Jackson Gets 8-4 Win Over The Pensacola Blue Wahoos
June 9, 2016
All night Wednesday Jackson Generals DH Tyler O’Neill delivered and he did it again in the ninth inning when he hit a two-out, walk-off grand slam against Pensacola Blue Wahoos closer Carlos Gonzalez.
The Southern League Player of the Month for May drove in all eight of Jackson’s runs in its, 8-4, victory over Pensacola at The Ballpark in Jackson.
O’Neill entered the game going 1-9 with one run, a walk, one RBI and a strikeout in the series. But Wednesday, the 20-year-old was 3-4 with a run scored, a double and a home run. He’s now batting .332 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs on the season. He is second in homers and batting average and first in RBIs in the Southern League.
Both teams were tied, 4-4, after the first five innings. But both team’s relievers buckled down. Barrett Astin and Nick Routt held Jackson scoreless over 3.1 innings on two hits, a walk and three strikeouts.
But Pensacola’s Gonzalez took over in the ninth, loaded the bases and then gave up the grand slam with two outs to O’Neill.
Pensacola right-handed starter Rookie Davis worked 4.2 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk and struck out four.
Jackson relievers Forrest Snow and Dan Altavilla no-hit the Blue Wahoos over the last 3.2 innings with one walk and five strikeouts.
They came in for Generals starting pitcher Jordan Pries, who worked 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits, one walk and struck out seven.
It was a back and forth game up until the ninth inning. In the top of the second inning, Pensacola center fielder Phillip Ervin and first baseman Kyle Parker both hit solo home runs to left field to take a 2-1 lead. It was Ervin’s sixth and Parker’s fourth of the season. Pensacola left fielder Tony Renda singled to left field to drive in third baseman Eric Jagielo, who singled to center, to put the Blue Wahoos up, 3-1.
Jackson scored first in the first inning when O’Neill got his first run-batted in when he hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored center fielder Ian Miller to go ahead, 1-0.
O’Neill then knotted the score, 3-3, in the third inning when he smashed a single to left field that scored both shortstop Benji Gonzalez and right fielder Guillermo Heredia.
Pensacola’s Renda put the Blue Wahoos back on top in the fifth inning, 4-3, when he singled sharply to left field and scored when second baseman Brandon Dixon grounded out to second base.
O’Neill then smacked his 17th double of the season to drive in Heredia with two out and tie the game, 4-4, in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Pensacola is 15-18 on the road this season. They are now 33-25 on the season and are tied for first place with the Biloxi Shuckers.
Jackson, the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, owns the best record in the Southern League and sits atop the North Division at 39-20.
Dixon earned the Southern League Player of the Week honors but in the three games since is 0-9 with five strikeouts and two RBIs. During his six game hitting streak, he was 15-24 (.625) with eight homers and 19 RBIs.
Wahoos Remain In First Despite Loss
June 8, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos continue to struggle on the road going 15-17. Granted they are playing the Jackson Generals, who sit atop the Southern League North Division.
Jackson took a 2-1 lead in the five-game series matching first place teams by scoring four runs in the first two innings to win, 4-1, Tuesday at The Ballpark at Jackson.
Pensacola dropped to 33-24 but Biloxi lost, too, 6-3, to the Montgomery Biscuits to keep the Blue Wahoos a game ahead in the South Division. Jackson, the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, now owns the best record in the Southern League at 38-20.
The Generals jumped on Pensacola right-hander Sal Romano with two runs in the first and two more in the second to go ahead, 4-0.
Romano worked five innings giving up four earned runs on 11 hits and three walks and struck out two. He fell to 1-6 with a 4.90 ERA. Romano was in trouble in every inning except the fourth when he retired the side in order.
Pensacola relievers Evan Mitchell and Kyle McMyne pitched the three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, two walks and striking out three.
Jackson scored when center field Guillermo Heredia walked, went to second on a passed ball by Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth and then scored when shortstop Benji Gonzalez doubled in Heredia for a 1-0 lead. A second run came in when DH Leon Landry singled to left field to score Gonzalez to put the Generals up, 2-0, after the first inning.
The Generals’ Heredia drove a line drive to center that scored catcher Steve Baron in the second inning. Then Jackson right fielder Tyler O’Neill, the May Player of the Month who had a hit in 24 of 28 games, hit a sacrifice fly to right field that scored third baseman Brock Hebert.
Jackson’s O’Neill is 1-9 with one run, a walk, an RBI and a strikeout this series.
In the sixth inning, Pensacola finally broke through for a run when left fielder Phillip Ervin doubled in first baseman Brandon Dixon to pull the Blue Wahoos within, 4-1.
Ervin led Pensacola at the plate Tuesday going 3-4 with two doubles and RBI. He’s now hitting .246 on the season.
Dixon earned the Southern League Player of the Week honors but in the two games since is 0-6 with four strikeouts and one RBI. During his six game hitting streak he was 15-24 (.625) with eight homers and 19 RBIs. He got to 10 homers faster than any other Blue Wahoo players in history by reaching that mark in 45 games, 147 at-bats and 162 plate appearances.
Wahoos Beat Jackson 6-1
June 7, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos right fielder Sebastian Elizalde singled and tripled to drive in four runs and help his team down the Jackson Generals, 6-1, Monday at The Ballpark at Jackson.
In his first year in Double-A, Elizalde is hitting .320 with two home runs and 13 RBIs for the Blue Wahoos.
Pensacola scored first when left fielder Tony Renda, who is hitting .320 on the season, hit his 20th double of the season on a fly ball to right field with two out to drive in catcher Joe Hudson, who doubled to start inning, to put Pensacola ahead, 1-0, over the Jackson Generals. Renda went 3-3 with two runs scored and an RBI Monday.
Elizalde singled on a liner to left field that scored both shortstop Zach Vincej and Renda to give Pensacola a 3-0 lead in the third. Blue Wahoos first baseman Kyle Parker then singled to center but Jackson center fielder Ian Miller threw a strike to home to get Elizalde out a home.
Pensacola starter Amir Garrett pitched out of two jams. He hit two batters with a pitch in the third inning. However, Hudson threw out Jackson right fielder Guillermo Heredia trying to steal second and Garret got out of the inning. In the fifth, Garrett had runners on second and third with two out but got DH Tyler O’Neill, who earned the Southern League Player of the Month for May, to pop out to short.
Garrett worked six innings and allowed one run, zero earned on three hits, two walks and struck out six. He improved to 5-3 on the year and has a 1.63 ERA.
Jackson scored in the fourth inning to get back a run, 3-1, when first baseman D.J. Peterson doubled to score left fielder Leon Landry, who reached second on a fielding error by Pensacola’s Renda.
Pensacola’s Elizalde then drove in two runs with a triple to right field in the eighth inning, scoring Vincej and Renda, putting the Blue Wahoos ahead, 5-1. Pensacola second baseman Brandon Dixon hit a deep sacrifice fly to centerfield that scored Elizalde and made the score, 6-3. Elizalde went 2-4, scored once and drove in four runs on his single and triple.
The top teams in the Southern League Northern Division and Southern Division are now tied, 1-1, in the five game series.
Pensacola improved to 33-23 to remain in first, while Jackson dropped to 37-20.
Besides getting run support and 11 hits from the Pensacola offense, Garrett received good relief, too. Nick Routt, Kevin Shackleford and Alejandro Chacin combined to throw three innings, allow two hits, walk one and strike out three.
The 24-year-old Brandon Dixon, who was named the Southern League Player of the Week, went 0-3 to end his six game hitting streak. He’s now 15-27 (.556) with eight homers and 19 RBIs the past seven games.
Florida Coach Jim McElwain To Host Football Skills Camp
June 6, 2016
The Booker T. Washington football program will host University of Florida Coach Jim McElwain in a high school skills camp on June 17.
Rising high school players should visit www.btwfootball.org for details, the registration form, and the parent consent form (which must be notarized).
The price is $35 now (payment must be received by Booker T. Washington High by June 16) or $50 for walk-up registration and includes a camp T-shirt. Coach McElwain will have members of his coaching staff with him.
The camp is open to any and all rising 9-12 graders and all junior college student athletes. For more information, follow the link above or call (850) 475-5237 ext. 236.
Generals Beat Pensacola 8-5
June 6, 2016
The top team in the Southern League Northern Division and Southern Division faced each other Sunday at The Ballpark at Jackson.
In the end, it was the Jackson Generals who defeated the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, 8-5, behind two homers by first baseman D.J. Peterson. After a nine game win streak, Jackson had lost to the Tennessee Smokies on Saturday.
Jackson won again and remains in first with a 37-19 record with its win, while Pensacola also stayed atop the South Division despite the loss with its 32-23 record to remain one game ahead of the Biloxi Shuckers.
Blue Wahoos second baseman Brandon Dixon kept his hot-hitting streak going with his third two homer game in the past six games and his third straight game with a homer.
Dixon has 11 homers on the season—eight in the past six games since May 29—helping him leap frog to second in the Southern League for the season.
The 24-year-old Dixon went 2-4 with two homers, two runs and three RBIs Sunday and is now 15-24 (.625) in his six-game hitting streak. He has eight home runs and 18 runs-batted in during his streak and 37 on the season. He now has a .617 slugging percentage, which is second in the Southern League. Dixon is batting .322 this year, which ranks fourth in the league.
Jackson Stephens took the mound for Pensacola and worked 4.1 innings, giving up six runs, three earned on seven hits and three walks. He dropped to 5-4 on the season with a 3.36 ERA.
Jackson’s starter Andrew Moore improved to 2-0 for the Generals with a 3.78 ERA. He pitched 6.2 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out seven.
The Generals scored first when DH Leon Landry lined a two-out single to right field to score both left fielder Ian Miller and center fielder Guillermo Heredia to put the team up, 2-0, in the third inning over Pensacola.
Pensacola came back in the top of the fourth with Dixon smacking a solo homer to right field to pull the Blue Wahoos within, 2-1.
Miller singled to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out to drive in Jackson catcher Steve Baron, who had singled to center, for a 3-1 Generals’ lead.
Pensacola leadoff hitter Tony Renda, who was playing left, then hit a two-out double to drive in center fielder Jeff Gellalich, who tripled with two out, to pull the Blue Wahoos within, 3-2, in the top of the fifth inning. Pensacola right fielder Sebastian Elizalde then hit a two-out, game-tying single to center to drive in Renda and knot the score, 3-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, Jackson’s first baseman Peterson hit a three-run, line drive home run to centerfield that also brought home right fielder Tyler O’Neill and Landry to put the Generals up, 6-3. O’Neill earned the Southern League Player of the Month for May for hitting in 24 of 28 games and posted a .348 average in the month.
The Generals’ Peterson hit his second home run of the game—eighth on the year—in the bottom of the seventh to increase Jackson’s lead to 7-3. Jackson third baseman Brock Hebert singled to center to drive in second baseman Tim Lopes to extend Jackson’s lead to 8-3.
Dixon hit his third two-homer in six games in the top of the eighth when he rocketed the ball to left center, which also brought home Elizalde, and pulled Pensacola within, 8-5.
Jackson closer Dan Altavilla finished the ninth by striking out the side for his fifth save of the year.
Also leading the Blue Wahoos at the plate were Renda, who went 2-4, with a double, run scored and RBI and Elizalde, who also was 2-4, with a double, run scored and RBI. Renda has a seven-game hitting streak and 15 multi-hit games and is now hitting .310 this season. Elizalde has hit in five of the last six games and is batting .313 on the year.
License Free Fishing Weekends
June 4, 2016
This weekend, June 4 and 5, is a license-free saltwater fishing weekend, and June 11 and 12 will be a license-free freshwater fishing weekend for Florida residents and visitors. On these weekends, a fishing license is not required.
Governor Scott said, “Florida is the fishing capital of the world, and I am excited to announce two license-free fishing weekends this month that include both saltwater and freshwater fishing opportunities. As children get out of school for 
the summer break and more tourists visit our state, I encourage every family to take advantage of these weekends to enjoy Florida’s great outdoors with their loved ones.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is hosting these four license-free fishing days near National Fishing and Boating Week, a national celebration of fishing and boating. The Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s www.TakeMeFishing.org website offers information on events sponsored by businesses and communities during National Fishing and Boating Week, as well as locating fishing sites, identifying recreational species and finding fishing tips.
This free fishing weekend is a part of the eight total license-free fishing days the FWC offers each year. All bag limits, closed areas and size restrictions apply on these dates. To learn more about license-free fishing days, visit MyFWC.com/License.
Dixon Homers Again, Mobile Still Beats The Wahoos
June 4, 2016
Pensacola second baseman Brandon Dixon keeps sending pitches out of the ballpark and Friday his solo shot in the sixth inning into the left field berm at Hank Aaron Stadium tied the game, 3-3.
However, Mobile BayBears’ relief corps shutout Pensacola over the last 3.1 innings, which allowed right fielder Gabriel Guerrero to hit a one-out, bases-loaded, walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Mobile a 4-3 victory.
Pensacola stayed in first place, although its loss dropped them to 32-22 in the Southern League South Division. The BayBears improved to 24-30. The Blue Wahoos and Mobile are now tied, 2-2, in the five game series.
Dixon’s blast saved Nick Travieso, who simply struggled through four innings. Travieso, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect, walked a career-high seven batters. Of his 92 pitches, he threw 44 for strikes. A hit batter and error meant half of the 24 batters he faced reached base.
“It’s amazing he held them to three runs,” Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said after the game. “He never got into a rhythm but he battled.”
Remarkably, Travieso left the game down just one run, 3-2, to Mobile. The BayBears had trouble scoring leaving 11 base runners stranded through the first five innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the first and fourth innings. They got its leadoff hitter on base in eight of the 10 innings Friday.
Dixon went 2-4 with a homer, single and walk and is now 13-20 (.650) in his five-game hitting streak. He has six home runs and 15 RBIs during that span. His slugging percentage on the year is .583, and since May 1, Dixon leads all of minor league baseball with a .779 slugging percentage.
“That (homer) was nice,” Kelly said. “It got Travieso off the hook and gave us a chance.”
Dixon now has nine homers on the year, which is third in the Southern League. He has driven in 34 runs, good for fourth in the Southern League. He is batting .319, which ranks third in the league.
The utility player hit two homers in back-to-back games May 29 against the Birmingham Barons and May 31 against Mobile and now has homers in the past two games against the Mobile BayBears.
Pensacola left fielder Tony Renda, 2-5 with one run scored Friday night, put Pensacola on top, 1-0, when he led off the game with a line drive single to left field and crossed home plate when Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth hit a deep sacrifice fly to center field. Blue Wahoos center fielder Phillip Ervin, who walked, scored to make the game, 2-0, when shortstop Alex Blandino knocked a single through the left side of the infield.
However, Mobile came right back with two runs of its own when BayBears center fielder Evan Marzilli singled and scored to pull the team within, 2-1. Dixon likely saved two runs from coming in by making a diving stop of a hard hit grounder by catcher Michael Perez and making a heads up play by turning to get the lead runner, Guerrero, forced out at second base.
Mobile first baseman Kevin Cron then doubled in the bottom of the first inning to score shortstop Ildemaro Vargas to tie the game, 2-2.
But it Dixon’s misplay in the bottom of the 10th on a high pop up to shallow center field just behind second base that allowed Mobile shortstop Ildermaro Vargas to reach first base. Instead of going after the catch, he headed to second base to wait for a throw from Ervin from center fielder and the ball fell between them.
Mitchell hit the next batter and then Guerrero hit his walk-off single to left.
The BayBears had gone ahead, 3-2, in the third inning when Guerrero walked, stole second base and took third on a sacrifice fly. Cron then hit a deep fly ball that scored Guerrero, who has hit two solo home runs off Blue Wahoos’ pitching this series.
“The last two years, (Guerrero) has hit .200 in this league,” Kelly said. “He has hit .500 off of us. Obviously, we haven’t pitched him well.”
Dixon Smacks Fifth Homer In Four Games
June 3, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos second baseman Brandon Dixon hit his fifth home run in four games Thursday at Hank Aaron Stadium and drove in his 13th and 14th runs during his hot-hitting streak.
Dixon got all of the pitch to launch a solo shot over the left field fence in the sixth inning as Pensacola won, 4-1, over the Mobile BayBears. The Blue Wahoos now lead the series, 2-1.
Playing left field to keep his hot bat in the lineup, Dixon also singled in the eighth inning to drive in center fielder Phillip Ervin with his second RBI of the game Thursday.
Dixon now has eight homers on the year, which is third in the Southern League. He has driven in 33 runs, good for fourth in the Southern League. And after a 2-3 game Thursday with a walk, the 24-year-old is hitting .312, which ranks seventh in the league.
Dixon, who has hit in seven of his last eight games, is now 11-16 (.688) in his last four games. He hit two homers in back-to-back games May 29 against the Birmingham Barons and May 31 against Mobile.
Pensacola starter Rookie Davis, who missed three starts, took the mound for the first time since May 11. He rejoined the best pitching staff in the Southern League with a 3.11 ERA.
Davis worked four innings, giving up one run on three hits and two walks, while striking out two. His only run was a solo blast by Mobile’s Gabriel Guerrero in the fourth inning, which was his second in three games against Pensacola.
Pensacola relievers Barrett Astin, Nick Routt and Alejandro Chacin combined for five innings pitched, two hits, one walk and four strikeouts. Chacin is tied for first in the Southern League with 10 saves in 11 chances this season. Astin got the victory and is 5-1 with a 2.75 ERA.
Pensacola’s improved to 32-21 in the Southern League South Division and remain in first. The BayBears dropped to 23-30.
The Blue Wahoos scored first in the second inning when third baseman Eric Jagielo launched his third homer of the season. He was 2-4 in the game.
After Guerrero tied it with one swing, Pensacola went back on top, 2-1, in the fifth inning when Blue Wahoos catch Joe Hudson doubled to center and scored on Mobile starter Yoan Lopez’s throwing error.
Also leading the Blue Wahoos, who had 11 hits total, was Ervin, who was 2-4 and scored a run. Meanwhile, Hudson also earned two hits, going 2-4 with a double and run scored.
Mobile Evens Series With The Wahoos
June 2, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos starter Sal Romano gave his team five good innings, allowing just three runs on six hits.
However, the rival Mobile BayBears first three batters all earned hits off Romano and scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to rally for a 7-3 victory Wednesday at Hank Aaron Stadium. Pensacola and Mobile are now tied, 1-1, in the five game series.
BayBears catcher Ronnie Freeman doubled to right field to start the sixth inning. Third baseman Cody Regis followed him with a single to left field. Mobile second baseman Jamie Westbrook then got the third hit in a row, knocking Romano out of the game, with a single on a ground ball to left field that scored Freeman for a 4-3 BayBears’ lead.
Mobile starting pitcher John Omahen was walked by Pensacola reliever El’Hajj Muhammad to load the bases with none out. Mobile center fielder Evan Marzilli grounded out to Blue Wahoos shortstop Calten Daal and Regis crossed the plate to put the BayBears ahead, 5-3. Pensacola first baseman Donald Lutz then committed an error to allow Westbrook to make it home and give Mobile a 6-3 lead they would never relinquish.
Mobile’s relief corps shutdown the Blue Wahoos bats in the last three innings giving up one hit, one walk and striking out four.
Pensacola’s Romano worked five innings, gave up nine hits, allowed six runs, four earned, walked one and struck out three. He also allowed a two-run homer to Mitch Hangier in the third inning that tied the score, 3-3. Romano took the loss and is 1-5 with a 4.69 ERA for the Blue Wahoos this season.
Pensacola second baseman Brandon Dixon continued his hot-hitting in the last three games. He singled in Phillip Ervin in the third inning for his team-leading 31st RBI of the year. He is now on a 9-13 tear with four homers and 12 RBIs in the past three games. Dixon leads the team with seven homers on the year and moved into a tie with Pensacola third baseman Tony Renda with a .304 batting average. Renda was 1-4 with a run scored Wednesday.
Pensacola first baseman Donald Lutz knocked Renda with two outs in the first inning to put the Blue Wahoos on top, 1-0.
In the second inning Mobile tied the game, 1-1, when BayBears’ right-hander Omahen singled to centerfield to drive in right fielder Gabby Guerrero.
Blue Wahoos second baseman Dixon drove in Ervin for a 2-1 lead. Mobile’s Omahen then threw the ball away on a pickoff, allowing right fielder Sebastian Elizalde to score and put Pensacola ahead, 3-1.
Mobile’s Haniger tied the score, 3-3, with his two-run blast. Haniger was 1-5 on the night.
Pensacola’s four-game winning streak was snapped by Mobile and dropped them to 31-21 in the Southern League South Division. The BayBears improved to 23-29.
Dixon Has Second Straight Game With Two Homers
June 1, 2016
Pensacola Blue Wahoos second baseman Brandon Dixon was the player of the game for the team for the second straight night.
This time, the 24-year-old smashed two home runs for the second straight game and drove in five of the Blue Wahoo’s six runs for a, 6-5, victory over its rival the Mobile BayBears at Hank Aaron Stadium.
On Tuesday, Dixon was 4-4 with three runs scored, hitting his sixth and seventh homers of the season, which leads the team. He hit a solo blast to left field in the top of the second inning to put Pensacola ahead, 1-0. Then in the sixth inning, Dixon hit a two-out, two-run blast to left that also scored right fielder Sebastian Elizalde, giving Pensacola a 3-2 lead.
But Dixon wasn’t finished. He drove in two more runs on a double to left field in the eighth inning that scored both Elizalde and first baseman Kyle Parker, who hit back-to-back singles with one out. The runs put Pensacola up, 5-2, in the game.
Pensacola shortstop Zach Vincej then singled to left field to score Dixon and give the Blue Wahoos a critical, 6-2, lead.
Dixon now also leads the team with 30 RBIs and raised his batting average to .299.
Pensacola’s win in the opener of the five-game series kept them in first place in the Southern League South Division at 31-20. The Blue Wahoos also tied their longest win streak of the year at four games. The BayBears dropped to 22-29.
In the ninth inning, Mobile mounted a two-out rally by scoring three runs. Guerrero smashed his sixth homer of the season, a solo shot, to make the score, 6-3. Pensacola’s Phillip Ervin then made an error on a ball hit by Cron that allowed Mobile to pull within, 6-4, when catcher Ronnie Freeman scored. Pinch hitter Stewart Ijames then smacked a two-out double that scored Cron and Mobile was down just a run, 6-5.
Guerrero led the BayBears, going 2-4 with a home run and double with two runs scored and an RBI.
However, Pensacola closer Alejandro Chacin entered the game and got Mobile center fielder Evan Marzilli, the BayBears leadoff hitter who was hitting .354 in 23 games, to pop out to Blue Wahoos Vincej to end the game.
Chacin now leads the team with nine saves and is 2-0 and has an 0.84 ERA in 18 appearances.