Tate Aggies Holding Youth Football Camp

July 14, 2016

Tate High School will hold a youth football camp next week.

The camp will be held at Pete Gindl Stadium from 5-8 p.m. on July 18-20 for students entered grades 3-8. The camp will be directed by Tate football coaching staff along with assistance from Tate football players.

The camp will present youth with the opportunity to work on fundamentals, practice agility, run through drills and learn about being part of a team.

The youth football camp at Tate High School will be a non-contact setting.

For a registration form and additional information, click here (pdf).

Guest speaker will be Fred Robbins, for Tate High School defensive tackle. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wake Forest. He also played for the Super Bowl Champion  New York Giants and St. Louis Rams. While at J. M. Tate High School,  Robbins was a letterman in football and baseball.

Biloxi Tops Pensacola 1-0

July 14, 2016

Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Nick Travieso and Biloxi Shuckers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff dueled to a standoff for seven innings.

It was Travieso, who blinked first, when Biloxi catcher Jacob Nottingham hit a leadoff single in the eighth inning and came around to score to give the Shuckers a 1-0 victory Wednesday over Pensacola at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Woodruff allowed three hits and tied his career-high by striking out 10 Blue Wahoos batters in seven innings. Meanwhile, Travieso also blanked Biloxi for seven innings and allowed two hits with six strikeouts.

But Travieso had only 75 pitches, the Cincinnati Reds No. 9 prospect according to MLB.com, and took the mound in the eighth. That’s when Nottingham hit a soft liner to get on base, moved to second on a bunt by Biloxi third baseman Gabriel Noriega, took third on a Romano wild pitch and then scored on Shuckers second baseman Javier Betancourt’s hard line drive into left field.

Pensacola had runners get on base to lead off the sixth and eighth innings. But both times Blue Wahoos center fielder Jeff Gelalich was unable to lay a good bunt down, forcing Romano and Ray Chang out at second, respectively.

“We had two opportunities to bunt and we didn’t get the man over,” said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. “To me that’s the difference in the ball game.”

Despite allowing the run, Travieso felt positive about his performance, becoming the first Blue Wahoos starter to pitch into the eighth inning this season. He credited Pensacola pitching coach Danny Darwin for helping him with his pitching motion.

“Darwin’s been great for me,” said Travieso, who also gotten pitching advice from his dad since he was 8-years-old. “He’s a guy who pitched in the big leagues. I pick his brain and feed off him. Once I find my tempo, I can control the game.”

Kelly said the Blue Wahoo hitters struggled with Woodruff’s fastballs that reached 98 mph Wednesday.

“We haven’t see that kind of velocity from a starter,” Kelly said. “(The hitters) thought they saw the ball good but it was up and down, in and out, it wasn’t constantly in any one spot.”

Woodruff improved to 4-6 on the year with a 4.04 ERA. Travieso earned the loss falling to 4-5 with a 4.07 ERA.

Travieso has completed six innings in three of his last four starts, allowing four runs in 22 innings pitched for a 1.64 earned-run average. In his last start against Mobile, Travieso threw six scoreless innings against Mobile and gave up just two hits.

The Blue Wahoos prospect laden starting pitchers lived up to their billing against Biloxi throughout the series. Each of the five starters at least pitched into the seventh inning. Against Biloxi they totaled 35 innings pitched, 23 hits, five earned runs, two walks, 30 strikeouts and posted a 1.29 ERA, while holding Shuckers hitters to a .185 average.

“If you look at the stats we were dominating hitters,” Travieso said. “We piggy-back off of each other. The bullpen feeds off of it, too. You want to go out there and throw well.”

Pensacola won the series, 3-2, but Kelly is waiting for the team’s hitting to become more consistent. They struck out 18 times earlier in the series and 14 Wednesday.

“We’ve got the pitching. We’ve got the defense,” Kelly said. “We’re just inconsistent with our hitting right now.”

Wahoos Shut Out Biloxi

July 13, 2016

Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Sal Romano walked into the clubhouse Tuesday with a different attitude.

Entering the game 1-9 this season and 1-14 over the past two seasons with the Blue Wahoos, he figured it was time for a change.

It worked. Romano threw seven scoreless innings, allowed three hits and struck out a season-high nine batters to help the Blue Wahoos blowout the Biloxi Shuckers, 9-0, Tuesday in front of 3,323 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. It’s the largest shutout victory in franchise history.

“I came to the ballpark not thinking about anything, or the fact that I was pitching,” said Romano, ranked the Cincinnati Reds No. 15 prospect by MLB.com. “The biggest thing I did tonight was having fun and relaxing. I’m not a heavy guy. That’s not who I am.”

He also changed his walkup song to Jason Aldean’s “Lights Come On” right before the game, instead of his usual rap music that pumps him up. And he changed lockers with Pensacola center fielder Jeff Gelalich storing his gloves in Gelalich’s locker, while Gelalich put his bats in Romano’s locker.

Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly said he has to remind himself every day that Romano is only 22. He improved his record to 2-10 and lowered his ERA to 4.45 this season.

“I have to remind myself he’s just 22-years-old,” Kelly said. “I have to keep reminding myself of that fact. As he matures, he will be able to refine his stuff.”

Speaking of refining, Romano, who has a mid-90s fastball, relies more and more on his changeup. It allowed him to cruise through the first three innings without allowing a hit and striking out the side in the first inning.

The first hit of the game came when Biloxi right fielder Tyrone Taylor’s double to leadoff the fourth inning. Taylor, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 12 prospect according to MLB.com, also clobbered a two-out triple to the right center gap in the sixth inning off of Romano.

“It has become a really good pitch for me,” Romano said. “I didn’t realize how good it was. I never trusted it in any games.”

Pensacola scored five runs on five hits in the first inning, sending all nine batters to the plate. Blue Wahoos center fielder Jeff Gelalich singled on a ground ball to right field and left fielder Phillip Ervin walked. Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde tripled deep into the left center gap to drive in both Gelalich and Ervin for a 2-0 lead. Blue Wahoos third baseman then hit a grounder to left field that allowed Elizalde to cross the plate, putting Pensacola up, 3-0.

Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej then smacked a line drive to center field moving Sparks to second base. Biloxi Jorge Ortega then threw a pitch past his catcher and Sparks and Vincej moved up a bag. With two outs, Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson then lined a single to center to drive in Sparks and Vincej to complete the first inning outburst, 5-0.

Pensacola is 14-1 at home when scoring first and 29-7 overall. The team has now won eight of its nine homestands.

“It’s always nice pitching with some cushion,” Romano said.

Biloxi pitcher Jorge Ortega settled down after Pensacola mugged him for five first inning runs, finishing up his start by allowing just two more hits and getting 10 outs in a row. Ortega allowed eight runs in one inning in his last start against the Jacksonville Suns, giving him an ERA of 19.50 in his last two starts. On the year, he has a 5.06 earned-run average and a 1-8 record.

But Pensacola hitters pounded left-handed submarine Biloxi reliever Brett Lee, who played at West Florida High School in Pensacola and was drafted in the 10th round in 2011. In his hometown, Pensacola hitters lit him up in the seventh inning for four runs and three hits in 0.1 innings.

Biloxi reliever Gage Smith didn’t do much better giving up three hits, including two doubles in 1.2 innings.

The heart of Pensacola’s lineup entered the game 0-26 against Biloxi pitching this series. But they more than made up for that Tuesday, driving in six of the Blue Wahoos’ nine runs and scoring four times. Phillip Ervin, the No. 3 hitter in the lineup, was 0-3 entering the game but went 2-4, scored two runs and drove in three with a double in the seventh inning. He also stole his 26th base of the season.

Sebastian Elizalde, batting in the cleanup spot was 0-9 before Tuesday’s game. He was 1-4 with a triple in the first inning that drove in two runs and he scored once.

Taylor Sparks, the No. 5 hitter had gone 0-11, but was 1-4 with an RBI single and a run scored.

“We’ve staggered the lineup a little bit,” Kelly said. “We’re going to swing and miss but we’re also going to get a lot of hits.”

Biloxi Snaps Pensacola’s Winning Streak

July 12, 2016

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos had runners on second and third with two outs and already has a franchise record eight walk-offs this season.

“You almost expect it,” Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said. “Now we’re going to get a hit here and at least tie it up.”

But the Biloxi Shuckers hung on for a 3-1 victory Monday over Pensacola in front of 3,848 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Shortstop Zach Vincej started the bottom of the ninth inning with a single on a ground ball to left field. Joe Hudson hit a ball back up the middle that the shortstop dove and knocked down and Pensacola had runners on first and second with one out. But center fielder Jeff Gelalich hit a dribbler to first base forcing out Hudson at second.

Biloxi turned to newly acquired relief pitcher Tayler Scott who came in and went 3-2 count on Alex Blandino and struck him out to end the game.

Biloxi scored two runs in the seventh inning when second baseman Javier Betancourt doubled off of Pensacola reliever Barrett Astin on a grounder down the third base line into the left field corner that scored both catcher Jacob Nottingham and third baseman Gabriel Noriega to put the Shuckers ahead, 3-1.

Biloxi scored first when shortstop Angel Ortega smacked his first Double-A home run and second of the season in the fourth inning to put the Shuckers up, 1-0.

Pensacola tied the score, 1-1, in the fifth inning when left fielder Phillip Ervin drew a bases loaded walk that forced in Joe Hudson, who had doubled.

Blue Wahoos Jackson Stephens became the third starter in a row to last into the seventh inning, retiring eight in a row twice.

Stephens gave way to Astin after working 6.2 innings. Stephens struck out two and left runners on first and second base that Betancourt drove in. It was a hard luck loss for Stephens, who gave up five hits, no walks, three earned runs and struck out five in his outing. He fell to 6-7 on the season with a 3.44 ERA.

“Stephens has a nice four-pitch mix,” Kelly said. “He’s got a good feeling for pitching.”

Meanwhile, Biloxi pitcher Wei-Chung Wang threw six innings, allowing four hits, walking three, walking in one run and striking out four. In his last six starts, Wang is 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA. On the season he is 3-4 with a 3.54 ERA.

The Blue Wahoos had chances to score more runs but were 0-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven runners on base.

Blandino doubled to start the game but then got caught trying to steal third. In the fifth inning, first baseman Ray Chang got thrown out at home. Again in the seventh, Pensacola had runners on second and third with two outs but Phillip Ervin was robbed of a hit by a Biloxi’s leaping catch by its shortstop Ortega.

Pensacola and Biloxi, who battled it out for the first half title before the Blue Wahoos won it, are evenly matched. In three series, Pensacola has a 7-6 edge and is up 2-1 this series.

The Blue Wahoos dropped to 8-10 in the second half and 49-39 on the season in the Southern League South Division. Meanwhile, the Shuckers improved to 6-12 and 45-42.

Wahoos Win Over The Shuckers

July 11, 2016

Pensacola Blue Wahoos first baseman Eric Jagielo has struggled at the plate all year but he never stopped working on his swing.

It paid off Sunday when Jagielo hit a rocket over the head of Biloxi center fielder Brett Phillips for a walk-off single that scored Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej for a 4-3 Pensacola victory over the Shuckers in front of 3,451 at Pensacola Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Jagielo said he has worked with hitting coach Alex Pelaez and has made his swing more compact. His average has steadily risen from .146 on May 9 to .208 Sunday, which is his highest average this year for the former first round pick in 2013.

The hot-hitting Jagielo, who has played 13 games at first base after playing the position just three times before coming to the Cincinnati Reds organization, also hit his second homer in three games on Saturday. Jagielo has six homers and 21 RBIs this season.

“I’m getting back to where I was last year,” said Jagielo, who was an All-Star in his last three minor league seasons in the New York Yankees organization. “I’m hitting pitches I was missing before.”

It was Pensacola’s third straight victory and the Blue Wahoos’ eighth walk-off hit this season — a franchise record. Jagielo also had Pensacola’s last walk-off, or “Wahoo Way” as the team has dubbed it, came on Father’s Day June 19 when he singled down the line to drive in Pensacola utility player Brandon Dixon for a 2-1 victory over the Mobile BayBears.

Pensacola manager Pat Kelly likes that his hitters made the most of their opportunities Sunday. The Blue Wahoos are now 8-9 in the second half and 49-38 on the season in the Southern League South Division.

“It’s not the way we planned it, but it’s nice getting a victory in the end,” Kelly said. “The only shame is that Rookie Davis doesn’t get a W out of it.”

The Blue Wahoos also tied another less desirable franchise record Sunday by striking out 18 times in a game. The last time Pensacola had that many was June 9 in a 14-inning game against the Jackson Generals.

Davis admitted he was looking to redeem himself. Davis lasted two innings, giving up seven runs, four earned on nine hits, walked one and had no strike outs in his last start against Mobile.

Sunday, he became the third Blue Wahoos starter to pitch into the seventh inning in the last 35 games. in June and July. The last two came back-to-back after righty Tyler Mahle went seven Saturday.

Davis pitched seven strong innings. He shutout Biloxi on six hits and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 2.84.

“It was a big difference from the last game,” Davis said. “I tried to come out and pitch aggressively.”

You can’t blame Biloxi right hander Taylor Jungmann, the 12th pick overall in the 2011 draft, if he didn’t want to face Pensacola on Sunday. He had faced Pensacola three times in his career and was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA, giving up 12 earned runs in 14 innings.

Although, Biloxi’s Jungmann gave up three runs on six hits in 4.2 innings Sunday before being pulled with men on first and third, he did strike out a career-high 12 Blue Wahoos, including eight of the first nine outs.

Pensacola tagged Jungmann — who got blistered by Major League and Triple-A hitters for more than nine runs per game — for two runs in the third inning. Blue Wahoos center fielder Brandon Dixon doubled in the left center gap to score Davis and second baseman Alex Blandino for a 2-0 Pensacola lead.

Blue Wahoos Vincej hit a long fly ball off the wall for a triple to start the fourth inning. Pensacola left fielder Juan Duran then drove Vincej in to put the Blue Wahoos up, 3-0, with a deep sacrifice fly to right field that didn’t even draw a throw from the Biloxi outfielder.

Vincej went 3-4 with a triple and double, scored twice and stole his fifth base of the year. He is now 16-42 or .381 in his last 11 games and is hitting .276 on the season.

In the ninth inning, though, Biloxi pinch hitter Johnny Davis tied the game, 3-3, with a leadoff home run to right field. It was his first career home run in fourth professional season.

Biloxi had pulled within one run, 3-2, when third baseman Gabriel Noriega smacked a single up the middle that scored Phillips. Biloxi second baseman Chris McFarland then hit a chopper in front of the plate that Blue Wahoos catcher Joe Hudson decided to throw to first base and let Shuckers left fielder Garrett Cooper score.

That’s when Jagielo delivered his second Wahoo Way this season, driving in Vincej who had doubled in the ninth.

“He’s a big time player,” Davis said of his teammate. “Some guys want to step away in that situation but he’s not one of them. He’s been working hard since the first day of the first half.”

Wahoos Open Series With Win Over Biloxi

July 10, 2016

Pensacola center fielder Jeff Gelalich was called up to Double-A to be a backup player on the Blue Wahoos team.

But he created a problem for Pensacola manager Pat Kelly by hitting so well.

Now a starting outfielder for the Blue Wahoos, Gelalich smacked two doubles and drove in Pensacola’s first run of the game to propel them to a, 4-2, victory in the series opener Saturday against the Biloxi Shuckers in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Kelly said Gelalich is a good “problem” to have, hitting .321 in 32 games with five doubles, three triples, one home run and 11 RBIs.

“If you hit it doesn’t create a problem for you,” he said. “I’ll find a spot for you. At this level, if you perform, you’re going to get an opportunity to play.”

Gelalich, who was a high draft choice by the Cincinnati Reds in 2012, came into his fifth year in the minor leagues with a career .245 average. He spent three years at the Low-A Dayton Dragons before moving up to High-A Daytona Tortugas this year.

Gelalich was promoted May 15 to the Double-A Blue Wahoos after hitting .235 in 24 games for Daytona. He’s happy to have worked himself into a starting role with Pensacola.

“It’s always a goal,” said Gelalich, who was 2-4 with one RBI Saturday. “You always want to play.”

The Pensacola victory was the first time the first half South Division champions have won back-to-back games in the second half.  They moved out of the cellar and are 7-9 in the second half and 48-38 on the season.

The Blue Wahoos scored first in the third inning when catcher Jose Duarte scored on a double by Gelalich off the right field wall for a 1-0 lead. Then pitcher Tyler Mahle scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by second baseman Alex Blandino to go up, 2-0.

“I’m just trying to hit the ball hard and not do too much with it,” Gelalich said.

Pensacola first baseman Eric Jagielo hit a deep solo shot to right center field to lead off the fifth inning and put Pensacola ahead, 3-0. It was Jagielo’s second homer in three games and sixth on the season.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Pensacola shortstop Zach Vincej smashed a line drive into right center field for a stand up double. Right fielder Juan Duran then hit a zinger past the third basemen into left field that scored Vincej, giving the Blue Wahoos a 4-0 lead.

Biloxi first baseman Nick Ramirez crushed the ball deep over the scoreboard in right field to end Mahle’s scoreless inning streak in the seventh inning and pull the Shuckers within, 4-1.

Shuckers left fielder Johnny Davis hit a grounder into right field to start the eighth and advanced to third base on Biloxi right fielder Tyrone Taylor’s single to center. Davis scored when Brett Phillips grounded out into a double play to pull Biloxi within, 4-2.

Pensacola righty Mahle rebounded from his worst outing in three starts with Pensacola when he gave up five earned runs to Mobile in 4.2 innings, the shortest of his three starts.

He gave up just one run on a solo dinger, five hits, one walk and struck out five. Mahle improved his Pensacola record to 3-1 with an earned run average of 3.74.

Kelly said he has liked what he has seen out of the 21-year-old pitcher.

“He had a good fastball and spotted it where he wanted to,” Kelly said. “That was a quality seven innings.”

Blue Wahoos Take Series Finale Over Mobile

July 9, 2016

Pensacola Blue Wahoos right-hander Nick Travieso pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits to the Mobile BayBears to win his first game Friday in eight starts.

Plus, Blue Wahoos catcher Jose Duarte and pinch hitter Calten Daal both smashed their first Double-A home runs as Pensacola won, 4-3, at Hank Aaron Stadium.

Pensacola captured the final to take two of the five games in the series against Mobile. The Blue Wahoos start a five-game series at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against the Biloxi Shuckers, who Pensacola beat for the first half Southern League South Division title.

Travieso, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, earned his first victory since May 17 when he shut out Mississippi over seven innings. Travieso improved to 4-4 in his first season with the Blue Wahoos and lowered his ERA to 4.35.

In his last four starts, Travieso has allowed just four runs in 22 innings for a 1.67 ERA.

Pensacola closer Alejandro Chacin pitched the final two innings, allowed two hits and struck out three for his Southern League-leading 16th save on the year.

Travieso got all the run support he needed from two unlikely hitters in Pensacola’s offense, which scored three runs in the second. Pensacola catcher Jose Duarte clobbered a two-out, three-run homer in the inning for his first Double-A homer and first RBIs.

Duarte, who was called up on July 2 from Low-A Dayton Dragons, was playing in only his third Double-A game. He has a career .222 batting average in six minor league seasons with the Reds organization and hit two homers in a season once.

In the top of the seventh inning, Pensacola pinch hitter Calten Daal smacked a solo homer to give the Blue Wahoos a 4-0 lead. It was Daal’s first Double-A blast and second in 912 professional at-bats through his first four seasons in the minors.

Daal, who is hitting .310 for Pensacola, proved to hit the game-winner when Mobile came back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to pull within, 4-3.

The BayBears first run scored when catcher Matt Jones hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in BayBears left fielder Rudy Flores. Pinch hitter Travis Denker then singled to drive in second baseman Jamie Westbrook with the second run of the inning. The third run scored when Mobile shortstop Ildemaro Vargas doubled to right field to score right fielder Tom Belza.

The BayBears Denker also tried to score and tie the game on Vargas’ double. But Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde threw to shortstop Zach Vincej, who relayed a strike home to Duarte to catch Mobile’s Denker out at the plate to end the inning.

Wahoos Rally Falls Short

July 8, 2016

Pensacola Blue left fielder Phillip Ervin smacked a two-run homer in the ninth inning with no outs to pull Blue Wahoos within one run but fell short in its comeback attempt.

The Mobile BayBears held on for a, 4-3, victory Thursday over Pensacola at Hank Aaron Stadium.

The winning hit ended up being first baseman Rudy Flores two-out solo homer to right field off of Pensacola closer Carlos Gonzalez in the eighth inning that gave the BayBears a 4-1 lead.

Mobile jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning Thursday. It was the fourth game in a row that the BayBears scored first against Pensacola. In the five-game series, the BayBears led 5-0 Monday, 7-0 Tuesday and 3-0 Wednesday.

Pensacola, which scored 10 runs on 16 hits Wednesday, managed just four hits in Thursday’s game, two coming in the ninth on center fielder Jeff Gelalich’s single and Ervin’s home run.

Mobile third baseman Travis Denker walked to lead off the second inning and first baseman Rudy Flores singled to left field. Then Sal Romano struck out the next two batters. But with two outs, left fielder Chuck Taylor doubled to drive in both Denker and Flores for a 2-0 lead. BayBears pitcher Taylor Clarke then helped himself with a single to center field that scored Taylor to go up, 3-0.

Pensacola finally scored off of Mobile starter Taylor Clarke in the eighth inning to pull within, 3-1. Blue Wahoos third baseman Taylor Sparks scored on a wild pitch after striking out but reaching first when the third strike got past Mobile catcher Oscar Hernandez.

The BayBears righty, who was making his seventh start for Mobile, worked a season-high eight innings, giving up one run on two hits and struck out a season-high 10 batters. Clarke improved his record to 3-4 with a 3.80 earned-run average.

Mobile clinched the five-game series, going up 3-1. The BayBears also evened their second half record to 7-7 (39-45). Pensacola, which won the first half Southern League South Division title, fell to 5-9 (46-38) and last place in the South.

Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos starter Sal Romano pitched 6.1 innings, his longest outing since he pitched seven innings against the Birmingham Barons on May 26. He gave up three runs on six hits and one walk, while striking out seven. Romano fell to 1-10 with a 4.81 ERA on the season.

Pensacola Wahoos Snap Losing Streak Against Mobile Baybears

July 7, 2016

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos snapped its four game losing streak Wednesday with a 10-4 victory over the Mobile BayBears at Hank Aaron Stadium.

Pensacola got solo home runs by center fielder Jeff Gelalich, his first in Double-A, first baseman Eric Jagielo, who hit his fifth homer this season, and shortstop Zach Vincej, who smacked his third.

After being shut out the night before by Mobile, Pensacola broke out with 10 runs and 16 hits. Five Blue Wahoos had multi-hit games, including Gelalich (3-5, two runs and three RBIs), left fielder Phillip Ervin (3-5, two runs), second baseman Brandon Dixon (3-4, two RBIs), Vincej (2-4, one run, one RBI) and catcher Jose Duarte (2-5 with two runs).

Pensacola broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. The Blue Wahoos loaded the bases when Duarte, Gelalich and Ervin all singled. Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde walked to score Duarte and put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 4-3. Pensacola’s Gelalich scored on a passed ball to put the Blue Wahoos up, 5-3. Pensacola took a 6-3 lead when Dixon hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Ervin.

In the eighth inning, Pensacola added four more runs to go ahead 10-3. Vincej hit a homer over the left field wall to lead off the inning. Pensacola then loaded the bases on singles by pinch hitter Calten Daal and Duarte and Ray Chang got hit by a pitch. Gelalich doubled to score Daal and Duarte to increase Pensacola’s lead to 9-3. Chang scored on a wild pitch to put the score at 10-3.

Blue Wahoos pitcher Jackson Stephens gave up three runs on two hits in the first inning to Mobile. But after that he allowed one more hit, walked five and struck out two in five innings of work.

But Barrett Astin, who threw two scoreless innings and struck out three, got the victory to improve to 6-2 and owns a 2.93 ERA.

Pensacola knotted the score, 3-3, in the fourth inning on Jagielo’s homer to left field.

The Blue Wahoos had scored two runs in the third inning when Gelalich hit a solo home run to right field with two outs. Gelalich has hit his way into the starting lineup batting .320 with one homer and 10 RBIs. Pensacola’s Dixon doubled in Ervin to pull the Blue Wahoos within, 3-2.

The Mobile BayBears, like the game before, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. BayBears second baseman Kevin Medrano doubled in center fielder Evan Marzilli on a line drive to left fielder to put Mobile up, 1-0. Mobile first baseman Kevin Cron hit a sacrifice fly to right field that drove in shortstop Ildemaro Vargas to put BayBears ahead, 2-0. Then BayBears left fielder Rudy Flores hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Medrano to make the score, 3-0.

Register Now: Former NBA Coach To Lead Bratt Basketball Camp Next Week

July 6, 2016

The First Baptist Church of Bratt will host a basketball camp next week with a former NBA, college and high school coach.

The camp for children ages 8-14 will be held  July 11-15 from 9 a.m. until noon at the church. Coach Roger Dutremble of Global Sports Outreach will teach kids the fundamentals of basketball and Biblical awareness.

“We are fortunate to get someone of Coach Roger’s talents and achievements to head up this camp” said First Baptist Bratt Student Pastor Tim Hawsey. “He has a unique ability to deal with children, and his love for them is evident.”   This is the fifth year the church has offered this camp.

Dutremble is a a retired coach and member of the International Basketball Hall of Fame. He  career includes coaching at every level from high school to the NBA, and into international arenas, with a lifetime coaching record of 687-117 and seven national championships. He was selected “Coach of the Year” six times, and served as national team head coach to Belgium, Scotland, and Jordan. He was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, serving under Paul Westhead and Pat Riley, from 1979-83 and helping the team to three NBA championships with players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The cost is $45 per student with a limited number of scholarships available. The funds are used exclusively to purchase shoes and basketballs for needy children in other countries where Dutremble conducts camps.

“One of the many things that blesses me about the camp is coach does not receive any salary,” FBC Bratt Student Pastor Tim Hawsey said. “The $45 registration fee will actually be used to purchase shoes and basketballs for children in other countries that do not even own a pair of shoes. Coach Roger will go to those countries and conduct basketball camps and leave the equipment with the children. Some of the children walk four or five miles just to attend his camps. So, we not only benefit  from learning about basketball, but we are able to participate in missions, too. And, our church receives nothing from the $45, it all goes to Global Sports Outreach. We just have the joy of seeing children learning about basketball and Jesus at the same time.

All children participating in the camp will receive a certificate of completion and a  t-shirt from Dutremble. For registration information, contact Hawsey or Sherrye Gilman at (850) 327-6529 or stop by the church on Highway 4 just west of Northview High School.

Scholarships are available if the $45 registration fee per child is not financially possible for a family.

Pictured: Students that participated in a previous basketball camp at the First Baptist Church of Bratt. Inset: Coach Roger Dutremble of Global Sports Outreach. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.

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