Meyer, Bleday Lead Blue Wahoos Past Mississippi
June 6, 2021
Max Meyer dazzled as usual. JJ Bleday wowed again.
Peyton Burdick returned to recent form.
And the Blue Wahoos won again.
Three of the team’s most acclaimed players were part of an impressive display in a 4-1 victory Saturday night against the Mississippi Braves, delighting an overflow crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium before post-game fireworks lit the bayfront sky.
“It’s a fun team,” said Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft by the Miami Marlins, after allowing just three hits in six innings for his longest start in pro ball.
“Even if you are up or down, we’re still going to play how we play,” said Meyer, who improved his record to 3-1 and lowered his earned run average to 1.86. “All these guys are rooting for each other.”
Amid a game played in just two hours, 15 minutes — this may have been the Blue Wahoos best overall home game experience this season.
And that’s saying a lot.
The spectators including Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng, the first woman in history to serve as general manager of a team in any of the big four North American sports – MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL.
She watched the Blue Wahoos up-close for the first time and saw a team that has combined stellar pitching, sound defense and timely hits into an 18-11 record.
“The leadership on this team has been great,” said Bleday, whose two-out, two-run homer in the sixth inning broke a tie game. “If one guy doesn’t get the job done he hands it off the next dude and he is able to get it done and get it started.
“Our pitchers and relievers have just done a tremendous job of keeping us in the game.”
That played out again Saturday with Meyer dueling with Mississippi Braves’ righthander Jose Rodriguez, signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Braves on April 21.
Meyer matched his pro career high Saturday with nine strikeouts, yielded just one walk and threw 60 strikes in his 82 pitches.
The only dent in a stellar pitching line was a home run off a 93-mph fastball by Greyson Jenista to lead off the third inning.
After that, Meyer retired the next six batters he faced. He finished his outing by striking out the side in the sixth inning.
“That one home run, I went down and in, and I was trying to go down and up a little bit,” Meyer said. “He put a good swing on it and stuff like that happens.
“I went around the whole order. I mixed up how I threw to guys every at bat, so I feel like I was keeping them off balance a little bit.”
Meyer, the former University of Minnesota star, kept the capacity crowd (5,038) enthralled by how fast he works and how often he records outs. It was the first time he started on a Saturday night home game.
“Honestly, when I’m pitching I don’t really notice how big the crowd is. I am just dialed in,” Meyer said. “It’s just me and the catcher, but a little more adrenalin and it’s always fun pitching to a packed crowd.”
With the game tied 1-1, Bleday bombed a changeup from Rodriguez into the crowd of kids sitting on the grass berm beyond the right field wall. Total distance was 393 feet.
His two-run homer was his third home run this season, second in three days. All three have been in this ballpark. He scored Burdick, who led off the inning with a triple.
“It felt great, because I missed the changeups in the previous two at-bats,” said Bleday, the Marlins’ No. 1 pick in 2019 out of Vanderbilt and former Panama City Mosley High star.
“I was right on ‘em, but I was just a tick early pulling off a bit and getting a little antsy with it,” Bleday said. “But he came back and he hung one middle away and I put a good swing on it.”
The Blue Wahoos got their first run on Demetrius Sims’ RBI single to score catcher Nick Fortes. In their first four hits, the Blue Wahoos went double, single, triple, home run, for a team cycle.
Burdick, who went 2-for-4 after a hitless start in the series, added insurance with his RBI single in the eighth inning.
“The leadership on this team has been great,” Bleday said. “If one guy doesn’t get the job done he hands it off the next dude and he is able to get it done and get it started. Our pitchers and relievers have just done a tremendous job of keeping us in the game.”
The series and homestand will conclude Sunday with a 4:05 game. Following the game, the Blue Wahoos will have Monday off before taking a road trip to Chattanooga, Tenn. to face the Chattanooga Lookouts – the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Stewart And Steady Hitting Lead Blue Wahoos To 4-1 Friday Win
June 5, 2021
The Blue Wahoos completed the first month of their season Friday night in the same way it started.
Strong starting pitching. Flawless performance by the bullpen. Mixed together with a couple big swings and defensive plays.
The summation was another win, this one a 4-1 victory against the Mississippi Braves that evened the series (2-2) and gave a capacity crowd (5,038) at Blue Wahoos Stadium a familiar look.
“It has been apparent all year that our pitching has been dominant — from the starters to the bullpen — and I think that’s been the main thing that has kept us in every single game,” said Blue Wahoos catcher Nick Fortes, who went 2-for-4 with a triple and made the game’s biggest defensive play with a perfect throw to catch the M-Braves’ Riley Unroe stealing third in the third inning.
“We kinda started out a little slow at the beginning of the year with the bats,” Fortes said. “But I feel that everybody is starting to hit their stride a little bit and making things move a little bit more crisply out there.”
The Blue Wahoos (17-11) began their season — and new affiliation with the Miami Marlins — on May 4 with a win against the M-Braves.
Since then, it’s been a consistent element with the pitching staff in each win. Friday was lefthander Will Stewart’s turn to shine.
The 23-year-old, Huntsville, Alabama native worked six innings and threw a season-high 92 pitches with six strikeouts, one walk and one run allowed.
“Honestly, it all started with my mindset,” said Stewart, who earned his first win as a Blue Wahoos starting pitcher. “I think earlier in the month, I came out and there was a lot of doubt in my mind.
“I didn’t have as much confidence as I do now. It took me really finding a routine and getting into what works for me instead of trying to emulate things here and things there.”
Reliever Tyler Stevens followed by striking out four of the six batters he faced. Colton Hock followed in the ninth by earning his seventh save to become the Double-A South leader.
The Blue Wahoos lead the Double-A South in team pitching (3.39 ERA) and in team relief.
After dropping back-to-back mid-week games to the M-Braves, the Blue Wahoos flipped the script Friday. They got a first-inning lead when Peyton Burdick worked a walk, Jerar Encarnacion followed with a single and JJ Bleday continued his hot bat with an RBI single.
In the fifth inning, Encarnacion blasted a two-run homer into the right field berm off a fastball from M-Braves’ reliever Chris Nunn. This one exited at 101 mph off his bat and the ball seemed to further accelerate as it was leaving the ballpark.
The Blue Wahoos added another run in the sixth inning after Fortes led off with a single and scored on Tristan Pompey’s single.
The game’s key moment occurred after Stewart yielded three singles to start the third inning. With a run in, Unroe got a jump to steal third. But Fortes’ throw was perfect to have Blue Wahoos’ third baseman Demetrius Sims apply the tag a split-second before Unroe’s headfirst slide reached base.
“Oh my gosh, if we don’t throw that guy out there, they’ve got runners on first and third with one out and I am notoriously getting in that situation,” Stewart said. “For (Fortes) to take that away and me not have to deal with that, you can’t ask for anything more.
“It was big. I think if we don’t have that throwout there, I probably don’t go six innings.”
Instead it worked out well for him.
The first 2,000 fans entering the ballpark Friday night received a power-blue beach mat, courtesy of game sponsor, Wind Creek Casino and Hotel in Atmore, Ala.
The final two games of this series are Saturday and Sunday with the Blue Wahoos throwing their top two pitchers, Max Meyer and Jake Eder, for the first time on a weekend.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Bleday Homers, But Wahoos Fall 5-2 To Mississippi
June 4, 2021
The Blue Wahoos were two outs from being shut out for the first time this season.
JJ Bleday ensured it didn’t happen.
The touted outfielder blasted a 98-mph fastball off the right-field scoreboard – a 387-foot, 2-run bomb – that provided a measure of ninth inning solace in the Blue Wahoos 5-2 loss Thursday against the Mississippi Braves at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
A crowd of 4,555 on the season’s third Pensacola Mullets Night, complete with the uniforms and logo change, had watched four M-Braves pitchers silence Pensacola’s offense unlike any prior game until the final inning.
Up stepped Bleday. Out went the two-strike pitch from Daysbel Hernandez, much to the crowd’s delight. They had seen just two previous Mullets hits.
It was Bleday’s second home run with Pensacola, both in this ballpark.
Bleday, the fourth overall draft pick in 2019 by the Miami Marlins, has collected three hits and reached base four times in the past two games. It’s been the positive aspect from back-to-back losses, after the Blue Wahoos had a five-game home win streak.
Opportunities Thursday were missed earlier in the game when Pensacola (16-11) had five base runners through five innings.
The M-Braves (14-13) got their first three runs on two-out hits. In the first inning, starter Jeff Lindgren retired the first two batters, but M-Braves touted catcher Shea Langeliers, who went 4-for-5 Wednesday with three homers, singled to start the production.
CJ Alexander then followed with a RBI double in the left-center gap.
In the third inning, the M-Braves Justin Dean led off with a walk, stole second and scored on CJ Alexander’s two-out single.
The M-Braves manufactured another run in the fourth inning after Wendell Rijo reached on a fielder’s choice, then scored on Dean’s two-out double.
Their other two runs were emphatic.
Rijo left no doubt in the sixth when blasting Pensacola reliever Dylan Bice’s fastball 442 feet over the left center wall into the water for a two-run homer.
In the stands, however, the night had plenty of activities with the first “Wahoo Waddle” as part of Thirsty Thursday. Adults of legal age were able to sample a variety of beverage specials at kiosk stands throughout the concourse area.
The crowd batted giant beach balls in the stands to start the game.
For the first time at the stadium, it became a venue for the annual Pensacola stop with the Troy University athletic department.
Troy head football coach Chip Lindsey and women’s basketball coach Chanda Rigby, along with men’s basketball coach Scott Cross visited as part of Troy’s Trojan Tour. They had food and visited with a group of Troy supporters on the Dignity Memorial Deck above the left-field corner during the game.
In addition, the Navarre High baseball team had a 250-member group sitting in Sections 115 and 117 along the third-base line.
The Blue Wahoos, who lead their division in the Double-A South, will try to even the six-game series on Friday night with left-hander Will Stewart starting against the M-Braves AJ Puckett.
Riley Mahan and Jerar Encarnacion had the other Pensacola hits Thursday, both singles.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Cantonment Cowboys Football And Cheerleading Registration Underway
June 3, 2021
Registration is open for the Cantonment Cowboys football and cheerleading seasons.
In-person registration for ages 5-14 is available every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:00 until 7:30 p.m. at the ballpark, 681 Well Line Road.
Online registration is also available by clicking or tapping here.
Blue Wahoos Fall 9-4 To Mississippi Braves
June 3, 2021
A few days earlier, Mississippi Braves acclaimed catcher Shea Langeliers was named the Double-A South player of the week for past performance.
He followed Wednesday with a one-night show at the Blue Wahoos expense.
Langeliers, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2019 draft, flashed his Major League potential in a powerful way by going 4-for-5 and blasting three home runs in the M-Braves 9-4 win against Pensacola at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Langeliers, who is considered among the top catchers in all levels of Minor League Baseball, helped the M-Braves race to a 4-0 lead after three innings. He then played a role as Mississippi answered a Blue Wahoos rally in the fourth with a combined five runs in the middle innings.
Most of the crowd of 4,109, however, stayed to enjoy the first Wednesday night fireworks show of the season.
That was part of the School’s Out Summer Bash, which included a lemonade and watermelon stand as fans entered the ballpark, then an inflatable obstacle challenge for kids in the right field party deck. It was part of a family style party night with other activities at the ballpark.
Before the game, the Blue Wahoos paid tribute to baseball icon Lou Gehrig with a video presentation on the first MLB Lou Gehrig Day.
The team also honored the memory of Jimmy Calhoun, a Cantonment native who passed away in 2018 with the same disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly know as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which claimed the life of the New York Yankees Hall of Famer in 1941 when he was 37-years-old.
Once the game began, Langeliers took charge, clubbing a two-out solo homer in the first inning. His next time up, the Keller, Texas native sent a rocket over the left-center wall to lead off the third inning. He is ranked the Braves’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline.com, following a star collegiate career at Baylor.
It was part of a tough night for Blue Wahoos starter Brandon Leibrandt, who gave up seven runs on 11 hits in four innings. After having two previous solid outings, this one became his roughest this season.
The Blue Wahoos (16-10) cut the M-Braves (13-13) lead in half on second baseman Riley Mahan’s two out, two run single in the fourth inning.
But in the fifth, the M-Braves chased Leibrandt with three consecutive hits to start the inning, including back-to-back doubles, as part of a three-run inning.
Trailing 9-2 in the ninth, the Blue Wahoos kept battling in the final at-bat, highlighted by Mahan’s 13-pitch at-bat when he fouled off eight pitches around a 3-2 count, then singled.
Tristan Pompey followed with a two-run triple before the M-Braves summoned Chris Nunn to end the game on two strikeouts.
The teams combined for 27 hits, but only three walks and neither team made an error.
The Blue Wahoos were led by Pompey, who went 3-for-4. Mahan, and JJ Bleday each had two hits. The series is tied at 1-1 heading into the final four games beginning Thursday.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Wahoos senior writer
Strong Pitching, Timely Hitting Lead Blue Wahoos To 4-3 Win Over Mississippi
June 2, 2021
Devin Hairston joined the Blue Wahoos less than two weeks ago with a focused mission.
It has shown every game since.
Hairston again delivered in a clutch situation with a tie-breaking single in the eighth inning Tuesday night to lead the Blue Wahoos into a 4-3 victory against the Mississippi Braves in the series-opening game at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The win was the Blue Wahoos (16-9) ninth in their past 11 games.
It included another sensational outing from starting pitcher Jake Eder, who has been one of the best in all levels of minor league baseball the first month of the season.
“It is just the process,” said Hairston, a sixth-round pick out of Louisville in 2017 by the Milwaukee Brewers and signed in January by the Miami Marlins as a free agent. “I have lot of intent behind the work I am doing and it seems to be working.
“So me and (Wahoos hitting coach) Scott Seabol formulate a game plan and try to execute it.”
That became the case when Hairston, who went 2-for-4 Tuesday, stepped to the plate with runners on first and second. He smashed a one-strike changeup into the right field gap, scoring Demetrius Sims with the eventual-game winning run.
In the ninth, Blue Wahoos closer Colton Hock earned his sixth save and the team’s sixth win in the last seven home games.
“My approach usually stays the same in those situations. It’s a big situation so I tried to calm down a little bit and I was really trying to put the ball in the outfield,” said Hairston, whose .341 batting average since joining the Blue Wahoos leads Double-A in that period.
“First pitch breaking ball, I took it pretty well. I thought they might come back with it, so I was able to put in the outfield and Sims did the rest.”
It was another late-inning rally for the Blue Wahoos, who have made this habit-forming.
“It doesn’t matter who is at the plate, I feel like top the bottom, anybody can get the job done at every given moment,” Hairston said. “We have lot of belief, not only in ourselves but in each other. Nobody has too much stress in the batter’s box can get the job done.
“Good hitting is contagious and I feel we have a lot of guys that are hitting the ball well.”
On the mound, Eder continued the kind of performance he’s shown this month. His only run allowed was an opposite-field homer by the M-Braves’ CJ Alexander in the third inning. It was only the second run Eder – a former Vanderbilt star reliever – has allowed as starter.
He finished with eight strikeouts and just one walk. He began the game with an 0.46 ERA that was second-best in all levels of the minor leagues.
Jose Mesa Jr. relieved Eder after he struck out the first two batters in the fifth inning. Mesa Jr. worked through the seventh and was followed by Dylan Bice, who earned his second win with a clean eighth inning.
“It takes a lot of stress off the hitters to know we might only need two or three runs over the course of a game to get a win,” said Hairston. “It is awesome to know when we get that run in the bottom of the eighth that we have someone who is going to come in top of the ninth to close the door.”
The Blue Wahoos’ got their first run on a second-inning single from Riley Mahan. They retook the lead in the fourth on Lorenzo Hampton’s blast into the water beyond left field. Hampton is the son of former Florida Gators and Miami Dolphins running back Lorenzo Hampton Sr.
After the M-Braves took the lead with a pair of unearned runs in the seventh, the Blue Wahoos tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on JJ Bleday’s RBI double. Bleday, the Marlins’ top pick in 2019, had two hits and a walk in his night at the plate with his former high school coach at Panama City Mosley in attendance.
The teams will continue their six-game series Wednesday with the first mid-week, school’s out fireworks show following the game.
by Bill Vilona, Blue Washoo senior writer.
NWE Registration Deadlines: Cheerleading Is June 1, Football Is June 10
May 31, 2021
There is still time to register to the expanded Northwest Escambia football program which is doubling in size this fall, but Tuesday is the deadline for cheerleading registration.
NWE is going from a four football team park to an eight team park, now fielding two teams in each group. As a result, they are reopening football registration.
The complete cost is $125 for football and the deadline to register is June 10, based upon availability. The registration for cheerleading in June 1, and the cost is $150.
At least report, football roster spots were remaining for all four age groups:
- Freshman (5/6)
- Sophomores (7/8)
- Juniors (9/10)
- Seniors (11/12)
To register, click or tap here.
Blue Wahoos Beat Shuckers 9-1 To Win Series
May 31, 2021
Even without Max Meyer, the Blue Wahoos cruised to a 9-1 win over the Shuckers on Sunday that featured both dominant pitching and a barrage of hits from the Wahoos.
Pensacola outhit Biloxi 12-2 on a day where a win would guarantee another series victory, Pensacola’s third in four tries to start the year.
Meyer was making his fifth start of the season, and his second start against the Shuckers this week when he took the mound in the Sunday matinee. The right-hander was cruising through three innings when he had to exit the game with an apparent finger injury (blister). Though it looked minor, he removal was deemed precautionary. He finished the day with 3.1 innings pitched and allow no runs or hits walking three and striking out three.
Offensively, the Wahoos had little to show against Shucker starter Matt Hardy, who puzzled Pensacola’s bats through the first time though the lineup.
The second time around was a different story.
Pensacola’s crescendo-like offense began in the fifth, when Devin Hairston delivered a two-out, run-scoring single off Hardy to put the Wahoos up 1-0. However, the lead lasted no more than five minutes because Ryan Aguilar hit a homer in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game.
In the sixth, Lazaro Alonso came up with a two-out single off Cody Beckman to drive home two runs as Pensacola retook the lead, 3-1.
The floodgates opened in the seventh when Pensacola loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the seventh. Shucker manager made a bold move by bringing in RHP Cam Robinson to make his Double-A debut in a bases-loaded jam.
The move nearly paid off as Robinson struck out Peyton Burdick and JJ Bleday, and was a strike away from retiring Jerar Encarnacion. However, it was the Wahoos who came up with yet another two-out hit, and this time it was Encarnacion with a bases-clearing double to put the Wahoos up 6-1.
Pensacola added three more in the seventh courtesy of a three-run homer by Hairston, which was his second of the series and his fourth of the season (including his two homers in High-A Beloit).
Burdick also finished the game with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate, extending his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.
After Meyer had left the game, the Wahoos used five different relievers in order to hold Biloxi to one run on two hits. The two hits allowed are the fewest hits by an opponent against the Wahoos this season.
Pensacola returns home to take on the Mississippi Braves for the second time this season, and the first time since the opening week of the 2021 campaign. LHP Jake Eder (1-1, 0.45) is expected to start for Pensacola, and he will be opposed by RHP Nolan Kingham (2-1, 4.43).
by Chris Garagiola, Pensacola Blue Wahoos. File photo.
Encarnacion Homers, But Blue Wahoos Fall 8-3
May 30, 2021
Nick Bennett (W, 1-0) impressed in his Double-A debut, puzzling Pensacola’s bats as the Wahoos lost 8-3 to the Shuckers, Saturday night at MGM Park.
The Shuckers got off to a quick start in the penultimate game of this six-game series, and never looked back. Will Stewart (L, 0-2) surrendered three runs in the bottom of the first inning after David Fry hit a three-run homer, his fourth round-tripper of the year. In the second, Ryan Aguilar and Brice Turang both tallied RBI singles, which brought the deficit up to five for the Wahoos.
It looked like the Wahoos might make it game when they hit a pair of home runs themselves. Devin Hairston uncorked his first home run of the season in the third inning against Bennett before Jerar Encarnacion launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning to make it a 5-3 game. For Encarnacion, it was his first home run since May 12 against the Barons.
Any hope for a Pensacola comeback ended in the bottom of the sixth when Brice Turang hit a three-run home run off Dylan Brice to put Biloxi back up 8-3. For the Brewers top prospect, it was his first homer of the season.
Pensacola still has a shot to clinch a series win tomorrow afternoon when the Wahoos send Marlins top pitching prospect, Max Meyer (2-1, 2.29) to the mound. He will be opposed by Matt Hardy (1-1, 3.46), who is making his eighth appearance of the year, and his first start.
by Chris Garagiola, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
File photo.
Burdick’s Slam Propels Wahoos To Thrilling 5-4 Win
May 29, 2021
Peyton Burdick blasted a go-ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth against Braden Webb (L, 1-1) to give the Blue Wahoos an improbable 5-4 win against the Shuckers on Friday night.
Pensacola entered the top of ninth trailing 3-1. Webb, who was one of six pitchers used by the Shuckers on Friday, was making his third in appearance in four nights. He opened the ninth by walking Lazaro Alonso before striking out Lorenzo Hampton.
After the strikeout, Bubba Hollins and Devin Hairston delivered back-to-back singles with two strikes to load the bases. That brought up Burdick, who fell behind 0-2, crushed a 2-2 changeup over the left-field netting to put the Wahoos up 5-3.
With the sudden lead, the Wahoos quickly got Colton Hock (S, 5) up and into the game in the bottom of the ninth. Chad Spanberger and Tyler Friis led off the inning with singles, setting the Shuckers up with the winning run at the plate and nobody out.
However, Hock escaped peril by striking out Ryan Aguilar before Tristen Lutz grounded into am RBI fielder’s choice. With the Shuckers down 5-4 and the tying run on, Brice Turang popped out to third to end the game.
Earlier in the night, there was serious doubt as to whether these two teams would even finish Friday’s contest.
In the bottom of the second with the game tied at 1-1, heavy rain made its way through the area and forced the game into 1 hour, 28-minute delay. After a lengthy discussion between the managers, the umpires, and member of the Shuckers’ Front Office, the decision was made to resume the game at 8:30.
Jeff Lindgren was Pensacola’s starter on Friday, and despite having to wait almost an hour and a half between innings, the right hander remained in the game after the delay. Lindgren pitched 3.2 innings for the Wahoos, but gave them much needed length, which helped saved the bullpen for later in the game.
Biloxi starter Noah Zavolas pitched two innings for Biloxi but made way for Peter Strzelecki after the rain delay.
With the Wahoos trailing 3-1, Zach Wolf, Sean Guenther and Zack Leban pitched a combined 4.1 innings of scoreless ball. Those relievers only allowed a total of one hit, one walk while striking out eight. That set the stage for Hock to collect his league-best fifth save of the season.
Burdick has now homered in five of his last 10 games for the Wahoos and has 10 RBI during that stretch, while JJ Bleday snapped an eight-game hitless streak by going 2-for-4 with a double and a triple.
The series continues Saturday evening where the Wahoos will look to close out their third series win of the year. LHP Will Stewart (0-1, 3.21) will make his fourth start of the year for the Wahoos. Biloxi has yet to announce their Saturday starter, after Zavolas (Biloxi’s original starter for Saturday) had to pitch tonight.
by Chris Garagiola, Pensacola Blue Wahoos