Four Games, Four Homers For Winker As The Wahoos Beat Biloxi
August 15, 2015
Pensacola left fielder Jesse Winker wasted no time in crushing his fourth homer in four games when he hit a deep fly ball to left field against Biloxi in the first inning.
Winker now has 12 homers and 44 RBIs, which leads the Blue Wahoos.
Winker’s dinger was the only run Pensacola needed as it pulled out a 1-0 victory over Biloxi Friday at MGM Park.
The win ended a two game slide and improved Pensacola’s record to 27-21 and a half game behind Mobile in second place in the second half of the South Division in the Southern League. Biloxi, the South’s first half winner, dropped to 23-24 and is in fourth place in the second half.
Last month, Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth hit five homers in five games. The Southern League record is six home runs in six games.
Winker, the top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization according to MLB Pipeline, finished the game 1-2 with a walk. He is hitting .311 in the second half with nine home runs and 27 RBIs. In August, he’s hitting .392 (20-51) and has a .455 on-base percentage.
Pensacola only other hit besides Winker’s was catcher Yovan Gonzalez’s double in his first at bat in the second inning. He went 1-3 and has now hit in six straight games. During his streak, Gonzalez is batting (10-19) with three doubles, two homers and four RBIs. He’s raised his average from .177 to .238.
In the eighth inning, Pensacola closer Zack Weiss came in relief of starter Tim Adleman after he allowed a double to left fielder Nathan Orf with one out. Adleman blanked the Shuckers for 7.1 innings, limiting them to five hits, one walk and striking out five. Adleman, who held Biloxi’s top five batters in the lineup to one hit in 20 at bats, improved to 7-8 and now owns a Southern League-leading 2.27 ERA.
Weiss retired the last five batters he faced, striking out two and is a top the Southern League in saves at 18.
Winker Homers Again, Wahoos Lose To Biloxi
August 14, 2015
Pensacola left fielder Jesse Winker hit a three-run homer in the third inning and now has smacked three homers in three games. The top prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization according to MLB Pipeline now tops the Blue Wahoos with 11 home runs on the year and 43 RBIs.
Right fielder Juan Duran also homered against the Biloxi Shuckers in the inning and Pensacola went up, 4-1, at MGM Park.
But Biloxi broke out with five runs in the fifth and pulled out its second straight victory, 6-5, against Pensacola.
Blue Wahoos centerfielder Bryson Smith singled in shortstop Zach Vincej in the top of the ninth with two-out to pull Pensacola within one but that’s as close as it would get.
Biloxi’s big five-run inning started off with shortstop Orlando Arcia, ranked the eighth best prospect in America by Baseball America, hitting his 32nd double of the year to score two runs. Arcia would then score on a passed ball to tie the game, 4-4. Shuckers third baseman Taylor Green singled in the final two runs of the rally that sent nine batters to the plate and put Biloxi up, 6-4.
Pensacola fell to 26-21 and third place in the second half of the South Division in the Southern League. Biloxi, the first half winner, improved to 23-23 and is in fourth place behind Pensacola.
Meanwhile, Winker is hitting hotter than the sweltering August temperatures at .308 in the second half with eight home runs and 26 RBIs. In August, he’s hitting .387. He went 2-4 against Biloxi, his fourth multi-hit game in his past six games, with a run scored and the three-run shot.
Winkler Homers, Wahoos Lose To Biloxi
August 13, 2015
Jesse Winker hit his second solo home run in two games but it lead off the ninth inning and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos dropped the opener of its five-game series, 4-1, with the Biloxi Shuckers.
It was the first time the Blue Wahoos played in the Shuckers new MGM Park in downtown Biloxi near the Gulf of Mexico and Beau Rivage Casino.
Pensacola entered the game in first place in the second half but the loss dropped them to 26-20 in and one game behind the Mississippi Braves in the South Division of the Southern League. Biloxi, the first half winner, improved to 22-23 and is in fourth place in the second half.
The game was a far cry from the Blue Wahoos offensive explosion Tuesday against the Birmingham Barons when it scored 13 runs on a season-high 19 hits.
Wednesday night, Pensacola managed just one run on five hits. Winker, the Cincinnati Reds top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was the only hitter to manage two hits, going 2-4 and reaching 40 RBIs on his solo blast to left field. He now hitting .303 in the second half with seven home runs and 23 RBIs.
Biloxi pitcher Jorge Lopez, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 9 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing four hits, two walks and striking out eight. He improved to 11-5 with a 2.45 ERA on the year.
Center fielder Brett Phillips knocked in Biloxi’s first run in the second inning with a two-out double that scored catcher Adam Weisenburger for a 1-0 lead.
Biloxi added two more in the third when first baseman Nick Ramirez doubled in second baseman Nathan Orf and Weisenburger singled in Ramirez to go ahead, 3-0.
Biloxi scored its last run in the fourth inning when left fielder Victor Roache singled in Phillips to go up, 4-0.
Wahoos Drop To B’ham
August 11, 2015
One of the areas that Pensacola Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly wanted to see improve in the second half was the team’s bullpen.
The Blue Wahoos used three relievers Monday, who allowed one run on seven hits and one walk over 6.1 innings and struck out four.
Despite the solid performances by Jacob Johnson, Joel Bender and Kyle McMyne in relief of starter Cody Reed, Pensacola dropped its second straight game to Southern League North Division leaders the Birmingham Barons, 7-2, in front of 4,136 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
However, the Blue Wahoos remained tied for second place with the Mississippi Braves in the second half in the Southern League South Division at 25-19 (50-62).
The bullpen got its opportunity to show its stuff when Pensacola left-hander Cody Reed was chased after 2.2 innings. Reed came over in the Johnny Cueto trade July 26 with the Kansas City Royals and was making a much-anticipated Double-A start at home.
Kelly said the relievers kept Pensacola in the game. The Barons had the bases loaded in the second and seventh innings and runners at first and third in the third inning but couldn’t get a run across the plate.
“They did a great job,” Kelly said. “We had a couple of opportunities and they kept us in the game.”
Reed entered the game 2-0 in two starts on the road with a 0.60 ERA, giving up one run in 15 innings. The Southern League pitcher of the week, though, promptly faced nine batters and gave up five runs in the first inning to Birmingham. However, in the second inning he struck out the top of the Barons’ order.
But when the struggling Reed walked in a run in the third inning, he was pulled. His line was: 2.2 innings, six earned runs, three hits, five walks and three strikeouts.
Kelly said he liked that Reed kept his composure despite being in trouble most of his start.
“His command was a little off,” Kelly said. “He really competes. He came out in the second inning and struck out the side. I liked what I saw. He didn’t give in.”
Meanwhile, Birmingham starter Frankie Montas shut down the Blue Wahoos lineup over the first five innings. He allowed four hits one run and zero earned runs walked two and struck out five. Rated the No. 89 prospect in Major League Baseball, Montas improved to 4-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.59.
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos play the final game of a five-game series at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox Double-A affiliate the Birmingham Barons.
Wahoos Win Second Straight Over Birmingham Barons
August 9, 2015
Three Pensacola Blue Wahoos smacked home runs and the club won its second straight game over the Birmingham Barons Saturday.
Blue Wahoos center fielder Bryson Smith doubled with two outs in the eighth inning to score Pensacola speedster Beau Amaral from third with the winning run, 8-7, in front of its 20th sellout of the year at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
It was Pensacola’s seventh win in the last nine games and the Blue Wahoos remained a half-game back of Southern League South Division second half leader the Mobile BayBears at 25-17 (49-60). Mobile is 25-16 in the second half.
Pensacola came back to defeat the Barons after trailing, 5-1, in the third inning. Blue Wahoos shortstop Alex Blandino smashed a three-run homer to left field in the bottom of the third inning to bring Pensacola within one run, 5-4. Both catcher Yovan Gonzalez and Bryson Smith scored on Blandino’s second homer for the Blue Wahoos since joining the club Aug. 3.
Pensacola also got a monstrous solo blast from third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean in the second inning, which was his sixth of the year to have a team-leading 42 RBIs. Gonzalez, who now has a four-game hit streak, hit his third homer of the year when he smashed a two-run blast in the fourth inning.
The Blue Wahoos have led the Southern League since July 1 with 117 extra base hits.
Coming back from four runs down is something the Blue Wahoos have rarely done this season, said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. Kelly credits the addition of right fielder Juan Duran’s bat to the lineup July 1 after he completed injury rehab.
“He really lengthens our lineup,” Kelly said. “Everyone is in a position now where they are very comfortable.”
Kelly said he was most impressed with Blandino’s homer to left. “That was a big blow right there,” he said.
He also complimented Gonzalez, the backup catcher for the Wahoos, who was 1-2 with two walks Saturday and scored two runs.
“He’s swinging a great bat the last four or five games,” Kelly said. “He’s done it in limited play. He’s in a tough role. It’s nice to see that production.”
Gonzalez’s two-run homer in the fourth brought the Blue Wahoos within, 7-6. Buckley then scored on a Ryan Wright sacrifice fly to right to tie the game, 7-7, in the sixth inning.
Birmingham went up 7-4 when third baseman Nicky Delmonico, who had a home run and three RBIs, singled in shortstop Tim Anderson, who hit a leadoff double in the fourth inning. Delmonico then scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by designated hitter Danny Hayes.
Anderson, the Chicago White Sox top prospect, went 2-4 with a double, scored three times and stole three bases for a Southern League-leading 44 steals on the year.
“He is such a threat,” Kelly said. “Plus, he plays great at shortstop.”
Jacksonville Hangs On To Beat The Wahoos 5-4
August 7, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos came within one run of tying the Jacksonville Suns after a two-run homer with no outs by catcher Kyle Skipworth.
However, the Suns got the next three batters out to pull out a, 5-4, victory and end the Blue Wahoos three-game win streak. But Pensacola won the overall series, 12-8, and captured the Golden Skillet trophy, given to the winner of the series between the Florida rivals, for the first time since its inaugural season in 2012.
Skipworth, who hit a franchise record five home runs in five games for Pensacola in July and fell one game short of the Southern League record, hit his team-leading 10th homer of the season to right field that also scored center fielder Beau Amaral. But that was the closest Pensacola would come.
Pensacola jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when third baseman Marquez Smith hit his fourth triple of the season and right fielder Juan Duran knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to right field.
But Jacksonville posted the next five runs to go ahead, 5-1. The Suns second baseman David Adams scored when catcher Sharif Othman grounded out into a double play to knot the game, 1-1, in the second inning.
Then in the fourth, Jacksonville added four more with three coming on first baseman Viosergy Rosa’s three-run home run to right field.
Pensacola added a run in the eighth when right fielder Bryson Smith hit a solo shot to pull within, 5-2, which set up Skipworth in the ninth.
Pensacola’s loss at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville left the Blue Wahoos in second place at 23-17 (48-60) in the Southern League South Division. The Suns are in last place at 14-26 (43-66).
New FHSAA Overhaul Bill Filed
August 6, 2015
After a proposal to overhaul the Florida High School Athletic Association died this spring, a House Republican has filed a scaled-back version that could renew debate during the 2016 legislative session. Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover, this week filed the measure (HB 31), which includes pieces of a broader bill that passed the House in April but failed in the Senate.
Proposals to revamp the athletic organization have been controversial in recent years and have involved issues such as the association’s governance and the eligibility of high-school athletes.
Spano’s bill, in part, would prevent fees collected by the association for such things as special events and sanctioning to exceed the association’s actual costs. It also would allow schools to join the association on a per-sport basis and would prevent the association from discouraging schools’ membership in other athletic organizations.
by The News Service of Florida
Blue Wahoos Take The Golden Skillet
August 5, 2015
The Jacksonville Suns managed just one run and four hits in 14 innings Tuesday, and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos clinched the Golden Skillet for the first time in the club’s four years of franchise history.
Pensacola won both games, 1-0, and, 12-1, and the Blue Wahoos clinched the trophy with an 11-7 edge in the series with two more games against Jacksonville to play at Bragan Field.
In the second game, Yovan Gonzalez lined a solo home run to left center field in the third inning to give Pensacola the win. It was his second homer of the season.
Meanwhile, Blue Wahoos starter Wandy Peralta allowed just one hit, walked one and struck out five in five innings. He improved to 7-7 with a 5.42 ERA for Pensacola. Closer Zack Weiss struck out one and allowed one hit to earn his Blue Wahoos-leading 14th save.
The Blue Wahoos won the first game of the doubleheader Tuesday, 12-1, when Pensacola used four pitchers to keep the Suns hitless until center fielder Kenny Wilson singled off Miguel Celestino to lead off the ninth inning. The game was suspended due to rain in the third inning Monday night at Bragan Field.
Until Celestino entered the game, Sal Romano, Jacob Johnson and Joel Bender put together eight innings of hitless ball against Jacksonville. Johnson gave up one unearned run, four walks and struck out four in five innings to improve his record to 4-2.
Romano struck out two in his two innings of work Monday in his Double-A debut, while Bender struck out one in his inning of work.
Jacksonville scored its only run in the fifth inning of the first game when third baseman David Adams walked and scored on a passed ball by Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth.
Pensacola benefitted from a solo home run in the third inning by right fielder Jesse Winker, his eighth homer of the season. In addition, second baseman Alex Blandino hit his first Double-A home run when he hit a two-run blast in the fourth inning. Blue Wahoos third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean also went 3-5 with a double, run scored and three RBIs and now has 40 RBIs for Pensacola this season.
Pensacola (22-16, 47-59) is in second place in the second half of the Southern League South Division, while the Jacksonville Suns dropped to last place (13-25, 42-65).
Over 1,000 Florida Hunters Bag Permits For Bear Hunt
August 4, 2015
More than 1,00 permits to hunt bears this fall were sold by Tuesday morning, the first time in more than two decades that such licenses have been available in Florida.
The sale of the special-use permits — available throughout the state at tax collectors’ offices, online and at sporting-goods stores that sell hunting and fishing supplies — began despite a lawsuit that was filed Friday against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to try to halt the hunt.
“I do know the permits are being sold and being sold successfully,” Diane Eggeman, director of the commission’s Division of Hunting and Game Management, said Monday morning.
The state hasn’t estimated how many permits — which cost $100 for Florida residents and $300 for non-residents — will be bought by Oct. 23, the day before the hunt begins.
The hunt is slated to last from two to seven days, depending on the number of bears killed.
Laura Bevan, southern regional director for the Humane Society of the United States, said people seeking permits are only doing so to get trophies, and she doesn’t believe the state is doing enough to limit the number of bears that will be killed.
“All the hunters will go into the woods at the same time. We’re really worried that it’s going to be a slaughterhouse,” Bevan said. “This is a (bear) population that only came off the threatened list 2 1/2 years ago. This is a population that’s under pressure from development, from poaching, from all kinds of things, and now we’re going to open up a hunt.”
The Humane Society supports but isn’t a party to the lawsuit seeking to stop the bear hunt. The lawsuit was filed in Leon County circuit court by the Seminole County-based environmental group Speak Up Wekiva.
“Even if we feel that the hunt is unethical and unscientific there may not be a legal way to stop it,” Bevan said.
The permits went on sale at 5 a.m. Monday. All but six of the first bear permits sold were to Florida hunters.
The state is seeking a 20 percent reduction in the bear population, which is estimated around 3,000. That percentage reduction includes bears dying naturally or getting killed by vehicles, as well as those killed in the hunt.
“We want to reach that minimum number, that harvest objective, so we can reach the stabilization of the populations,” Eggeman said.
The state hasn’t put a limit on the number of special-use bear permits that will be sold, but each hunter will be limited to killing a single bear during the week.
Eggeman said officials don’t expect the hunt to exceed bear-hunting quotas that will be set for each of the four regions of the state where hunting will be allowed — the eastern Panhandle, Northeast Florida, east-central Florida and South Florida.
The commission will set the final quota numbers for each region in September.
Other than to say they are confident a judge will support the commission’s approval of the bear hunt, state officials aren’t discussing the merits of the lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends the rules for the hunt go against a 1998 voter-approved constitutional amendment that created the commission as an independent body “to conduct management, preservation and conservation decision-making based upon sound science.” The complaint also claims the bear hunt is not based upon sound science and won’t reduce growing conflicts between bears and humans.
The lawsuit didn’t ask a judge to halt the commission from offering the permits.
But supporters of the lawsuit contend the permitting should wait until the courts rule on the lawsuit to reduce the risk of having to refund money to people who have paid.
Opponents of the hunt have argued that Florida’s increased human population is expanding into wildlife habitat and that the state should further implement non-lethal rules, such as bear-proofing trash containers, prohibiting people from feeding wild bears and cracking down on the illegal harvesting of saw palmetto berries, which is a staple of a bear’s diet.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Fall Late To Suns
August 3, 2015
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos (20-16, 45-59) fell to the Jacksonville Suns (13-23, 42-63) 5-4 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville Sunday evening. After the Wahoos jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Suns tied the game 4-4 in the seventh inning and took a 5-4 lead in the eighth.
Pensacola starter Daniel Wright went 5.2 innings while allowing three runs on five hits. Reliever Kyle McMyne (1-4) earned the loss in 1.1 innings of work, as he would allow Jacksonville to take the late lead on a sacrifice fly.
Jacksonville starter Jarlin Garcia pitched 5.0 innings and allowed three early runs on six hits. The win went to Juancito Martinez (1-2), who did not allow a hit or a run through 1.2 innings of work. Kyle Barraclough earned his second save as he struck out the side in the ninth.
The Wahoos were led at the plate by Yovan Gonzalez and Juan Perez. Gonzalez went 2-4 with two doubles and a walk, while Perez went 2-3 with a double and a stolen base.
The Wahoos got off to a strong start as Zach Vincej and Jesse Winker both singled to open the first inning. Marquez Smith would bring Vincej home from third on an RBI groundout to make it 1-0 in favor of Pensacola.
Pensacola struck again in the top of the fourth to score a pair of runs in the frame. A single by Perez and a Gonzalez double would set things up for Beau Amaral, who would single to shallow center and make it 2-0. Vincej would later bring Gonzalez home on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.
The Blue Wahoos faced danger in the bottom half of the fourth as a single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Eudy Pina. However, Wright was able to force him to pop out, ending the threat for Jacksonville.
The Suns were able to get on the board in the bottom of the fifth as pinch-hitter Ryan Rieger would bring Zack Cox home on an RBI single, making the score 3-1.
The Wahoos would score again in the sixth, as Perez would reach home as a bad pickoff attempt resulted in a throwing error. Perez had doubled and stolen third on the previous two at-bats.
Jacksonville would lead off the bottom half with a J.T. Riddle single. Matt Juengel would then bring him home on a double to left, making it 4-2. Juengel would then come home on a sacrifice fly from Pina.
The Suns would tie the game in the seventh on an RBI single form Riddle to score David Adams. McMyne was then able to force a double play with the bases loaded to avoid further damage.
Jacksonville would take the lead for good in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to right off the bat of Adams, bringing Pina home to make it 5-4 in favor of the Suns.
The Blue Wahoos are taking on the Jacksonville Suns through Thursday.