Missed Chances Doom Pensacola In Loss To Rocket City
April 19, 2024
by Bill Vilona
The Blue Wahoos failed multiple times earlier in the game to cash in scoring opportunities.
They paid for it at the end.
The Rocket City Trash Pandas took advantage of two walks and a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt to score a pair of ninth inning runs and beat Pensacola 5-3 on Mullet Thursday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Taking on their alternate identity as the Pensacola Mullets and wearing specialty jerseys, the crowd was energized by Tanner Allen’s big night, headlined by his game-tying homer in the seventh inning off renown flamethrower Ben Joyce.
After watching a pair of fastballs at 103 mph from the former Tennessee Vols star, Allen jumped on the next one at 99 mph and sent a laser into the right field berm for a two-run homer to knot the score at 3-3.
It was part of a 4-for-4 night at the plate for Allen, a Mobile-area native and Mississippi State star of the Bulldogs’ College World Series championship team in 2021. By far, he’s been Pensacola’s top player so far this season, batting .333.
Allen drove in the Mullets other run with his second inning single.
But Pensacola stranded seven runners in scoring position, including twice with runners on third base.
Rocket City took a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning on right fielder Tucker Flint’s no-doubter homer into right center off Mullets reliever Jeff Lindgren.
Starter Valente Bellozo had a much better second outing Thursday. He battled through five innings, allowing four hits and only one run with nine strikeouts.
In the seventh, Rocket City summoned Joyce in his first appearance this week. He made his major league debut last season, appearing in 12 games for the Los Angeles Angels.
On this night, while his fastball regularly exceeded 100-plus mph, the Blue Wahoos hitters were jumping on it. Bennett Hostetler led off the seventh with a double into the gap. Joyce had a 1-1 count on Allen when his fastball was perfectly timed and driven out of the ballpark.
He then walked the next batter Dalvy Rosario, who stole second base with one out. Joyce got out of the inning with a strikeout and groundout.
In the top of the night, Blue Wahoos reliever Matt Pushard walked the first two batters he faced. Caleb Hamilton, who played in Pensacola for the Blue Wahoos in 2019 as a Minnesota Twins prospect, dropped down a perfect bunt that Pushard fielded, but his throw sailed over first baseman Jacob Berry’s glove leading to two runs and deciding the game.
It gave the Trash Pandas (7-5) their first back-to-back wins in Pensacola in their four-year history. Rocket City had won just twice in the ballpark before this week.
The Blue Wahoos (5-7) will try to even the series tomorrow with righthander Evan Fitterer on the mound.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Rocket City Trash Pandas vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Friday, 6:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Big Inning Helps Power Trash Pandas Past Blue Wahoos To Even Series
April 18, 2024
by Bill Vilona
The Blue Wahoos missed a chance early in Wednesday’s game for a big inning.
When Rocket City set up its chance, the Trash Pandas pounced.
Arol Vera, the No. 9 hitter, hit a two-run double, then scored on a sacrifice fly as part of a four-run, fourth inning that helped power the Trash Pandas to a 9-2 win against the Blue Wahoos and claim a rare win at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
A crowd of 2,976 watched the Trash Pandas even the series with only their second win in their past three trips to Pensacola. It became a rough outing for Blue Wahoos starter Luis Palacios, who yielded nine hits and six earned runs, including two home runs allowed in 4.2 innings.
Designated hitter Gustavo Campero, who played his first four minor league seasons in the New York Yankees organization, blasted a two-run homer off Palacios for the game’s first runs in the third inning. He added a solo blast to complete the rally in the fourth inning.
Through five innings, eight of Rocket City’s batters in the lineup had reached base.
The Blue Wahoos loaded the bases in the second inning with none out, but Rocket City starter Chase Chaney got out of the inning by retiring the next three batters with a strikeout, a fielder’s choice grounder, and an inning-ending flyout.
That sequence set a tone for a night where the Blue Wahoos had 13 hits in the game, matching Rocket City, but only managed two runs. They left the bases loaded with two out in the seventh as well.
Harrison Spohn had an RBI double in the sixth inning to score Pensacola’s first run. He later scored on Javier Sanoja’s two-out single. Sanoja was one of six Blue Wahoo batters with multiple hits through seven innings.
The teams will continue their series on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. with the Blue Wahoos’ Valente Bellozo making his second start against Rocket City’s Victor Mederos.
GAME NOTABLES
A contingent of the Blue Wahoos – 13 players and two coaches – spent Wednesday morning watching the Blue Angels perform at a practice session on Naval Air Station-Pensacola. It’s become a repeat visit from the team to see the U.S. Navy’s famed flight demonstration squadron, headquartered at the base.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Rocket City Trash Pandas vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Wednesday, 6:05 p.m.
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Shutout Win For Tate Baseball As They Honor ‘84 National Champ Aggies
April 17, 2024
Tate 12, Washington 0
The Tate High School Aggies baseball team honored their national championship legacy Tuesday night as they shut out Washington 12-0 in Cantonment.
The 1984 Tate baseball team (35-1) won both the state title and the national championship and Tuesday night was their 40th reunion. The current Aggies wore commemorative jerseys with the number “84″ on the sleeve to honor the team.
Kaleb Posta earned the win for Tate Tuesday night, giving up one and no runs over a complete five-inning game.
Bray Touchstone had a three-run RBI home run for the Aggies in the bottom of the fourth. Trey Rebber and Madox Lan both had two hits for Tate. Connor Hassell and Quiggins were back-to-back in the lineup and they both had three RBIs.
The Tate Aggies will be at West Florida on Wednesday.
Images courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tates Boys Tennis Are District Runner-ups; Two Tate Girls Finish Second
April 17, 2024
The Tate Aggies boys tennis team finished as District 3A runners-ups on Tuesday.
The Aggies boys will travel to the first round of regionals next week at Leon High School in Tallahassee.
KJ Crow and Sloane Inacio were runners up in their No. 1 girls doubles match at districts.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scruggs Goes 3-4 As Northview Beats Neal 9-1
April 17, 2024
Northview 9, W.S. Neal 1
The Northview Chiefs defeated W.S. Neal 9-1 Tuesday night in East Brewton.
Jackson Bridges earned the win for Northview, giving up one hit and one run in four innings while recording two strikeouts and one walk. Jase Portwood surrendered one hit and no runs while striking out six and walking two.
Wyatt Scruggs was 3-1 on the night with singles in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Portwood and Grayde Sheffield had multiple hits for the Chiefs. Brady Smith was 2-4 with three RBIs.
Northview will be at Milton on Friday.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Softball: WFHS Tops Tate Varsity; Tate JV Shuts Out Jags
April 17, 2024
West Florida 2, Tate 1 (8 innings)
The West Florida Lady Jags got past the Tate Aggies 2-1 in nine innings Tuesday night.
Sydney Scapin went the full nine innings, giving up two hits and no runs while striking out 19 and walking one.
Kate Balagbagan went eight innings in the circle for Tate, surrendering no runs on five hits, walking one and striking out four.
Amburleigh Larid and Kara Wine both had one hit for Tate.
Ava Scapin was 3-4 at the plate for WFHS. Macey Vegas went 2-3.
Tate will host Pace on Thursday.
Tate 6, Pace 0 (JV)
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Bermúdez Brilliant As Blue Wahoos Start Extended Homestand In Memorable Style
April 17, 2024
The Blue Wahoos began their longest homestand of the season in a special way.
Jonathan Bermúdez helped make sure of it.
With one of the best starts of his professional career, Bermúdez dazzled with five no-hit innings, pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth, then watched three scoreless innings by three relievers as the Blue Wahoos beat the Rocket City Trash Pandas 1-0 before a crowd of 3,008 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It was fun to be on the mound (Tuesday), I’ll tell you that,” said Bermúdez, a left-hander who joined the Blue Wahoos in May last season after being released from the San Francisco Giants’ Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento.
After losing five of six road games last week at Montgomery, the Blue Wahoos continued their amazing success against Rocket City, the Los Angeles Angels affiliate. The Blue Wahoos are now 17-2 against the Trash Pandas in Pensacola, 27-6 overall against them.
This game was played in just two hours, 15 minutes. It began a stretch of 12 games in 13 days at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“It’s good to be home,” said Bermúdez, a Puerto Rico native who can speak English and Spanish fluently. “After a tough week, it’s good to start like this. “I think this team is really good. We showed it (Tuesday). The bats are going to get going. I trust our bats.
“Our bullpen is our forte. This week is going to be fun. We started it the right way.”
The game’s only run was produced with one blast. Designated hitter Zach Zubia led off the fourth inning with a no-doubter home run over the left field wall off a fastball that exited his bat at 112 mph.
But from that point, Rocket City starter Caden Dana, a 20-year-old from Warwick, New York, who is the No. 2 rated prospect in the LA Angels minor league system. Rocket City (5-5) has all four of the Angels’ top-rated prospects on this team.
Bermúdez wowed through five innings, facing only the minimum 15 batters with seven strikeouts and only one ball hit to the outfield on a flyout to centerfield.
Amazingly, the only baserunner he allowed in that span was the game’s first batter.
He plunked centerfielder Nelson Rada on his second pitch. Rada, an 18-year-old Venezuela native, is the Los Angeles Angels’ No. 1 prospect. Bermúdez then erased him on a pickoff. And from that point, it was perfection through the fifth inning.
With one out in the sixth inning, the Trash Pandas’ first hit was produced by a former Blue Wahoos player. Catcher Caleb Hamilton, 29, who played in Pensacola during the 2019 season as a Minnesota Twins prospect, laced a no-doubt single through into center field to break up the no-hitter.
And then it got dicey.
The next batter, Arol Vera, doubled down the third base line to put runners on second and third. Bermúdez then walked Rada on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases.
Bermúdez dug in and stuck out shortstop Kyren Paris, the LA Angels’ No. 3 rated prospect, on a swing-and-miss fastball. He threw a slider to get Sam Brown to fly out to center and end the inning.
From that point, the Blue Wahoos bullpen shined. Josan Méndez, newcomer Raffi Vizcaíno, who joined the team Tuesday and was hitting near 100-mph with his fastball, along with closer Austin Roberts combined for three shutout innings. They combined for six strikeouts, no hits, no walks.
Vizcaíno and Roberts struck out all six batters they faced in a dominating end to the game.
GAME NOTABLES
The National Anthem was brilliantly performed Tuesday by Jessica Voigt, a Blue Wahoos group sales intern and UWF senior, who filled in when the scheduled singer could not make it.
WANT TO GO?
WHO: Rocket City Trash Pandas vs. Blue Wahoos.
WHEN: Wednesday, 6:05 p.m.
Gilman Throws Northview Softball Shut Out Of Baker; Northview Baseball Beats Neal
April 16, 2024
SOFTBALL
Northview 12, Baker 0
The Northview Lady Chiefs shut out Baker 12-0 Monday night in Baker.
In a game that ended at five innings under the mercy rule, Jamison Gilman earned the win for Northview, giving up no hits and no runs while striking out six and walking two.
K Langham went 2-2 with one RBI for the Lady Chiefs while Avery Stuckey was 1-4 with three RBIs. Gilman was 2-3 with an RBI, and Chloe Ragsdale went 2-4.
Next, Northview will host Jay at 6 p.m. Thursday and Crestview on Friday.
BASEBALL
Northview 8, W.S. Neal 1
The Northview Chiefs beat W.S. Neal 9-1 Monday night in East Brewton.
Jackson Bridges earned the win for the Northview Chiefs, giving up one hit and one run in four innings, walking one and striking out two. Jase Portwood threw three innings with no runs in relief. Portwood surrendered one hit, striking out six and walking two.
Brady Smith went 2-4 at the plate for the Chiefs with three RBIs. Grayden Sheffield was 2-4 with one RBI, and Wyatt Scruggs was 3-4 with an RBI. Jayden White, Portwood and Bridges also added hits.
Northview will travel to L.E.A.D. Academy in Pace at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Molino 8U Softball Sweeps Both Brackets At GCGSA Mid-Season Tournament
April 16, 2024
Two Molino 8U softball teams swept both brackets at the GCGSA Mid-Season Tournament championship in Pace.
Coach Weaver and his 8U Molino Marlins went undefeated to win their bracket, while Coach Cutler and his 8U Sassy Sluggers went undefeated to win their bracket this past weekend.
Pictured top: Tournament champions Molino 8U Sassy Sluggers (above) and the 8U Molino Marlins (below). Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century 10U Lady Legends Win Mid-Season Tourney; 12U Takes Second
April 15, 2024
The Century 10U Lady Legends went 5-1 and won the GCGSA Mid-Season Tournament championship in Pace.
The team lost their first 10U “A” bracket game Thursday night before a five-game winning streak, including topping Molino Dirt Road Divas twice for the title.
The Century 12U Lady Legends took second in the tournament as they prepare for the second half of the season.
Pictured top: Century 10U Lady Legends. Pictured below: Century 12U Lady Legends Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
