Wahoos Drop Second Game To Mobile
July 6, 2016
The Mobile BayBears scored seven runs in the first two innings and handed the Pensacola Blue Wahoos its fourth straight loss, 10-0, Tuesday at Hank Aaron Stadium.
The BayBears jumped on starting pitcher Rookie Davis, one of the Blue Wahoos most consistent starters this season, with four runs in the first inning. Davis entered the game 6-2 with a 2.67 earned-run average and 1.08 WHIP.
Davis allowed all seven runs, four earned on nine hits and one walk in two innings. His record dropped to 6-3 and his ERA rose to 3.14.
Pensacola, which won the first half, fell into last place in the Southern League South Division in the second half at 4-8. The Blue Wahoos are now 18-23 on the road this season.
Meanwhile, Mobile starting pitcher Josh Taylor, 1-0, pitched a complete game shutout giving up just three hits to Pensacola. He struck out five and gave up no walks.
Mobile sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning. The first run scored when BayBears first baseman Kevin Cron singled to left field to score second baseman Jamie Westbrook. Pensacola’s Davis then walked right fielder Stewart Ijames with the bases loaded to score left fielder Kevin Medrano to put the BayBears ahead, 2-0. Mobile center fielder Tom Belza then doubled with two outs driving in Cron and third baseman Travis Denker to put the BayBears up, 4-0.
In the second inning, Davis got the first two batters of the inning out. However, Medrano singled, stole second and then Cron drove him in with a single to right field for a 5-0 lead. Denker doubled to put runners on second and third and they were both driven in by Ijames single up the middle to take a 7-0 lead.
Mobile just kept piling on the runs, going up, 8-0, in the sixth inning when Medrano reached on an infield single with two outs and scored on a wild pitch by Blue Wahoos reliever Evan Mitchell.
In the seventh, Ijames and Mobile catcher Oscar Hernandez hit back-to-back solo homers to start the seventh. It was Ijames’ 10th homer of the year and Hernandez’s fifth homer of the season.
Results: Jay’s Celebrate Freedom 5K Run/Walk
July 5, 2016
Almost 100 runners took part in the 17th Annual Celebrate Freedom 5K Run/Walk Monday morning in Jay. Proceeds from the event benefit the Jay Volunteer Fire Department and other local charities.
Results were as follows:
Wahoos Lose Third Straight
July 5, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost its third straight game to the Mobile BayBears, 7-3, on Independence Day at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Mobile gave veteran minor league pitcher Ryan Kussmaul his first start for the BayBears and the 42nd round draft pick by the Florida Marlins in 2006 delivered.
The 6-foot-4 righty, who has played for independent and Mexican League teams gave up one run in 5.1 innings on five hits and two walks, while striking out six. He is now 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
Meanwhile, Tyler Mahle earned his first loss in three starts to drop to 2-1 with a 4.91 earned-run average. The Cincinnati Reds No. 11 prospect according to MLB.com pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five runs to Mobile on six hits and two walks, while striking out three.
Mahle entered the game 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA with 16 strikeouts in two five inning starts.
Mobile scored first in the second inning when its third baseman Travis Denker walked to start the inning and moved to third on a single to right field by second baseman Jamie Westbrook. He put the BayBears ahead, 1-0, when right fielder Stewart Ijames grounded out into a force play.
Denker, who was 0-1, walked three times and scored each time for Mobile.
Mobile added two more runs in the third inning, with the rally starting when shortstop Ildemaro Vargas singled on a bunt back to the mound. Then with two outs, Mobile first baseman Kevin Cron smacked a two-run homer to left field, his 12th homer of the season, to put the BayBears up, 3-0.
Vargas finished the game 4-5 scored once and drove in one run.
Mobile pitcher Kussmaul then helped himself by hitting a double to right field that drove in Ijames to give Mobile a 4-0 lead.
That lead increased to 5-0 in the fifth inning when Mobile’s Iljames singled to right field to score Denker a second time.
In the sixth inning, Pensacola got a run back to make the score, 5-1, when first baseman Eric Jagielo singled in center fielder Brandon Dixon. Jagielo went 3-4 and now has 18 RBIs for Pensacola.
The Blue Wahoos scored two more runs in the seventh inning. Blue Wahoos left fielder Phillip Ervin singled to center field, right fielder Sebastian Elizalde singled to right field, then third baseman Taylor Sparks singled to center field to score Ervin that pulled Pensacola within, 5-2. Pensacola second baseman Alex
Blandino then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Elizalde and make the score, 5-3.
Mobile, though, added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when pinch hitter Rudy Flories tripled with two outs to drive in Denker for a third time in the game, putting the BayBears up, 6-3.
Vargas singled in right fielder Tom Belza for the BayBears final run in the eighth inning, 7-3.
Wahoos Drop Game To Chattanooga
July 3, 2016
It looked like the Pensacola Blue Wahoos would send Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Aaron Slegers to the showers early and end his four-game winning streak in Saturday’s game.
The 6-foot-10 Slegers gave up two runs on four hits to the first five batters, including Pensacola right fielder Juan Duran’s double that he rocketed off of the left field wall that scored center fielder Jeff Gelalich and third baseman Alex Blandino.
But Pensacola ended up losing to Chattanooga, 7-3, Saturday as Slegers struck out a career-high 10 batters in front of the 20th sellout of the season of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos are in danger of losing their first series at home with a 2-2 tie with the final game scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The game will feature 20-plus minute fireworks show on July 3 for the Pensacola fans.
“It looked like we were going to get to him (Slegers) and knock him out,” said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. “Duran hit that ball as hard as you can hit a ball. But I have to give Slegers credit. He had better stuff than we thought.”
Slegers ended up working seven innings, and giving up three earned runs on seven hits and a walk. He won his fifth straight game and is now 6-4 with a 3.41 ERA.
Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Sal Romano struggled through five innings, giving up four runs, two earned in the third inning. The two unearned runs scored when Pensacola shortstop Calten Daal, who has had trouble making the throw to first base this series, threw a rocket past the first baseman.
Romano worked five innings, throwing 94 pitches total. He allowed five runs, three earned, on seven hits, two walks, while striking out five. Romano dropped to 1-9 with a 4.86 ERA.
“Nobody wants to be 1-9,” Kelly said. “He’s not giving up. He keeps going after the hitters.”
In the top of the second inning, Romano struck out the first two batters but then gave up a single to Chattanooga shortstop Leo Reginatto. Reginatto then scored from first when Lookouts catcher Stuart Turner hit a two-out double into the left field corner to pull within, 2-1.
Chattanooga scored four runs in the third inning to go up, 5-2. Lookouts first baseman Mitch Garver hit a deep fly ball to right field that scored second baseman Engelb Vielma to tie the game, 2-2. Lookouts third baseman Niko Goodrum scored on a wild pitch for a 3-2 Chattanooga lead.
Then with two outs Reginatto hit a routine grounder to Pensacola’s Daal who threw the ball away allowing both left fielder Travis Harrison and DH D.J. Hicks to score putting the Lookouts ahead, 5-2.
Pensacola pulled within, 5-3, when second baseman Zach Vincej hit a line drive into left field down the third base line to score Duran, who drew a walk.
Vincej continued his tear since the first of June, going 2-4 with a double and RBI. He is hitting .338 and now has eight of his 11 multi-hit games during that hot-hitting streak.
GAME NOTES
Hudson Smacks First Double-A Homer As Wahoos Beat TN
July 2, 2016
Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson prides himself in his defense but Friday he came through at the plate, knocking his first Double-A home run over the left field wall at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
He launched a two-out, three-run blast in the fifth inning and Pensacola held on to defeat the Chattanooga Lookouts, 10-8, Friday in front of 4,688 fans at home.
After taking a 10-3 lead, Hudson watched normally reliable Pensacola reliever Carlos Gonzalez let Chattanooga back in the game in the eighth inning. Gonzalez allowed the Lookouts to scored five runs to pull within, 10-8. Gonzalez gave up a two-run homer to left fielder Travis Harrison and got only one out before being lifted for Blue Wahoos closer Alejandro Chacin.
Chacin walked two batters putting the crowd on the edge of its seat after getting the first two outs of the ninth inning. But Chacin earned his Southern League leading 15th save.
Hudson said it felt good to “get the monkey off my back” yanking an inside fastball out of the park.
“I take pride in (my defense) more than anything. Defense come first,” Hudson said. “Offense comes after that and anything I get is a bonus.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly was thankful for Hudson’s home run that sparked the Blue Wahoos offense. Pensacola racked up 12 hits with everyone in the lineup earning a base hit.
“Hudson had a big three-run homer right there,” Kelly said. “Joe has got power we just hadn’t seen it this year.”
Hudson has mostly gotten attention for his defense in his career and this season, throwing out the most runners trying to steal second base in the Southern League. He caught two of four base stealers Friday and has thrown 22 of 50 or 44 percent out in 38 games.
He entered the 2016 season rated the best defensive catcher by Baseball America in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Hudson’s defense has always stood out, becoming a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award as the most outstanding catcher in college baseball.
“(Hudson) has a terrific throwing arm and is very accurate,” Kelly said. “He’s great to have behind the plate.”
Kelly didn’t have happy feelings about Gonzalez allowing five runs to get back into the game.
“It was pretty good for about seven innings,” Kelly said jokingly. “But you could tell right away that he wasn’t trusting his fastball. Unfortunately, we had to go to Chacin for the final five outs.”
Against Chacin, Chattanooga had the winning run on first base when he walked Lookouts slugger Daniel Palka.
Hudson said he was fine with Palka, who leads the Southern League with 20 homers and 62 RBIs, getting a free pass.
“Chacin and I have played together every year so far in pro ball,” Hudson said. “He’s the most reliable guy I’ve ever caught. He might be small but he’s not afraid of anyone. He’s made the big pitches all year and if I could have anybody I want in the game, I want Chacin right there.”
The Blue Wahoos sent all nine batters to the plate and scored five runs on five hits in the fourth inning to go ahead, 6-2. The key hit was Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson connecting on his first home run of the season over the left field wall. The two-out, three-run blast put Pensacola up, 5-2.
Pensacola had tied the game, 2-2, earlier in the fourth when left fielder Phillip Ervin smacked a low liner into left field, stole second base and scored when first baseman Ray Chang hit a high fly ball in shallow centerfield that landed in for a double when Chattanooga center fielder Niko Goodrum fell down.
The Blue Wahoos scored its sixth run of the game, 6-2, when center fielder Jeff Gelalich singled to right field to score DH Calten Daal, who got on base with his 15th infield single of the season.
Pensacola added two more runs in the fifth inning to take an, 8-2, lead when Ervin scored on Elizalde’s double to the right-center gap. Elizalde crossed the plate on the third straight hit to start the inning when third baseman Taylor Sparks singled to left field.
But Zach Vincej hit another important homer when he jacked a two-run homer over the left field wall to make it a 10-3 ball game.
Vincej went 2-3 with a home run and triple, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Vincej is hitting 24-73 or .311 in 23 games since the start of June.
Chattanooga had jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when first baseman Daniel Palka walked with two outs and then scored on catcher Mitch Garver’s seventh home run of the season for the Lookouts.
It was the first time that Pensacola starting pitcher Jackson Stephens has given up a run in the first inning this season.
But after the shaky start, Stephens settled down and at one point retired 11 in a row. Stephens worked six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out four. The 6-foot-2, 219-pound righty evened his record at 6-6 and now has a 3.28 ERA.
Join The Celebrate Freedom 5K And One Mile Fun Run In Jay
July 1, 2016
Celebrate Independence Day this year by running or walking in the 17th Annual Celebrate Freedom 5K and one mile Fun Run on Monday, July 4, in Jay.
The 5K starts at 8 a.m. with the one mile beginning at approximately 9:15 a.m..
The race starts and ends in the Jay City Park. Patriotic awards will be given in 30 different age groups. Watermelon and refreshments will be served to all participants.
The awards ceremony will be held at the park pavilion immediately following the one mile fun run. You can sign up online at www.active.com or sign up on the day of the race. Contact Race Coordinator Matthew Dobson for more information at 850-217-2603 or email rmdobson@liberty.edu.
Blue Wahoos Lose To Lookouts
July 1, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos right hander Rookie Davis had a grueling outing against the Chattanooga Lookouts on Thursday night.
Davis has nagging hip and back injuries but gritted it out and when Pensacola went to the bullpen to start the seventh, the Blue Wahoos trailed the Lookouts by one run, 2-1. However, Chattanooga tagged the Blue Wahoos relievers to go on to win the game, 7-3, in front of 4,884 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said Davis, who dropped to 6-2 with a 2.67 earned-run average, has shown some toughness this year. He came over in the trade between the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees for star closer Aroldis Chapman.
“He labored a couple of innings,” Kelly said. “But he’s amazing. He makes do and gets his innings. I don’t think he had his best stuff and I don’t think he felt that good physically today.”
Davis ended up working six innings, giving up six hits, allowing two earned runs, walking one and striking out three.
In the fourth inning, Chattanooga slugger Daniel Palka slammed his Southern League-leading 20th homer into the Hill-Kelly hill in right field for a 1-0 Chattanooga lead. Then, Lookouts shortstop Leo Reginatto hit a deep fly ball to center to score left fielder Travis Harrison to put the Lookouts up, 2-0.
Pensacola center fielder Jeff Gelalich tripled in the right field corner with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning that scored shortstop Calten Daal that pulled the Blue Wahoos within, 2-1.
Pensacola dropped to 3-4 in the second half and 43-33 overall in the Southern League South Division.
Kelly said he needs to find Gelalich more playing time. He went 2-4 with a double and triple, scored a run and knocked in another. On the season for Pensacola, he’s batting .298 in 57 at bats with six RBIs.
“Jeff has done a good job in a limited role,” Kelly said. “Every time he gets a chance, he does good things. He sparks this offense.”
The game got away from Pensacola in the seventh inning when they brought in Caleb Cotham in the seventh inning—a Cincinnati Reds’ reliever who is doing a Major League rehab for right shoulder inflammation. Kelly said they were going to give him 15-20 pitches.
He threw 18 pitches to four batters and failed to get an out, giving up three runs, two earned to the Lookouts who went ahead, 5-1.
The play that hurt Cotham the most was a routine chopper by Chattanooga center fielder Shannon Wilkerson that Daal fielded at short and then lobbed over the first baseman’s head, allowing Stuart Turner to score the first run on the inning to put the Lookouts ahead, 3-1.
Third baseman Engelb Vielma then scored for a 4-1 lead when Chattanooga second baseman Ryan Walker singled to right field. The final run scored when Chattanooga slugger Palka hit a chopper up the middle that Daal reached but he didn’t have a play, allowing Wilkerson to score and giving Chattanooga a 5-1 lead.
Wilkerson, who replaced Granite in center field in the fourth inning, then blasted a two-out, two-run homer in the eighth that put Chattanooga up, 7-1. Also scoring was Turner, who reached first on Pensacola third baseman Taylor Sparks’ high throw to first.
Blue Wahoos right fielder Sebastian Elizalde singled to right field, despite a defensive shift, that scored Gelalich that made the score, 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. Pensacola DH Juan Duran then hit a grass burner to left field to drive in Elizalde and cut the lead to 7-3.
Wahoos Shutout Chattanooga
June 30, 2016
Someone forgot to tell Tyler Mahle that the hitters in Double-A are better than the ones he dominated in Single-A.
Seemingly without a hitch, Mahle has made the mid-season jump to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos from the High-A Daytona Tortugas, so far.
In his Blue Wahoos Stadium debut, the 21-year-old Mahle showed he belongs here by throwing five scoreless innings, striking out eight, including four in a row, and pitching his way out of two bases-loaded jams.
His poise helped Pensacola win the opener of the five game series against Chattanooga, shutting them out, 3-0, in front of the Blue Wahoos 19th sellout crowd of 5,038 Wednesday.
“There’s not a huge difference but they will make you pay if you make a mistake,” Mahle said of Southern League hitters. “They’re a little more selective. They know what they want to hit. I just trust my stuff and throw strikes.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly has followed Mahle, who’s ranked the Cincinnati Reds No. 10 prospect and won the Chief Bender Award as the Reds Minor League Player of the Year last season.
“He’s been a real good pitcher. All the way through the minor leagues he has been effective,” Kelly said. “He got into a couple of jams but he did a great of pitching out of them.”
The right hander, selected in round seven of the 2013 draft, struck out four in a row and dug himself out of a two-out, bases loaded jam in the fourth inning by striking out Chattanooga first baseman D.J. Hicks on a 92 mph fastball.
In the fifth inning, the Lookouts loaded the bases with no outs but Mahle then forced leadoff hitter Zach Granite to fly out to right field and struck out both second baseman Ryan Walker and right fielder Daniel Palka, who leads the Southern League in homeruns (19) and is tied for first in RBIs (59).
His strikeout of Palka was a key point in the game. Palka was 5-17 with one home run and three RBIs in the teams’ first meeting in May. He went 1-3 with a walk Wednesday.
“I saw his bat speed and didn’t want him to run into a fastball,” Mahle said. “They had a good idea how to pitch him since he hit us pretty well last time.”
Mahle ended up working five scoreless innings, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out eight. He’s now 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA. In his two starts, Mahle has racked up 16 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched in his two starts for the Blue Wahoos. On the season, he has 92 strikeouts in 89.1 innings this season between Daytona and Pensacola.
In the first half of the 2016 season with Daytona, Mahle dominated hitters, just like he has so far in Pensacola. He allowed opponents to hit just .206 against him for the Tortugas. It included a complete game, no-hitter June 13 against Jupiter Hammerheads. He was 8-3 with a 2.50 ERA and led the Florida State League in strikeouts with 76 and innings pitched with 79.1.
Pensacola scored first when first baseman Ray Chang hit a sharp two-out line drive single to left field and then shortstop Zach Vincej followed with a double down the left field line to score Chang from first to put the Blue Wahoos up, 1-0.
Pensacola scored two more times in the fifth inning to go ahead, 3-0.
Blue Wahoos left fielder Phillip Ervin hit a screamer that went through the shortstop’s legs. Ervin swiped second for his 23 steal of the season and advanced to third when the catcher’s throw rolled into centerfield. He then scored on a wild pitch by Chattanooga starter David Hurlbut to make it a, 2-0, game.
With two outs, Brandon Dixon smacked a line drive single to left field and was driven in by Taylor Sparks triple into the right field corner to increase Pensacola’s lead to 3-0.
Ervin got on base all four times Wednesday on a double, two walks and an error. His pinch hit grand slam in the Southern League All-Star game June 21 has helped increase his confidence at the plate, he said.
“Step one is to get a hit like that to get you back on top,” Ervin said. “It felt good. It was a confidence booster to get on base all four times on hits, walks or errors.”
Pensacola also showed off some spectacular defense. Blue Wahoos center fielder Brandon Dixon chased down a liner by Chattanooga DH Stuart Turner in the right-center gap threw it to second baseman Alex Blandino, who turned and threw a bullet home to catcher Joe Hudson to get Lookouts shortstop Leo Reginatto out at home plate.
Hudson also threw out two Chattanooga base runners trying to steal second base.
“Blandino threw a tremendous relay throw to get the guy out at the plate,” Kelly said. “We depend on our pitching and defense.”
Wahoos Lose 12-1 To Tennessee In Rain Shortened Game
June 28, 2016
The Chicago Cubs still appear to have plenty of top prospects to look forward to playing for them one day, including Double-A affiliate Tennessee Smokies second baseman Ian Happ and starting pitcher Brad Markey.
Happ went 3-3, including a two-run homer and Markey threw four perfect innings as the Smokies rolled to a 12-1 victory Monday over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos at Smokies Park. The game was shortened to six innings because of rain.
The victory clinched the opening series, 3-2, of the second half of the season for Tennessee and dropped Pensacola’s overall record to 18-21 on the road. At Blue Wahoos Stadium, the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate won all seven series going 24-11.
Happ, the Cubs No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com, went 11-15, or .733 with four multi-hit games in his first five games at the Double-A level with the Smokies. The 21-year-old hit two home runs, drove in six runs and scored six times.
Meanwhile, Tennessee right hander Markey, the No. 29 prospect, threw four perfect innings, striking out two.
But Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde led off the fifth inning with a double to left field. Blue Wahoos center fielder Brandon Dixon followed with another single on a grounder to left that scored Elizalde to pull Pensacola within, 3-1 — the closest it would get to Tennessee.
Markey threw six innings, allowing four hits and one run, while striking out two. He improved to 6-3 with a 2.34 ERA.
Smokies first baseman Victor Caratini singled on a line drive to right fielder that drove in center fielder Jacob Hannemann to put Tennessee ahead, 1-0, in the first inning.
Tennessee went up, 3-0, in the third inning when Happ hit a two-run homer to right field that also scored Smokies third baseman Chesney Young, who had doubled to right field.
Tennessee then broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning sending nine hitters to the plate and scoring four times on four hits and two walks to go ahead, 7-1. The big hit came when Smokies right fielder Billy McKinney, the Cubs No. 6 prospect, drove in three runs when he tripled to right field with the bases loaded on a 1-2 count and two outs. The seventh run of the game came when Tennessee catcher Ben Carhart singled up the middle to score McKinney.
The Smokies sent 10 hitters to the plate in the sixth inning, adding five more runs to go up, 12-1. Tennessee had five singles, a double and a hit batter in the inning.
Elizalde was 5-15 in the series for Pensacola and is hitting .302 on the season. Pensacola second baseman Alex Blandino also hit well going 5-19. Blue Wahoos center fielder Phillip Ervin extended his hitting streak to five games Monday, going 5-17 during that span.
Pensacola has the day off Tuesday and then starts a five-game home series at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Tennessee Beats Pensacola 3-0
June 27, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos bats cooled down against the Tennessee Smokies starting pitcher Paul Blackburn.
Blackburn shut down the Pensacola lineup allowing just two hits in six scoreless innings, walking three and striking out five as the Smokies shut out the Blue Wahoos, 3-0, Sunday at Smokies Park.
Blackburn improved to 5-2 with a 2.35 ERA this year.
The only Pensacola hitters to earn hits in the game were shortstop Alex Blandino (1-4), center fielder Jeff Gelalich (1-3 with walk) and Phillip Ervin (1-3 with walk). They are the top three hitters in the order and Pensacola was 3-28 for the game.
Ervin singled on a bunt back to the pitcher and then stole his 22nd base of the year, which is tied for fifth in the Southern League.
The Blue Wahoos are now 2-2 in the second half and 43-31 overall.
Pensacola starting pitcher Jackson Stephens did work 5.1 innings but gave up three runs on seven hits and five walks, while striking out three. He dropped to 5-6 with a 3.19 earned-run average. James Farris relieved Blackburn and threw two scoreless innings and struck out four. The game was closed by Smokies closer Juan Paniagua, who walked one in one inning and earned his fourth save this season.
In the third inning, Tennessee second baseman Ian Happ doubled in center fielder Jacob Hannemann to put the Smokies up, 1-0.
Tennessee left fielder Trey Martin then laid down a squeeze but that scored right fielder Billy McKinney to put the Smokies ahead, 2-0.
The lead extended to, 3-0, over Pensacola when Tennessee catcher Victor Caratini walked to lead off the sixth inning. Caratini then scored on shortstop Daniel Lockhart’s ground ball single to right field.
Pensacola relievers Jacob Ehret, and Evan Mitchell pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief giving up one hit and striking out three. Tennessee pitchers combined to retire 12 Pensacola hitters in a row between the fourth and eighth innings.