Flomaton’s 3A Back Of The Year Da’Quan Johnson Commits To Troy
August 3, 2019
Flomaton High School senior Da’Quane Johnson announced Friday on social media that he has committed to the Troy Trojans as a safety.
Johnson led the Flomaton Hurricanes to the 3A station championship last season, playing mostly quarterback. He was named Alabama’s 3A Back of the Year.
“First, I would like to thank GOD for giving me the ability to play this sport! Without him I wouldn’t have the blessing I have now,” Johnson said in his announcement. “I also want to thank my head coach for helping me through this process and for being a great male figure in my life! From taking me to camps, making sure I’m accountable for anything I do, and for teaching me how to be a better man! Also a big thank you to all the coaches that believed in me to play at the next level, but at the end it comes down to One school that I feel like I can be the best I possibly can be and that is at Troy University.”
Last season for Flomaton, he completed 93-of-177 passes for 1,965 yards and 23 TDs. He rushed for 2,411 yards and 30 TDs on 304 carries, according to AL.com. In the championship game against Piedmont, Johnson carried the ball 43 times — a Super 7 record — and was named MVP. He also made 37 tackles on defense last season and had four interceptions.
Flomaton Coach Doug Vickery said Johnson picked Troy over South Alabama, Southern Miss, UAB, Tulane, Army, Florida Atlantic and others.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Wahoos Stop The Jumbo Shrimp 1-0
July 31, 2019
On a night when Jacksonville’s stadium was virtually empty, the scoreboard was filled with zeroes, the Blue Wahoos reversed the previous game’s storyline with their 1-0 win against the Jumbo Shrimp.
Only two fans, Josh Ribeiro Sr. and his son Josh Ribeiro Jr., watched the game in a special partnership with Dreams Come True of Jacksonville. It is a wish granting organization and the wish Josh Ribeiro Jr. wanted.
Like any other game, The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville was staffed with concessions, food and drink vendors walking the ballpark, team promotion staff and the press box.
But only the Ribeiros were in the stands.
The official attendance was listed at 2 in the recorded box score, setting a Southern League all-time record. In this case, however, it was by design.
The special game experience, entitled “Literal 2 For Tuesday,” was sponsored by Community First Credit Union of Jacksonville and the Dreams Come True foundation.
The Blue Wahoos’ win, one night after a 1-0 loss, clinched the team’s first road series win since May 15 when the Blue Wahoos won three of five games against the Chattanooga Lookouts, now the Cincinnati Reds affiliate. The Blue Wahoos (57-51 overall) and Jumbo Shrimp (50-58) conclude their series Wednesday night.
The Ribeiros watched both teams’ pitching staffs dominate for a second consecutive night.
The Blue Wahoos’ Edwar Colina, making his third start since being promoted from Advance-A Fort Myers Miracle on July 11, had his second consecutive outing without allowing a run.
Colina (2-0) worked 5.2 innings, giving up just three hits, one walk and striking out seven batters to earn a second straight win. He’s now pitched 12.2 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.08.
Colina was followed by relievers Gabriel Moya, who earned his second hold, and Alex Phillips, who picked up his third save. The duo combined for 3.1 perfect innings, facing the minimum 10 batters.
Moya struck out former Blue Wahoos star Lewin Diaz to end the sixth inning with Jacksonville’s Anfernee Seymour stranded at third base.
Diaz, traded Saturday to the Miami Marlins organization in a deal that sent Marlins’ veteran major league reliever Sergio Romo to the Minnesota Twins, continued to struggle since switching dugouts in Jacksonville. Diaz went 0-for-4 and has not had a hit since joining the Jumbo Shrimp.
In the ninth inning, Phillips struck out Diaz for the game’s final out.
The game’s only run was provided by Blue Wahoos’ first baseman Ryan Costello, who smashed a one-out, solo homer in the fifth inning. The Blue Wahoos were held to four hits, Jacksonville had three in an identical box score reversal from Monday’s game.
Trevor Larnach, Jimmy Kerrigan and Jordan Gore had the Blue Wahoos’ other three hits, all singles.
The Jumbo Shrimp received outstanding games from starter Kolton Mahoney (4-1), who went six complete innings, allowing the three hits, three walks and striking out four, along with relievers Jordan Guerrero and Chad Smith, who allowed just one hit, one walk in the last three innings.
The Blue Wahoos win, coupled by the Biloxi Shuckers’ loss Tuesday, moved Pensacola (19-19 second half) to within four games in the second half chase in the South Division. The Blue Wahoos lead the Mississippi Braves by 4.5 games in the overall standings for second-best record.
If Biloxi wins both half-season division crowns, the second-best team makes the playoffs.
The Blue Wahoos will open a five-game homestand Thursday against the Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox affiliate, who are battling for the North Division title, trailing the Montgomery Biscuits.
Carter, Fleming Named Tate Varsity Cheer Captains
July 30, 2019
Bailey Carter (pictured left) and Shelby Fleming have been named Tate High School varsity cheer captains for the 2019-2020 season. They are seen with their state championship rings from last season. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Seven-Game Win Streak Ends In Pitching Duel
July 30, 2019
With his latest gem, Miami Marlins top prospect Sixto Sanchez put a chill Monday night to the Blue Wahoos’ hot bats and season-best win streak.
Sanchez, 20-year-old right-hander with a rising future, worked six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, for a second consecutive shutout outing, this one leading the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 1-0 victory against the Blue Wahoos at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The result ended the Blue Wahoos seven-game win streak despite getting outstanding pitching of their own.
Bryan Sammons, who allowed just three hits and a run in 4.2 innings, absorbed the hard-luck loss. Relievers Anthony Vizcaya and Tom Hackimer followed Sammons and yielded just one hit, no walks.
For the first time in a week, the Blue Wahoos were unable to supply enough offense.
They were held to just three hits, one of those a double by newcomer shortstop Royce Lewis, the Minnesota Twins’ consensus top overall prospect.
In a strange twist, Lewin Diaz, who began the series Saturday with the Blue Wahoos (56-51 overall) as their popular first baseman, then was traded to the Marlins organization during Saturday’s game, played first base Monday for the Jumbo Shrimp. He went 0-for-4 in the game, his first as opposing player.
Diaz was part of a trade that sent Miami Marlins’ top reliever Sergio Romo to the Twins, along with minor league pitching prospect Chris Vallimont, in exchange for the left-handed, power-hitting Diaz.
When the trade was finalized Saturday, it happened right before Diaz was due up at the plate for the Blue Wahoos in the seventh inning. Knowing what was going on, Blue Wahoos’ Ivan De Jesus Jr., a major league veteran seeking to make a comeback, alertly grabbed a bat and stepped out to the plate as a pinch-hitter.
Diaz at that moment was suddenly ineligible to play for Pensacola. He was not in the lineup Sunday for Jacksonville.
Sanchez (7-4, 2.96 ERA), the No. 1 rated Marlins prospect by MLB Pipeline, allowed just two hits and a walk in his outing. It followed a seven-inning shutout he weaved six days earlier against the first place Biloxi Shuckers.
Two Jumbo Shrimp relievers, Tommy Eveld and Dylan Lee followed. They combined to allow just one hit, one walk. Lee picked up his 12th save.
The game’s only run occurred in the first inning when Jumbo Shrimp designated hitter smacked a solo homer off Sammons.
In the final five innings, the Blue Wahoos had two baserunners. In the seventh, Mark Contreras led off with a walk, but was thrown out on a steal attempt at second base. In the ninth, Trevor Larnach hit a one-out single, but Lee got Ryan Jeffers to pop out and struck out Contreras to end the game.
The teams will continue the series Tuesday night.
Tate Soccer Holds Summer Camp (With Season Schedule)
July 29, 2019
Tate High School held their men’s soccer camp over the weekend in preparation for their upcoming season. The camp was for all returning Tate players and all aspiring players for the 2019-2020 varsity and junior varsity teams.
(all home games are played at Ashton Brosnaham Park)
Lewis, Duran Make Debut, Lead Blue Wahoos To Seventh Straight Win
July 29, 2019
A leap in level and first impression became memorable Sunday for shortstop Royce Lewis and pitcher Jhoan Duran, leading the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to a new high.
In their much-anticipated debuts, Lewis drove in a pair of runs with a second-inning double, narrowly missing a grand slam, going 2-for-5 and helping turn two double plays, while Duran allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings, as the visiting Blue Wahoos beat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5-0 to record their seventh consecutive win.
It’s the team’s longest win streak this season. It’s happening with a remodeled roster.
And the Blue Wahoos did it Sunday on the road against a major league pitcher.
Less than a day after being promoted from the Fort Myers Miracle, the 20-year-old Lewis was in the starting lineup and quickly wowed.
The Minnesota Twins’ overall No. 1 pick in 2017 drove a pitch from Pablo Lopez, who was on a rehab assignment start from the Miami Marlins, off the left field wall at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The almost-grand slam scored Jimmy Kerrigan and Ivan De Jesus Jr. A wild pitch from Lopez then scored Joe Cronin with the third run of the inning and provided a 4-0 lead. It forced Jumbo Shrimp manager Kevin Randel to summon the bullpen for a reliever.
Lewis singled in his next at-bat to become the Blue Wahoos’ lone multiple-hit player in the game.
The Blue Wahoos got a first inning run off Lopez, a starter in 14 games this season for Miami, on Ben Rortvedt’s two-out double scoring Trevor Larnach, who had singled.
Larnach (2018), Lewis and Alex Kirilloff (2016) currently give the Blue Wahoos the Twins’ No. 1 draft picks in the past three years.
Meanwhile, Duran was dealing on the mound. The 21-year-old righthander faced just one batter above the minimum through four innings. He recorded eight ground ball outs, including a double play that Lewis helped turn.
Duran worked five complete innings, allowing just one walk and striking out three, in addition to yielding two hits.
Three relievers followed Duran. Hector Lujan worked a scoreless sixth inning. Jonathan Cheshire, also making his Blue Wahoos debut after being with the Toronto Blue Jays organization, followed with 1.2 innings, allowing just one hit.
Alex Phillips picked up his second save after entering in the eighth inning and allowed just one hit. The Blue Wahoos picked up their fifth run in the ninth inning on Kirilloff’s two-out single to score Ryan Costello.
The win boosted the Blue Wahoos to 56-50 overall, after they fell under .500 during a six-game losing streak which preceded the turnaround. They are 18-18 in the second half and trail first-place Biloxi by five games in the Southern League South Division.
However, if the Shuckers win the second half to follow their first half division win, the other playoff spot goes to the team with the second-best overall record. The Blue Wahoos now have seven-game lead on Jacksonville in that category, five games over the Mississippi Braves.
The Blue Wahoos and Jumbo Shrimp will continued their five-game series on Monday with Bryan Sammons set to face Sixto Sanchez, the Marlins’ No. 1 overall prospect.
The Blue Wahoos return to Pensacola on Thursday to face the Birmingham Barons in a weekend series
Cleaning Up The Aggie House…And Remembering Sean Banks’ Legacy
July 28, 2019
The Tate Aggie family gathered Saturday to clean up their house and remember a lost teammate.
Volunteers worked to get Pete Gindl Stadium shining with Aggie pride before the upcoming football season. And they also installed a stadium sign remembering Aggie Sean Banks.
“I’ve done a lot of hard things in my life but hanging this particular sign today got to this old man,” said Billy Glenn Howard, Jr., “especially when I turned around and saw our Tate Aggie football team watching this being installed.”
“As the freshman Aggies watched on, they were reminded that every time they put on that uniform and step on that field,” the Tate Quarterback Club wrote on social media, “that they are DOING IT FOR SEAN! They may not have known him but we are all one AGGIE FAMILY and Sean’s legacy will forever live on in this program!
Sean Banks and his sister Antoinette McCoy — his biggest fan — were killed in a tragic car crash in January when their vehicle was hit by an alleged DUI driver on East Kingsfield Road.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
M-Braves Earn Three Game Sweep Of The Blue Wahoos
July 22, 2019
The Blue Wahoos gave themselves an early reason to believe Sunday’s game might evolve differently than others in the past week.
They staked a 3-0 lead in the third inning. It was already the most runs generated in six games. Starting pitcher Jorge Alcala was coming off two solid starts.
But it changed quickly after the Mississippi Braves scored four runs in the bottom of the third, chased Alcala, then kept on hitting into an 8-3 win and three-game sweep of the weather-shortened series in Pearl, Miss. The teams did not play Saturday night due to heavy rain in the area.
What started positive became the Blue Wahoos’ season-high, sixth consecutive loss. It was the team’s 13th defeat in the past 15 games. It has dropped the Blue Wahoos (49-50 overall, 11-18 second half) under .500 overall for the first time this season, after they won the first three games to start the 2019 season in April.
The M-Braves (46-52, 13-16), got a career-high eight innings pitched from starter Joey Wentz, plus bashed a season-high 18 hits against five Blue Wahoos pitchers. The M-Braves won their fourth consecutive game.
The Blue Wahoos will now try to shake this slide at home Monday when beginning a five-game series against the Mobile BayBears.
It will be the BayBears final appearance in Pensacola as a franchise. The team will relocate in 2020 to Madison, Ala., just outside of Huntsville, changing into the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
The M-Braves launched their offense Sunday without a home run and only two extra-base hits among the 18 they produced. Six of the batters in the lineup had multiple hits, led by catcher William Contreras, who went 4-for-5 with three RBI in the first 4-hit day of his Double-A career.
Earlier in Sunday’s game, however, it was the Blue Wahoos with a busy day at the plate. In the first inning, Alex Kirilloff single, then went to second after Trevor Larnach was hit by a pitch from Wentz.
Lewin Diaz followed with an RBI single. Caleb Hamilton hit a sacrifice fly to score Larnach. After a wild pitch sent Diaz to second, Mark Contreras lined out to first base to end the inning.
In the top of the third, Larnach blasted his first Double-A home run on a deep shot over the center field wall, giving the Blue Wahoos a 3-0 lead.
The good vibe changed when four of the first five M-Braves batters reached base in the bottom of the third. Alejandro Salazar started the rally with a lead off triple, then scored on Ray-Patrick Didder’s single.
Drew Waters following a one-out single to score Didder. After Ryan Casteel walked and Contreras made his only out in the game on a fly out, Alcala (5-7, 6.36 ERA) was lifted for Anthony Vizcaya.
He was promptly greeted by two consecutive RBI singles and a walk to drive in two runs. Salazar came back around to bat and laced a hard liner that Larnach caught in right field to end the inning.
The score stayed 4-3 in the M-Braves favor until they scored a run in the sixth. Contreras’ RBI single provided a 5-3 lead. In the seventh, the M-Braves forced the Blue Wahoos to use two relievers in the inning, as they scored three more runs.
The Blue Wahoos were held to five hits, one walk by Wentz (5-7, 4.26 ERA), who struck out five.
Kirriloff went 2-for-4 to boost his average to .281 and was the only Blue Wahoos batter with multiple hits.
The Blue Wahoos will begin the homestand with Mobile on Monday.
Northview’s Stadium Prepped For Football Season With Help From EREC, Century Correctional
July 21, 2019
Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium at Northview High School got a good cleaning Saturday in preparation for the upcoming football season.
The Northview Quarterback Club had help from Escambia River Electric Cooperative and inmates from the Century Correctional Institution (no students were on campus at the time).
The Chiefs hit the road August 16 for a kickoff classic game at Baker. They will be at home to open the regular season on August 23 against Lighthouse Christian.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Monday Deadline To Register To Tate Men’s Soccer Camp
July 21, 2019
Monday is the deadline to register for the 2019 Tate High School Men’s Soccer Camp in order to receive a camp t-shirt.
The camp is for all returning Tate players and all aspiring players for the 2019-2020 varsity and junior varsity teams. Camp will be held July 26-28 from 8 a.m. until noon as Ashton Brosnaham Park. The cost is $100.
For a registration form, click here.
