos batted Wednesday in the second inning.
Thirteen batters, 10 hits, eight runs and 25 minutes later, it foreshadowed how this game would evolve.
Led by Griffin Conine and José Devers, both of whom went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs apiece, the Blue Wahoos clubbed 21 hits – second-most in franchise history – in a 12-9 victory against the Biloxi Shuckers.
A crowd of 3,657 at Blue Wahoos Stadium watched the Blue Wahoos jump to an 8-1 lead, following that second-inning explosion, then saw Biloxi trim big deficits three times into three runs.
In a game that lasted 3 hours and 2 minutes, the teams combined for 33 hits, 41 baserunners, 21 runs and eight pitchers. The outcome was not sealed until Zach McCambley retired the last three batters he faced following a pair of ninth-inning runs from Biloxi.
Appropriately, this game was followed by the final Wednesday fireworks display of the season, provided by Pensacola’s Hiles-McLeod Insurance company. The Blue Wahoos stage mid-week shows during the time when area schools are out for summer break.
Conine, who has etched his name in Blue Wahoos history with a variety of hitting records, produced his first 4-hit game since 2019 when he was playing for the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts as a Toronto Blue Jays prospect. His line drive to the mound in the eighth inning was caught to thwart a 5-for-5 night.
But it was a good sign for Conine, his 20th multi-hit game, and Devers with his hot bat, on a night where the Blue Wahoos needed a pinball game-like performance to hold off the Shuckers.
Biloxi entered averaging 8.1 runs per-game in the 16 games they played since mid-July. The Shuckers, the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, lead all Double-A during that stretch with a .303 team batting average.
After five innings Wednesday, the Blue Wahoos already had 15 hits. By then, every batter in their lineup had at least one hit. Five had two hits.
With exception of Nasim Nuñez, everyone had scored at least one run.
They first blew open the scoreboard with eight consecutive hits in the second inning. Will Banfield led off with single and scored a run, then came back up and clubbed a 3-run homer. He went 3-for-5. Conine and Devers both had RBI hits in the inning, along with newcomer Jacob Berry, who was among three others – Nuñez and Dalvy Rosaro – with multiple hits.
Evan Fitterer made his 16th start on the mound this season for the Blue Wahoos. The righthander had an 8-1 lead in the fifth inning but missed a chance to get the win after loading the bases with a pair of walks, then giving up a grand slam to Wes Clarke. He was lifted for Austin Roberts, who provided a pair of hitless innings to quell the Shuckers’ momentum.
The series with Biloxi continues on Thursday with “Mullet Thursday” featuring the Blue Wahoos in their alternate identity as the Pensacola Mullets.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Despite Two Conine Homers, Wahoos Fall To Shuckers In 10
August 2, 2023
Griffin Conine had already homered twice Tuesday when the Biloxi Shuckers chose to pitch to him in the ninth inning.
With Blue Wahoos teammate Jacob Berry on second base, Conine just missed hitting the trifecta for a dramatic walk-off win.
Instead, that final out caught at the base of the center field wall became defining when the Blue Wahoos lost a battle of the bullpens in a 9-6, extra inning loss against the Shuckers to open their series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Blue Wahoos reliever and save leader Jefry Yan, who closed out three wins last week against the Mississippi Braves, struggled in the 10th. He gave up a go-ahead, run-scoring single against first batter Isaac Collins, then a two-run homer against Wes Clarke to seal the Shuckers win.
The game began three hours earlier with Eury Pérez on the mound for the Blue Wahoos in potentially his final time in Pensacola.
The first two innings were vintage Pérez. The Miami Marlins rookie star struck out six batters in two innings. But he ran into problems when the Shuckers struck for three runs off four hits in five batters in the third inning.
Pérez ended that inning without more damage. He struck out the only batter he faced in the fourth inning before being replaced, receiving a loud ovation from the crowd. He ended his night throwing 63 pitches, 43 for strikes, recording seven strikeouts, one walk and three earned runs.
Conine’s first homer in the second inning, followed by a Cody Morissette triple, led to a 2-0 lead that the Shuckers erased. Berry, the Marlins’ top draft pick in 2022 from LSU, tied the game with his RBI single in his first game in Pensacola.
The Blue Wahoos then took a 6-3 lead in the fifth inning. Victor Mesa Jr. had an RBI single and Conine blasted his second home run – a two-run bomb, giving him 17 for the season.
The Shuckers tied the game in the sixth inning against Blue Wahoos reliever Dylan Bice, which led to the late-game drama. With their win, the Shuckers took a 10-9 lead in the season-long matchup.
Prior to the start of Tuesday’s game, the Blue Wahoos honored Shirley Studer, the 98-year-old mother of Blue Wahoos owner Quint Studer, who passed away last week. There were video tributes to Mrs. Studer, along with a moment of silence. A video of Mrs. Studer singing “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” was played during the seventh-inning stretch.
She was among the Blue Wahoos’ most devoted fans, faithfully listening to radio broadcasts of each game since the team’s inaugural season.
Also in pregame, the Blue Wahoos saluted the Pace High softball team for reaching the Class 6A state title game and advancing three consecutive years to the state final four. The Patriots’ head coach Lexi Worrell threw out a first pitch as the players were behind home plate.
The series with Biloxi continues Wednesday.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Panhandle Arsenal 7U Wins World Series
July 31, 2023
Panhandle Arsenal 7U went undefeated to win their World Series championship recently in Dothan, Alabama.
Arsenal’s overall record for the season was 36-7, outscoring opponents 519-247. They played in 11 tournaments and won eight of nine championship games.
Coaches are head coach John Buck, Marcus Moultrie, Davin Hathaway and Ryan Spikes.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Berry Homers, But Blue Wahoos Fall to Braves In Series Finale
July 31, 2023
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos couldn’t end their weeklong road trip with a win, falling 10-5 to the Mississippi Braves on a hot Sunday afternoon.
Jacob Berry was a bright spot, as the Miami prospect capped his first week at Double-A with his first Blue Wahoos homer in the sixth inning of a losing effort.
Cody Morissette got the Blue Wahoos on the board in the second inning with a little help from Victor Mesa Jr. at second base. Morissette flied out to deep right field, but Mesa was able to tag and advance two bases to score the game’s first run.
M.D. Johnson (L, 1-4) ran into trouble in the bottom of the second, allowing three runs on three hits to give the Braves a 3-1 lead. Drew Campbell and Cal Conley hit RBI singles, while Cody Milligan added an RBI double.
The Braves added a run in the fifth on a Luke Waddell RBI double, and blew the game open with a five-run sixth against the Pensacola bullpen. Cade Bunnell hit a solo homer, and Campbell, Waddell and Drew Lugbauer added RBI singles to stretch their lead to 9-2.
That would be more than enough for Mississippi’s Domingo Robles (W, 6-7), who allowed only two runs over 6.0 innings in a quality start. The Blue Wahoos tacked on three runs in the late innings on a Morissette homer and RBI singles from Mesa and Will Banfield, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.
With an eighth-inning triple, his fifth of the season and ninth of his Pensacola career, José Devers tied former Blue Wahoo Jose Siri for the most triples in franchise history.
After an off day on Monday, the Blue Wahoos begin a six-game home series against the Biloxi Shuckers on Tuesday.
written by Erik Bremer