Escambia Parks And Rec Wins State Sports Tourism Award
September 15, 2023
The Florida Recreation and Park Association Awards has awarded Escambia County Parks and Recreation the 2023 Excellence in Sports Tourism Award: Small Market Award.
The award recognizes efforts to advance the park and recreation profession in the area of sports tourism.
Escambia County Parks and Recreation maintains property throughout the county, including the athletic fields and parks, neighborhood and open space parks, community centers, beach access parks, boat launch areas and the Equestrian Center. The department partners with Pensacola Sports, the local sports marketing organization, to attract and retain events that fit the community.
The Southeastern Conference hosted the SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in October 2022 after a previous run in Orange Beach. The week-long event saw record-breaking attendance and generated over $2.5 million in local economic impact. Parks and recreation staff worked tirelessly to welcome players and visitors, prepping the field prior to the tournament and maintaining the grounds daily.
Traditional sports events, including lacrosse, youth soccer and baseball, and intramural college flag football, have contributed to the economic impact, marking Escambia County as a true sports destination. In 2022, the Equestrian Center hosted 51 events, generating over $6 million of local economic impact.
Pictured: The record-setting SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament at Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex last October. Thee tournament will return in October 2023. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Early Deficit Swallows Wahoos In 8-2 Loss
September 15, 2023
The first inning breezed quickly for Blue Wahoos pitcher Patrick Monteverde, resembling so many of his previous starts this season.
But he will quickly want to forget the rest.
After suddenly struggling with his pitch command, a leadoff homer in the second inning was followed by three consecutive walks and a grand slam, leading to the Mississippi Braves’ 8-2 victory in the season’s final Mullet Thursday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The game’s start time was delayed 46 minutes after another set of afternoon storms.
It wound up becoming the shortest of Monteverde’s 21 starts with the Blue Wahoos this season. He was lifted after the 42-pitch, five-run second inning. The Blue Wahoos were unable to bounce back at the plate. They had only two hits in the first five innings and none after scoring two runs in the sixth.
Wearing Pensacola’s alternate identity as the Pensacola Mullets, Monteverde didn’t look like himself in more ways than one on Thursday. He was coming off recording his 10th win last week against the Rocket City Trash Pandas. In doing so, he became only the fifth Blue Wahoos pitcher in team history to earn 10 wins in a single season.
He was the first with 10 wins since former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Rookie Davis in 2016 during his time with the Blue Wahoos.
After the rain delay Thursday, Monteverde (10-5) started with an eight pitch, 1-2-3 first inning.
But that was followed by a knockout punch. M-Braves designated hitter Drake Baldwin led off the second with a booming homer to center field. Three walks later, right fielder Landon Stephens blasted his 21st homer well over the left field wall toward the water for a grand slam.
The Blue Wahoos got a pair of runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Victor Mesa Jr., one of just five Pensacola hits.
While the weather affected the crowd, the game had two special guests in attendance.
Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng watched the game from various locations in her first trip this season to Pensacola.
Equally noteworthy, Darrell Randel, father of Blue Wahoos manager Kevin Randel, watched his son manage for the first time. He traveled from Montclair, California with son, Jeff, and his wife, Kristin, along with their daughter Kaylee and older son Jacob.
Kevin Randel didn’t know his dad was visiting until they met Thursday morning at a Pensacola restaurant. The group will take in Friday’s game as well.
The series against the M-Braves now shifts to the weekend.
The Friday game will have the Blue Wahoos’ Evan Fitterer (7-6, 4.40 ERA) on the mound against the M-Braves’ Daniel Martinez (0-2, 5.56). It will be the 23rd start of the season for Fitterer, a righthander from Mission Vejo, California, who was the Miami Marlins’ fifth round draft pick in 2019.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Buxton Debuts, Banfield Homers In 3-2 Wahoos Win
September 14, 2023
The Blue Wahoos’ latest new pitcher shined on Wednesday.
And another team feat was attained.
In his Double-A debut, Ike Buxton set an early tone by throwing four scoreless innings, while allowing just one hit, then Pensacola’s bullpen sealed a 3-2 victory against the Mississippi Braves at Blue Wahoos Stadium that added another season superlative.
It was this team’s 77th win, pushing them into the second-most wins in team history. In addition to that, Will Banfield’s solo home run in the fourth inning – the first run of the game – was the Blue Wahoos’ 162nd homer this season, which is now tied for the sixth-most in modern Southern League history since 1964.
On Wednesday, the team transformed into the Pensacola Pok-Ta-Pok as part of the Copa de la Diversión in Minor League Baseball.
The game began with Buxton in command. He joined the team earlier this week after pitching in 2023 for the Beloit Sky Carp, the Miami Marlins’ High-A affiliate in Beloit, Wisconsin. The 23-year-old right-hander from Sun Valley, Idaho was a 15th round draft selection in 2022 by the Marlins.
He was 6-2 with a 3.01 earned run average before Wednesday’s no-decision. Chandler Jozwiak, another pitcher who began this year in Beloit, followed and got his second win with two hitless innings.
Luarbert Arias and Dylan Bice preserved the win in late relief, with Bice getting his second save.
In the ninth inning, the M-Braves’ Cade Bunnell blasted a one-out Bice pitch out of the ballpark to make it a one-run game. With two outs, Drew Campbell singled and Cody Milligan walked on a 3-2 pitch Bice believed was a strike.
But Bice then responded by getting Luke Waddell to fly out to end the game.
Pensacola got its second run when Banfield came back up in the fifth inning and drove in Nasim Nuñez on a sacrifice fly. Nuñez had walked and advanced to third on Paul McIntosh’s single.
Norel González provided the game-winning RBI with his eighth-inning single to score Bennett Hostetler.
The third game of series with the M-Braves is Thursday, with the Blue Wahoos (77-55) taking on their alternate identity as the Pensacola Mullets and wearing their specialty uniforms on “Mullet Thursday.” There will also be drink specials for those of legal age at various locations on the stadium concourse.
The Blue Wahoos will enter with a 4-6 record in the Mullet uniforms.
The Blue Wahoos’ top pitcher, left-hander Patrick Monteverde (10-4, 2.97 earned run average), will make his final regular-season start Thursday against M-Braves righthander Daniel Martinez (0-2 5.56).
Pregame activities will begin at 6:15 p.m., including ceremonial first pitches and special guest introductions. The official first pitch of the game will be at 6:35 p.m.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Northview Defeats Pine Forest In Match Played With No Officials
September 13, 2023
In a match played without officials, the Northview Chiefs defeated the Pine Forest Eagles 2-0 in high school volleyball Tuesday in Bratt.
Northview took the two sets 25-14, 25-12.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Northview (5-3) will be at Laurel Hill on Thursday. Pine Forest (0-5) will host West Florida on Monday.
We were told there were no officials at the game due to a scheduling error.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Softball 10th Annual Sporting Clay Shoot Fundraiser Held (Photo Gallery)
September 13, 2023
Almost 100 people participated in the 10th Annual Tate High School Softball Sporting Clay Shoot fundraiser.
There were about 30 teams that took part in the event at the Santa Rosa Shooting Center.
The top three teams were Elite Mechanical, American Concrete Supply and Cordova Dentistry.
For more photos, click or tap here.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Fall In Extras Despite Sánchez’s Awaited Return
September 13, 2023
Sixto Sánchez bounded out of the Blue Wahoos dugout and leaped on the mound.
Just being in a game again meant a lot.
Pitching against an opponent for the first time in three seasons, Sánchez used a two-strikeout, scoreless first inning Tuesday as a first step toward what the Miami Marlins hope is a comeback from a long road of misfortune. He last pitched for them in the National League playoffs in 2020.
Sánchez, 25, once among professional baseball’s top prospects, provided the Blue Wahoos an initial lift that led into an early lead. But the Mississippi Braves rallied with a pair of home runs off Luis Palacios, then made a 10th-inning run stand, for a 5-4 victory in the series opener at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The loss ended the Blue Wahoos’ seven-game win streak. It extended what has been Pensacola’s thorn this season. They are now 1-6 in extra-inning games.
Coming off a six-game road sweep at Rocket City, the Blue Wahoos (76-55) again started fast. They worked four walks for a first-inning run off M-Braves opener Drue Hackenberg. They got another run in the second of an RBI single from Nasim Nuñez.
They took a 3-1 in the fourth by loading the bases before a fielder’s choice groundout from Victor Mesa Jr. But when Nuñez hit into a double play to end the inning, the Blue Wahoos didn’t have multiple baserunners the rest of the game.
The M-Braves (60-72), who are now 11-14 this season against Pensacola, jumped on two mistake pitches from Palacios to change the game.
Palacios was brilliant in his last outing, going eight scoreless innings on three hits in a win last week at Rocket City. He flashed some of that same effectiveness Tuesday.
But in the sixth inning with two outs and nobody on, he gave up a single to Jesse Franklin and Bryson Horne followed by blasting a pitch deep over the right field wall to tie the game. In the seventh, Cal Conley’s solo homer provided a 4-3 lead.
The Blue Wahoos tied the game when Cody Morissette led off the bottom of the ninth with a homer that cleared the right field wall and a leaping attempt by Drew Campbell.
The M-Braves won the game in the 10th when placed runner Campbell stole third, then scored on a wild pitch, by closer Jefry Yan.
The Blue Wahoos had their placed runner, Mesa Jr., reach third on a wild pitch with none out. But M-Braves reliever Brooks Wilson threw a steady succession of splitter fastballs that resulted in three consecutive swinging strikeouts from Nuñez, Will Banfield and Jake Thompson to end the game.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, former Pensacola Catholic standout Jordan McCants had a sacrifice bunt that became a game-winning play on a throwing error to score Jan Mercado as the Jupiter Hammerheads won their Florida State League playoff opener 3-2 in 10 innings.
The Blue Wahoos’ series with the M-Braves continues on Wednesday.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Cpl. JR Spears Coed Softball Tournament Team, Sponsor Registrations Open
September 11, 2023
The Cpl. JR Spears Coed Softball Tournament will be held in October, but now is the time for teams and sponsors to sign up.
The tournament will begin at 8 a.m. on October 7 at Exchange Park with all proceeds going to the Jonathan Ross Spears Memorial Endowed Scholarship fund at Pensacola State College. This will be a coed slow pitch softball double elimination tournament with eight teams.
Team registration is $200. Additional sponsorship opportunities are available ranging from $100 to $1,000. For more information, email John.G.Hills88@gmail.com or call (703) 228-9874.
Corporal Jonathan Ross “JR” Spears was born on June 30, 1984, to Tim and Marie Spears of Molino.
JR grew up in Molino and attended Bratt Elementary, Barrineau Park Elementary and Ransom Middle schools before graduating in 2002 from Tate High School where he was an offensive lineman for the Aggies. Following graduation, he attended Pensacola Junior College where he was on the dean’s list. During this time, JR succeeded in his goal of losing 80 pounds so that he could fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a United States Marine..
JR enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2003, completed recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina, and graduated the infantry school at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, in February 2004.
JR’s first permanent duty station was with the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine regiment, in 29 Palms, California. While stationed there, JR completed several specialized training courses and was particularly proud of receiving his EMT certification. From April through October 2004, he served his first tour of duty in Iraq.
In September 2005, JR and his unit were deployed to Iraq for a second tour of duty. On October 23, 2005, JR’s unit was attacked by Iraqi enemy forces in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. JR was killed in action saving another Marines life.
In 2008 the parents of Cpl. JR Spears started an endowment scholarship in his honor. The fund currently has a balance of $32,000 with yearly investment earnings of just over $1,000. Yearly, the investment earnings are awarded as a scholarship to student.
The goal for this and future tournaments is to increase the fund balance to $100,000. At that level, the investment should triple causing the scholarship to be even more helpful all in the name of a hometown hero.
Wahoos Complete Sweep of Rocket City, Set To Being Final Regular Season Series
September 11, 2023
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos wrapped an historic road schedule with yet another win on Sunday afternoon, beating the Rocket City Trash Pandas 9-5 to complete a six-game sweep and extend their winning streak to seven games.
With a week of home games remaining before playoffs begin, the Blue Wahoos finished their time away from Pensacola with a 42-25 record that is tops in the Southern League and by far the best in team history.
Once again, home runs made the difference as the Blue Wahoos went deep four times for the second time in four games. Paul McIntosh opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the first, and Bennett Hostetler and Cody Morissette added solo shots in the second for an early 4-1 lead.
M.D. Johnson allowed two home runs of his own, and surrendered an RBI single to Mariano Ricciardi in the fourth to tie the game 4-4. The Pensacola starter escaped further trouble with a pick-off and a strikeout, preserving the tie and ending his afternoon as the game went to the fifth.
Caleb Wurster (W, 1-1) pitched 3.0 innings of scoreless relief for Pensacola, and Jake Thompson put the Blue Wahoos in front for good with a two-run homer against Ivan Armstrong (L, 2-4) in the sixth.
Morissette added a sacrifice fly in the eighth, and the Blue Wahoos added two more insurance runs on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth before Jefry Yan finished off the Trash Pandas in the bottom half.
The Blue Wahoos completed just their third six-game sweep in team history, and are now a season-high 22 games above .500 at 76-54.
After an off day Monday, the Blue Wahoos begin their final series of the regular season on Tuesday evening against the Mississippi Braves.
written by Erik Bremer
FWC Hunter Safety Courses Set For Molino, Cantonment, Jay, Milton
September 10, 2023
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is offering free hunter safety internet-completion courses in Molino, Cantonment, Jay and mIlton. Hunter safety courses are designed to help students become safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters and learn about conservation.
Participants must take the online course before attending a class.
All firearms, ammunition and materials are provided free of charge. Students should bring a pen or pencil and paper. An adult must accompany children younger than 16 at all times.
Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course and have a hunting license to hunt alone (unsupervised). The FWC course satisfies hunter-safety training requirements for all other states and Canadian provinces.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
- Sept 11, 6-10 pm & Sept 30, 9am-noon — Molino Community Center
- Oct 2, 6-10 pm & Oct 28, 9am-noon — Escambia County Extension, Cantonment
- Oct 9, 6-10 pm & Oct 28, 9am- noon — Molino Community Center
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
- Sept 18, 6-10pm & Sept 30, 9am-noon — Jay Community Center
- Sept 25, 6-10pm & Sept 30, 9am-noon — Santa Rosa County Extension, Milton
- Oct 16, 6-10pm & Oct 28, 9am-noon — Jay Community Center
- Oct 23, 6-10pm & Oct 28, 9am-noon — Santa Rosa County Extension, Milton
Those interested in attending a course can register online and obtain information about future hunter safety classes or by calling FWC safety coordinator Jeff Schumacher or staff assistant Linda Adams at (850) 413-0085 for more information.
UWF Beats McKendree, 35-3
September 10, 2023
The season has started with UWF’s football team getting a pair of wins by identical scores.
But the latest one on Saturday was viewed differently.
The sixth-ranked Argos again received a dominating performance by their defense, along with more superlatives from quarterback Peewee Jarrett, but an alarming number of penalties (15) in UWF’s 35-3 road win against McKendree University created an urgency to correct.
“We’re not content with how this game went, so we have to keep getting better,” said Argos’ coach Kaleb Nobles, whose team opened its season Sept. 1 with a 35-3 home win against Kentucky Wesleyan. “Obviously, we’ll take wins any way we can get them. And we have a lot to improve on and these guys know that.
“We just have to clean up little things, clean up things between the whistles and be better about smart play. But overall, I am proud of the team and we have to keep improving up.”
His biggest salute was with UWF’s defense, which has been two field goals away from producing two shutouts. An astonishing 22 different Argos’ defenders recorded at least one tackle. UWF held McKendree to minus-32 yards rushing, recorded seven sacks, and limited the home team to just 2.4 yards per play.
McKendree only crossed inside the red zone when the Bearcats were stalled at the 9 on their final possession and missed a field goal. Their only points came on a 47-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Senior linebacker Gael Laurent shined again with five solo stops. Newcomer John McMullen, a graduate student transfer, had four stops, including three sacks. Onelio Rios also had four stops.
“I am really excited about those guys,” Nobles said. “That (defensive) line is awesome and just doing a great job getting after the quarterback.”
The team’s big performance blemish was UWF being whistled for 15 penalties for 160 yards. One of the penalties – a holding call — nullified Caden Leggett scoring on a 62 yard direct snap on a fake punt early in the fourth quarter.
It did result in a first down, however, and UWF scored five plays later on Jarrett’s fourth touchdown pass of the game to complete the scoring. Jarrett finished by completing 21 of 28 passes for 329 yards, including a 77-yard catch-and-run by transfer John Jiles, who played a year ago at Virginia Union.
Nine different UWF players caught a pass, which reinforced this team’s potential.
“We have to worry about us, not worry about the other team or the officials, just do our job as a team overall,” said Nobles in a message he will likely keep repeating to his team this week.
The win continued UWF’s well-earned moniker as “Kings of the Road.” They are now 32-6 in road games since 2017, among the best road records of any NCAA Division II team. They had a 16-game road win streak ended last December in the D-2 national semifinal game and that was their first road playoff loss at a campus site.
This game was the fourth-longest, regular-season road trip – a distance of 724 miles – to a school located 28 miles east of St. Louis. The team was set to travel all night Saturday back to Pensacola.
Their next road trip will be the shortest one in UWF history – less than 220 miles to Tallahassee – for a marquee game Sept. 16 against Florida A&M, which played the South Florida Bulls in a night game Saturday in Tampa.
After that game, which will be the highest-profile Division I team UWF has played, the Argos will start Gulf South Conference play.
“Obviously, there is a lot of stuff we have to clean up because the road will be tougher moving forward,” Nobles said.
Saturday’s game at McKendree began the way UWF wanted. The Argos scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions.
They capped their first offensive series with Jamontez Woods taking a pitch from Jarrett and sweeping seven yards into the left corner of the end zone.
On the second play of the second quarter, Jarrett connected with Leggett on a 47-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0. The Argos then answered McKendree’s lone points with a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Jiles catching his first TD of the game on a 16-yard throw with 5:10 left before halftime.
Jiles’ second TD was more spectacular. He caught a pass from Jarrett at midfield, broke right through a charging defender, and raced the final 50 yards untouched for a 28-3 lead late in the third quarter.
The fake punt in the fourth quarter followed a timeout. With the ball at the UWF 38, Leggett took the direct snap, stunned the McKendree defense and raced past defenders into the end zone, but the ball was placed at the McKendree 30 following the holding call on the run.
“I told our guys, I’m not afraid to use (fake punt) no matter what,” Nobles said. “I don’t try to hold anything for anybody. I wanted to make sure we’re giving our guys a chance to score points.
“(Special teams) Coach (Jordan) Remsza said (before play), ‘Are you good with this?’ I said, you are dadgum right I am. I told our guys on offense I’m not afraid to be aggressive and go for it on fourth down, too, and we did after that (fake punt to finish TD drive).”
After the game, UWF players and coaches had a picture taken with the scoreboard in the background. It’s a new tradition Nobles wants to continue for all wins – home and away.
The Argos are now 5-0 against the teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference with its Midwest locations.
The Argos game against Florida A&M is set for a 5 p.m. (CDT) kickoff at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
by Bill Vilona / photo Tim Vizer / UWF for NorthEscambia.com