Cantonment 14U Pony Team Wins GCYBA District Allstars Championship
June 24, 2013
The Cantonment 14U Pony team brought home their second straight GCYBA District Allstars Championship Sunday. Cantonment beat Myrtle Grove 8-2 in Navarre to remain undefeated in the tourney to win the championship.
Team members are Clay Ryland, Corey Ryland , Money Purifoy , Josh Neese , Corey Grim, Quentin Sampson , Nickey Johnson, Travis Delacruz , Rod Smith and Chris Geoghagan. Coaches are Chris Ryland, Mike Neese, Wonder Purifoy , Barry Gunter and Ritchie Grim.
Pictured: Cantonment 14U Pony team celebrates their GCYBA District Allstars Championship win. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Win 14-Inning Marathon 4-3 Over Montgomery
June 24, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos battled for nearly five hours and set a new season-high with 14 innings played before knocking off the Montgomery Biscuits 4-3 in the rubber match of the five-game set.
With the score tied at three entering the 14th, Ryan LaMarre smoked a double to left on the first pitch he saw to set the stage. Luis Durango then laid down a sacrifice bunt that the pitcher Neil Schenk (1-2) threw away into right field. LaMarre raced home to score, what proved to be, the winning run.
Wilkin De La Rosa walked two batters in the last of the 14th inning but got Keith Castillo to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the contest while stranding to tying run at second base. De La Rosa (2-4) picked up the win with three scoreless innings of relief, striking out three and walking a pair.
Montgomery had a chance to win the game in the last of the 11th as they put runners on first and third with just one out. Chris Manno countered the threat by striking out Mikie Mahtook and Cameron Seitzer to keep the game alive. Manno struck out six in three frames as the Pensacola bullpen combined to allow just one run on five hits in nine innings of relief with 11 strikeouts.
The Wahoos jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Montgomery starter Jake Floethe. In the second inning, Pensacola loaded the bases on a double and two walks before Floethe walked Durango to force in the game’s first run. Floethe was able to escape without further damage by getting Corey Wimberly to fly out.
In the fourth inning, Pensacola again loaded the bases with one out and Floethe’s lack of control contributed to two runs. LaMarre scampered home on a wild pitch before Devin Lohman drove home the Wahoos’ third run with a sacrifice fly to score Durango.
Montgomery came back with a pair of runs in the fifth inning against Pensacola starter Josh Smith. The Wahoos righty issued three walks to load the bases with two outs for Todd Glaesmann, who slammed a single up the middle to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Smith made it through five innings but settled for a no-decision as he allowed two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks in five innings.
Josh Ravin relieved Smith and allowed the tying run in the seventh as Robby Price led off with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild offering from Ravin.
Pensacola now returns home for the first of five games with the Mississippi Braves on Monday night at 7 p.m. The Blue Wahoos have yet to announce their starting pitcher while the Braves will go with Mitch Atkins (1-1, 4.67).
Molino’s Gindl Gets First MLB Hit
June 23, 2013
Molino’s Caleb Gindl had his first hit Saturday for the Milwaulkee Brewers in their 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves. Gindl picked up his first Major League hit — a single — as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, before stealing his first bag.
He was called up by the Brewers a week ago for Ryan Braunl, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a thumb injury. Thursday against the Houston Astros, Gindl made it to third on an error — hitting a drive that was dropped by an Astros’ center fielder.
Photos: Northview Summer Ball
June 23, 2013
After 22 games against several larger local schools and teams from as far away as Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana, the Northview Chiefs will wrap up their summer ball schedule on Sunday with games at Catholic and Escambia.
Pictured: Northview summer ball action from Saturday. Photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Biscuits Walk Off Over Wahoos
June 23, 2013
Robby Price belted a two-run walk-off homer lifting the Montgomery Biscuits to a 4-3 victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Saturday night at Riverwalk Stadium.
Entering the frame trailing 3-2, Kevin Kiermaier reached on a one-out hustle double setting the stage for Price, who ripped a no-doubt shot off Pensacola hurler Loek Van Mil (0-4). It was Van Mil’s third blown save of the year.
The back-and-forth affair was scoreless headed to the last of the fifth. Kyeong Kang led off the frame with a single and came around to score on a Robi Estrada single through the right side. The Biscuits ended up loading the bases in the fifth with one out against Pensacola starter Shaun Ellis, but Ellis induced two lazy pop-ups to escape the jam.
Ellis earned a no decision for the Wahoos, but once again gave a superb outing. The right-hander allowed just a run on six hits in five innings with two strikeouts.
Pensacola knotted the game at one in the top of the sixth on Yorman Rodriguez’s RBI single that extended his hitting streak to 13 games between Bakersfield and Pensacola. Much like Montgomery, the Wahoos loaded the bases with two outs, but Erik Hamren got Barnhart to pop out to end the threat.
Montgomery pushed back on top 3-2 in the seventh inning on a two-out double from Mikie Mahtook. Wilkin De La Rosa was able to retire Cameron Seitzer with two insurance runs in scoring position.
The Blue Wahoos rallied for a pair of runs in the eighth inning against Hamren. With runners on second and third and one out, Travis Mattair bounced a ball to the third baseman, but it was hit softly enough that it allowed Corey Wimberly to scamper home with the tying run. After a walk to Marquez Smith, Barnhart greeted new pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser with a solid single up the middle to score Devin Lohman from second.
Despite allowing the then go-ahead run, Riefenhauser ended up picking up the win to improve to 3-0 on the year. The southpaw tossed a scoreless 1.1 innings, but allowed an inherited runner to score.
The two teams will square off in the rubber game of the series on Sunday night at 6:05 p.m. Josh Smith (5-6, 3.66) gets the start for Pensacola against Montgomery’s Jake Floethe (1-1, 6.00).
story by Kevin Burke
Wahoos Pound Biscuits 9-3
June 22, 2013
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos used a 15-hit attack to blast the Montgomery Biscuits 9-3 on Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium. Every member of the Wahoos lineup smacked at least one base hit in tying a franchise-high with the 15 base knocks.
Pensacola gave up an early run in the first inning but the offense turned the deficit into a lead in the top of the third against Montgomery starter Enny Romero (6-3). With the bases loaded, Yorman Rodriguez drew a walk to tie the game and was followed by Travis Mattair’s RBI single and Marquez Smith’s RBI fielder’s choice to push Pensacola in front 3-1.
The Biscuits quickly tied it in the last of the third on an RBI triple from Kevin Kiermaier, who then scored on a groundout from Robby Price to knot the game at three. That was the last rally Montgomery would muster against Wahoos starter Daniel Renken (2-5) who settled down to retire 10 straight from the third through the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, the Wahoos’ bats erupted to score in three straight innings from the fifth through the seventh. In the fifth, Mattair belted a solo homer out of the park to left field, his team-high eighth of the season, to give Pensacola a 4-3 lead. Mattair ended up going 3-for-4 on the night with two runs scored and two RBI.
An inning later, Matt Kennelly drove home Ryan LaMarre with a double and came around to score on a sac fly by Corey Wimberly to make it 6-3. Kennelly established a new career high with four hits on the night, scoring two runs and driving in one.
In the seventh inning, the first two Wahoos reached in front of Smith who smashed a two-run double down the left field line to give Pensacola a five-run advantage. Smith drove home three runs to increase his total to four in his five games with Pensacola.
The Wahoos added another run in the top of the ninth inning as Wimberly reached on a fielding error by first baseman Cameron Seitzer, allowing LaMarre to score to make the final margin 9-3.
Renken picked up his first win since April 8, his first start of the year, with six innings of work, allowing three runs on five hits while striking out six. Trevor Bell and Chris Manno combined to throw three scoreless innings out of the pen to nail down the win.
Romero took just his second loss in the last two months, both of which have come against Pensacola. He gave up four runs on six hits in five innings. Pensacola peppered the Biscuits bullpen for five runs on nine hits in four innings.
The Wahoos look to take the series on Saturday night behind Shaun Ellis (2-1, 3.38). Montgomery will counter with Victor Mateo (2-7, 6.51). First pitch from Riverwalk Stadium is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
story by Kevin Burke
Gindl Gets MLB Start
June 21, 2013
Molino’s Caleb Gindl made his first Major League start and looked for his first hit Thursday afternoon for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Gindl was up to bat in second, hitting a drive where it appeared Houston Astros’ center fielder Justin Maxwell was distracted by a padded support structure that juts onto the field. The baseball bounced out of Maxwell’s glove and two runners scored for a 2-0 Brewers leader. Gindl made it to third on what was ruled an error, not a hit.
The Astros went on to win 7-4 over the Brewers in Houston.
Florida Gators, Alabama Crimson Tide To Play Baseball In Pensacola
June 21, 2013
The Pensacola Sports Association will host two NCAA Division I baseball games next spring. The University of Florida Gators will play the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles on Tuesday, March 4 and the Alabama Crimson Tide will play the Troy Trojans on Tuesday, March 25.
Both games will be played at the waterfront stadium at the Community Maritime Park. Tickets will be available beginning in December.
“This will be a great event to showcase our great city and beautiful waterfront ballpark,” commented Ray Palmer, PSA Executive Director. “All four of these programs have great support and a large alumni base in Northwest Florida. We feel these games will not only benefit our local sports fans, but will also be a sports tourism event for the area.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to bring our team to Pensacola for a game at a great waterfront ball park. It should be a good game between two good baseball programs. We have a couple players from the Pensacola area, so it will be nice to give them an opportunity to play in front of their family and friends. Also, we have a large Alabama fan base in that region of Florida, so it will give them an opportunity to come to the local ball park and support the Crimson Tide,” said University of Alabama Head Coach Mitch Gaspard.
“We are looking forward to our program having an opportunity to compete next spring in Pensacola against a quality Southern Miss baseball program. “We are excited to travel and play in front of the Gator Fans in Northwest Florida’s Panhandle and compete in a beautiful stadium, it should be a tremendous environment,” said University of Florida Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
Pensacola Storm 10U Major Win 8th Tournament Title
June 21, 2013
The Pensacola Storm 10U Majors team won the North Florida Championship recently in Destin, their eighth first place tournament win out of 14 USSSA tournaments.
The Storm 10U team beat the West Florida Hammerheads 8-2 before defeating the Dirtbags of Montgomery 14-7. The wins gave the Storm the number one seed for the tournament.
On Sunday, the Storm beat the Dirtbags again in the semifinals 4-3 and then went on to win the North Florida Championship with a 9-4 victory over the Pace Mudcats. The tournament win gives the Pensacola Storm a USSSA 40-13 overall record.
Pictured top: (bottom, L-R) Aaron Noack, Josh Turner, Trenton Norton, Tanner Rouchon, (top, L-R) Jordan Jarman, Ian Ladieu, Jordan McCants, Damarius McGhee, Hunter Pierson, Coleman Dorsett and Jordan Peacock. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Districts Proposed For High School Baseball, Softball
June 20, 2013
New baseball and softball districts proposed last week by the Florida High School Athletic Association will mean some changes for several local schools.
The Tate Aggies and Navarre will move up to a new District 1-7A, along with Niceville, Crestview and Fort Walton Beach.
District 1-6A will drop to six teams without Tate and Navarre — Pine ForestEscambia, Milton, Pace, PHS and Washington.
The West Florida Jaguars and Catholic will be in District 1-4A along with Walton and Marianna.
The Northview Chiefs and Jay Royals will move into District 1-3A in Region 2 along with Baker, Chipley, Freeport and Holmes County.
Schools can appeal the new district alignments with the FHSAA until June 25.