Tate Drops Regional Final To Nease In 10
May 25, 2017
The Tate Aggies fell in extra innings Wednesday to the Nease Panthers in the Region 1-7A Final.
The lead passed back and forth between Tate and Nease (Ponte Vedra, FL), with the Panthers prevailing 5-4 on a single in the top of the tenth.
The Aggies took an early lead in the second inning. Hunter NeSmith’s sacrifice fly scored one run for Tate. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Tate tied things up at four when NeSmith drove in one when he doubled.
Logan McGuffey took the loss for Tate. He went four innings, giving up one run, two hits, striking out four, and walking zero.
For Tate — Reid Halfacre 3-5, 2B; Logan Blackmon R; Kyler Hultgren 1-3; Michael Potts 2 R; Jesse Sherrill 1-3, R, RBI; Hunter NeSmith 1-3, 2 RBI 2B; Corben Young 1-3.
Tate was state ranked and won the Aggie Classic and the Sarasota Classic during the regular season.
Mississippi Outlasts Pensacola, 2-1
May 25, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos loaded the bases in the seventh inning with one out. But the team’s best chance to pull off a come-from-behind victory over the Mississippi Braves fell short.
Mississippi reliever Evan Phillips entered the game and forced left fielder Tyler Goeddel to line out to the shortstop and second baseman Alex Blandino to ground out to third base. The Braves went on to win, 2-1, Wednesday at Trustmark Park.
Pensacola fell to 8-9 in one-run games this season and is 25-21 on the season in a tie for first place with the Biloxi Shuckers in the Southern League South Division. Mississippi evened its record at 23-23 and is in third place.
Pensacola scored in the top of the first inning when first baseman Eric Jagielo hit a two-out single to center field that drove in Goeddel to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 1-0. The ballclub earned two of its four hits in that inning with the other hit by Blandino, who hit a sharp grounder that deflected off the shortstop’s glove into left field.
But Mississippi came right back in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back home runs by center fielder Ronald Acuna and third baseman Travis Demeritte off Pensacola ace Tyler Mahle. It was Acuna’s third homer with Mississippi and Demeritte’s seventh.
Neither team would score the rest of the way.
Mahle picked up his second consecutive loss, falling to 5-2, with a 1.72 ERA. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched six innings and gave up two runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out five.
Domingo Tapia relieved Mahle and threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no walks and striking out three.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old Mississippi starter Mike Soroka improved to 5-3 with a 2.96 ERA. The first-round pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2015 pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits, walked two and struck out a career-high 10.
The Braves bullpen pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, allowed one hit, four walks and struck out three Pensacola batters. Pensacola hitters struck out 13 times in Wednesday’s game.
Pensacola, which leads the Southern League with a 2.70 ERA, added another arm to its pitching staff Wednesday when the Cincinnati Reds promoted High-A Daytona Tortugas righty Robert Stock. Blue Wahoos catcher Garrett Boulware was returned to Daytona.
Jay Tops Northview In Spring Game (With Photo Gallery)
May 24, 2017
In Spring Football action, the Jay Royals defeated the Northview Chiefs 30-16 Tuesday night in Bratt.
This fall the Northview Chiefs will open with a Kickoff Classic game away on August 18 against Lighthouse Christian. The Chiefs will open the 2017 regular season at home against J.U. Blacksher of Uriah, AL. The Jay Royals will open their season at home against Baker on August 18 and travel to Flomaton on August 25.
The Chiefs and the Royals will meet again on October 6.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs Present Baseball Awards
May 23, 2017
The Northview Chiefs presented their annual baseball awards Monday night. Award winners included (pictured, L-R) Devin Stabler, Defensive Player and Diamond Thief Award; Blake Reid, Chief Award; Zach Payne, Offensive Award; and Daniel Mascaro, Pitching Award and Academic Achievement Awards. Not pictured: Quentin Sampson, MVP Award. Photos courtesy Ramona Preston and others for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pensacola Crushes Five Home Runs To Win Series 3-2 Over BayBears
May 23, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lineup erupted Monday with five home runs by five different hitters to tie the franchise record.
Pensacola’s a five-homer game, it’s fourth since its inaugural season in 2012, gave the club a, 9-1, victory over the Mobile BayBears and a bit of revenge for Sunday’s embarrassing loss.
Blue Wahoos shortstop Blake Trahan blasted the first homer in the fifth inning when he hit a solo shot to left field that put the Blue Wahoos on top, 2-1, for good.
The 4,333 fans at Blue Wahoos Stadium were then treated to four more blasts.
Pensacola achieved the feat three times before in games that were all on the road. The club did it twice last season on May 10 against the Chattanooga Lookouts and July 14 against the Jacksonville Suns. It hit five homers in a game for the first time in team history on Aug. 19, 2014 against Jacksonville.
The victory helped Pensacola clinch the series, 3-2, and its record improved to 25-20, and are tied again with Biloxi atop the Southern League South Division.
Trahan, ranked the 24th best prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization by MLB Pipeline.com, crushed his first homer in Double-A. In his third season in professional baseball, he has six homers.
Pat Kelly jokingly said he worries Trahan will begin swinging for the fences.
“I have to remind him offensively he’s 5-9, not 6-4,” Kelly said. “Now, he thinks he’s a home run hitter again.”
Trahan said he knows that he is not a power hitter. But the Cincinnati Reds 24th best prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.com, admitted it felt good after getting dropped from the top of the batting order to seventh after hitting .231 this season.
“It’s not my game,” Trahan said. “I’m a line drive hitter. Baseball is a game of consistency. I have to continue to try and improve my game.”
Trahan liked right fielder Aristides Aquino’s two-run home run to left field in the eighth inning that put Pensacola ahead, 8-1. Aquino pulled a low, outside slider over the fence and now has seven homers and 24 RBIs this season.
Kelly’s favorite was left fielder Tyler Goeddel’s solo bomb to left center in the sixth inning. It was Goeddel’s second homer in 13 games with the Blue Wahoos and put them ahead, 3-1.
“In this ballpark that’s a long way,” Kelly said. “It had the right spin and just kept on going.”
After Goeddel’s homer, center fielder Brian O’Grady hit a two-run homer to right field for his sixth homer of the season. It gave the Blue Wahoos a 6-1 lead. First baseman Eric Jagielo followed Aquino’s home by scorching his second homer in two games and third of the season to cap the scoring, 9-1.
Kelly said the conditions were just right for an exhibition of home run hitting. There was no wind blowing in toward home plate.
“Going into the season we thought we had a lot of power,” he said. “Up until today, we really haven’t.”
Pensacola starter Deck McGuire’s scoreless inning streak was snapped at 14.2 innings by Mobile, when McGuire gave up the only run to the BayBears with two outs in the third inning.
BayBears third baseman Andrew Daniel, who tripled to the right center gap to lead off the third inning, crossed the plate to put Mobile ahead, 1-0. Daniel came in when Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson threw to second base trying to catch Mobile shortstop David Fletcher stealing second.
McGuire has won three straight starts after Chattanooga Lookouts beat him with two outs in the sixth inning. McGuire is now 4-2 with a 2.73 ERA.
“He got ticked,” Kelly said. “His last three outings have been really good.”
Mobile starter Jake Jewell lost his perfect game and shutout in the bottom of the fourth inning. The 29th best prospect in the Los Angeles organization retired the first 10 batters of the game before second baseman Alex Blandino ripped a doubled to the left center gap. Blandino scored to knot the game, 1-1, when the next batter third baseman Josh VanMeter laced a single to right field.
The Mobile righty ended up giving up six runs in 6.2 innings, including three homers. He dropped to 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA.
Tate Regional Final Game Moved To Wednesday; Baseball Fish Fry Set
May 23, 2017
The 1-7A regional final game originally scheduled for Tuesday has been moved to Wednesday at 7 p.m. as the Tate Aggies host Nease. The change was made due to field to conditions and the current forecast for rain.
Also, a Fish Fry will be held Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. at the Tate High School baseball concession stand from 5-8 p.m. Plates will be $8 and will include fish, chips, beans, coleslaw, drink, roll and cookie. All proceeds will support the Tate Aggies baseball program.
Mobile Defeats Pensacola
May 22, 2017
The Mobile BayBears got a three-run homer by former Catholic High School catcher Wade Wass in the third inning and went on to defeat the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, 9-4, Sunday in front of 4,672 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola and Mobile are now tied, 2-2, with the final game of the series scheduled at 6:35 p.m. Monday. The Blue Wahoos fell out of first place in the South Division at 24-20 and trail the Biloxi Shuckers by one game.
Pensacola, which trailed 9-0 after four innings, avoided being shut out when first baseman Eric Jagielo crushed a two-out pitch to right field out of Blue Wahoos Stadium. His three-run homer pulled, Pensacola within, 9-3.
Blue Wahoos right fielder Aristides Aquino made the score, 9-4, in the eighth when he smacked a solo homer to left field into Pensacola Bay for his team-leading sixth homer of the season.
“We haven’t had too many of those,” Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said about being down nine runs. “We didn’t know how to act. But we didn’t give in.”
Mobile exploded for seven runs in the third and fourth inning. Three of those runs came in the third inning thanks to Wass, the designated hitter, to give the BayBears a 5-0 lead. The 25-year-old Pensacola product smacked a one-out, three-run home run into the right field berm. Wass now leads the BayBears with seven homers, with six of them coming this month.
But the BayBears weren’t finished. They piled on four more runs after two outs in the fourth inning to chase Pensacola starter Keury Mella from the game. Mobile right fielder Zach Gibbons walked with two outs and scored when the next batter, center fielder Michael Hermosillo, doubled into the left field corner to put Mobile up, 6-0. BayBears shortstop David Fletcher then drove in his third RBI of the game when he lined a single to center field to score Hermosillo, putting Mobile up 7-0.
The BayBears took a 9-0 lead when third baseman Zach Houchins drove in Fletcher and Wass when he smashed a double off the glove of Blue Wahoos center fielder Gabriel Guerrero, as he tried to chase down the ball.
Pensacola relievers gave up just one unearned run to Mobile over the final 5.1 innings. Alex Powers worked 3.1 innings out of the bullpen and gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three.
Kelly said Powers’ innings were critical with reliever Ismael Guillon advancing to Triple-A Louisville Bats, and Jake Ehret going to High-A Daytona Tortugas.
“We were a little shorthanded in the bullpen,” Kelly said.
Pensacola did load the bases with no outs in the second inning on Mobile starter Osmer Morales but came away with nothing. Morales struck out Blue Wahoos shortstop Blake Trahan and then catcher Joe Hudson hit a sharp line drive to Mobile shortstop David Fletcher, who threw to second for an inning ending double play.
The 6-foot-3 Morales threw five scoreless innings, giving up two hits, walking two and striking out three. He picked up the win in his seventh start to improve to 2-0 with a 2.23, ERA.
BayBears Beat Wahoos
May 21, 2017
Two top pitching prospects went head-to-head and delivered the sellout Pensacola Blue Wahoos crowd exactly what they should have expected — a tight, low-scoring game.
Blue Wahoos starter Louis Castillo, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect, and Mobile BayBears starter Grayson Long, the Los Angeles Angels No. 6 prospect, dueled to a 1-0 Mobile lead at the end of seven innings.
The rain that sporadically came down during the game, poured down in the top of the ninth inning with Mobile ahead, 2-0, a runner on first base and two outs. The umpires called the game, giving Mobile a 2-0 victory after a 51 minute delay. Pensacola leads the series, 2-1.
Castillo retired 11 of 12 batters after giving up a run in the first inning to Mobile and worked out of a bases-loaded jam when he allowed three straight singles in the fifth inning after getting the first two batters out.
The 24-year-old Dominican threw 103 pitches over seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and allowing no walks. He finished his ninth start of the year with his fifth strike out of the game and pumped his fist and looked to the sky.
Meanwhile, Long retired the first eight batters of the game until Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson doubled into the right field corner in the third inning. Long gave up one other hit when shortstop Blake Trahan singled to centerfield.
Long had Pensacola base runners on first and second base in the fourth and fifth innings but escaped both innings unscathed. He threw five scoreless innings and now has not allowed a run in his two starts against Pensacola over 11 innings and given up just three hits this season. The 22-year-old Long walked three and struck out five Saturday.
Long, who made his Double-A debut against the Blue Wahoos on April 24, picked up the win, improving to 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA. Pensacola righty Castillo dropped to 1-3 with a 2.82 ERA.
Mobile scored on Castillo when BayBears leadoff hitter Zach Gibbons, who doubled and moved to third on a bunt, scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by second baseman David Fletcher. Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino threw a one hopper to the plate but Gibbons slid under the tag for a, 1-0, Mobile lead.
Mobile loaded the bases in the fifth inning with two outs but Castillo struck out Mobile left fielder Michael Hermosillo to end the scoring threat.
Pensacola dropped to 24-19 on the season. They are tied for first place in the Southern League South Division with the Biloxi Shuckers, which won, 2-0, over the Chattanooga Lookouts when rain ended that that game after five innings.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos Top The Mobile BayBears 3-2
May 20, 2017
Pensacola’s pitching staff has lead the Southern League all season and tonight’s game was no different for the Blue Wahoos. The bullpen held the Mobile BayBears to only one hit in 4.1 innings of work as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos won 3-2 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
After a quiet start of the game from both teams, the Blue Wahoos offense came to life in the bottom of the second. Right fielder Aristides Aquino started the inning with a walk and scored after a double by designated hitter Eric Jagielo.
Mobile’s starting pitcher, Alex Blackford, allowed Jagielo to advance to third on a wild pitch, his first of the year. Shortstop Blake Trahan brought home Jagielo on a single right up the middle to give the Blue Wahoos a 2-0 lead.
With two outs in the inning, catcher Adrian Nieto knocked in a double to right-center to bring home Trahan for the Blue Wahoos final run of the game. The Pensacola bats stayed hitless the reminder of the night as the Pensacola bullpen took control of the last half of the game.
Starter Austin Ross pitched a season low 4.2 innings giving up seven hits and two runs along with four walks and four strikeouts. RHP Domingo Tapia took the mound with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning and forces Mobile’s Alberto Triunfel into a groundout.
Tapia went on to pitch 2.1 hitless innings, walking only one and striking out three to earn his second win of the season.
RHP Jimmy Herget secured his 11th save of the season with 2.0 innings of solid work giving up only one hit and one strikeout.
Walk-Off Double For O’Grady As The Wahoos Beat Mobile
May 19, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos center fielder Brian O’Grady knew going up to bat that the Mobile BayBears reliever Michael Dimock likes to throw sliders.
He ripped a slider that didn’t slide for a walk-off double to right field that drove in both left fielder Gabriel Guerrero and shortstop Blake Trahan for a, 3-2, victory Thursday in front of 4,889 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
It was the third walk-off for Pensacola this season, which had a team record 12 last year. The players have nicknamed the walk-offs the “Wahoo Way.”
“In the dugout, we were joking about the Wahoo Way,” O’Grady said. “It’s not giving up until the game is over. The pressure really is on them. We’re just out there battling. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly said because Pensacola has had walk-offs so often the past two seasons, the team now expects it.
“You win as many games as we have and you start to believe it,” Kelly said. “They’re still talking about the Wahoo Way.”
O’Grady’s walk-off was set up by an amazing sacrifice bunt by Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson on an inside pitch. It moved Guerrero and Trahan to third and second base.
Kelly called it “tremendous.” O’Grady added: “Without that bunt right there, the walk-off is not possible.”
Pensacola improved to 7-8 in one run games this season and is 23-18 on the season to remain in first place in the Southern League South Division.
After earning just three hits and striking out eight times over the first seven innings, the Blue Wahoos sprung to life. Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino launched a ball deep to center field that bounced off the top of the wall 400-feet away for a triple with two outs. It drove in third baseman Josh VanMeter. The score pulled Pensacola within one run heading into the ninth, 2-1.
Aquino is 11-38, or .289, in his last 11 games with three homers and 13 RBIs. He also narrowly missed throwing Mobile right fielder Forrestt Allday, who scored Mobile’s second run, out at home with a strike in the fifth inning. Then in the sixth inning, Aquino threw to first base to almost get center fielder Michael Hermosillo out.
“Guys like him are so extraordinary to watch,” Kelly said.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos starter Tyler Mahle wasn’t so perfect against the Mobile BayBears in his second meeting against them. He allowed 12 runners on base in his six innings of work. When Mahle faced the BayBears on April 22, the 22-year-old right-hander tossed a perfect nine-inning game.
He gave up seven hits, walked three, hit a batter and gave up a fielder’s choice and allowed two earned runs Thursday.
In the third inning, he faced six batters, walking the leadoff batter and giving up two singles. Mobile left fielder Zach Gibbons line drive hit to center field scored first baseman Luis Tejada for a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, the 22-year-old right-hander walked a batter, hit another with a pitch and gave up a single. Mobile added another run when Allday, who has reached base in 23 straight games, scored on a sacrifice fly to Aquino in right field to put the BayBears up, 2-0.
It appeared Mobile would score again off Pensacola’s Mahle in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with one out. But he got Tejada to pop out to second and struck out shortstop Alberto Triunfel to get out of the jam.
“It could have been six or seven to nothing,” Kelly said. “They could have easily blown the game open. I’ve got to credit Mahle for going out there, not having his best stuff, and keeping his team in the ball game.”