Olympics: Women’s Soccer (With NorthEscambia Gallery)
August 10, 2012
Great Britain advanced as far as the quarterfinals in Olympic women’s football (soccer) in London.
A Molino family living in England was there at Wembley Stadium for Great Britain’s 1-0 win over Brazil. For a photo gallery, click here.
Great Britain went on to lose to Canada 0-2.
Pictured top: Great Britain’s women’s football (soccer) team celebrates after a 1-0 win over Brazil in London’s Wembley Stadium. Pictured below: Game action. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Walk Off With 3-2 Extra Inning Win Over Lookouts
August 10, 2012
Blue Wahoos second baseman Brodie Greene drove home the winning run with a walk off single to left in the tenth, while left fielder Bryson Smith recorded three hits and shortstop Billy Hamilton stole two more bases to lead Pensacola to a 3-2 extra-inning victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Thursday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
With the victory, the Fish improved to 25-22 in the second half to move to within one game of the Jacksonville Suns for first place in the South Division. Chattanooga fell to 26-21 since the league’s midpoint after the defeat. It was the first walkoff victory for Pensacola since June 13 versus Mobile.
Smith reached on an error to begin the bottom of the tenth, took second on 3B David Vidal’s sacrifice bunt and third on an error to set the stage for Greene. With a 1-1 count, the infielder grounded the pitch through the hole between shortstop and third base to cue the celebration. It was the first and only time the Blue Wahoos led all game.
Chattanooga took their first lead in the fifth, when starting pitcher Aaron Miller helped his own cause with a solo homer to left. It was the hurler’s first career roundtripper in his fourth season of his professional career. The Blue Wahoos tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame when Hamilton tripled before coming across on a fielder’s choice.
The Lookouts then grabbed the advantage again at 2-1 in the seventh thanks to their second longball of the evening. LF Brahiam Maldonado began the frame with a solo blast to left, his fifth homer of the season.
Pensacola answered the tally in the bottom of the seventh when Hamilton led off with a bunt single, stole second for the second time on the evening and moved to third on a flyout before coming home on Smith’s run-scoring single to center, which would force extra innings.
Smith (3-5, 1 R, 2 RBI) and Hamilton (2-4, 2 R, 1 3B, 1 BB, 2 SB) each recorded multi-hit efforts in the contest for the Blue Wahoos, while Maldonado collected three hits for the Lookouts. With his two steals tonight, Hamilton has now totaled 133 this year, bringing him to within 12 of tying Vince Coleman’s single-season record of 145, set in 1983.
Blue Wahoos starter Tony Cingrani (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) did not factor in the decision despite giving up only a lone earned run on just four hits while fanning six in six innings of work, while RHP Curtis Partch (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) earned the win after firing the final 1.2 frames. Chattanooga reliever Chris Withrow (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 3-3 on the year after yielding the final unearned run.
With Pensacola leading the series 2-0, the two clubs are scheduled to meet again Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the bayfront stadium. RHP Kyle Lotzkar is expected to get the nod for the Fish, while RHP Allen Webster is slated to take the hill for Chattanooga.
By Andrew Green
Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Hamilton Steals Three As Wahoos Shut Out Lookouts 5-0
August 9, 2012
Pensacola starting pitcher Chad Rogers earned his second win in as many starts at the Double-A level, with relievers Drew Hayes and Justin Freeman keeping Chattanooga off the board, while shortstop Billy Hamilton stole three bases to increase his total to 131 as the Blue Wahoos shut out the Lookouts 5-0 on Wednesday night at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium.
With the win, the Fish moved to a 24-22 record in the second of the season, keeping within two games of the first-place Jacksonville Suns in the South Division. Chattanooga fell to a 26-20 mark since the All-Star Break with the loss.
Rogers (6.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 SO) threw six solid innings to improve to 2-0 with the Blue Wahoos, yielding just three hits while striking out six. Rogers also recorded his first professional hit of his career with a triple to center in the sixth, later scoring. Hayes (2.0 IP, 2 SO) and Freeman (1.0 IP, 1 H) followed Rogers by combining to give up just one hit and no walks in the final three frames, while Lookouts starter Matt Magill (5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) suffered the loss.
The scoreless outing from Freeman increased his scoreless consecutive innings streak to 21.2 innings dating back to June 22. In those 17 appearances, the right-hander has been successful in all 11 save opportunities and combined to give up just seven hits. Left-hander Tony Cingrani owns the team-record at 24.0 straight shutout frames, having accomplished that task between June 22 until July 13.
After reaching on an infield hit in the fourth, Hamilton proceeded to swipe second and then third, before coming home on a throwing error to push Pensacola up 1-0. The speedster tallied his third theft of the contest two innings later after reaching on a base knock before taking advantage of a wild pitch for the club’s second score of the inning, which made it 4-0.
3B David Vidal, who reached base three times, led off the fifth with a double and advanced to third on a flyout before being sent in on C Mark Fleury’s sacrifice fly to center. Pensacola plated their final tally in the eighth after RF Josh Fellhauer drew a free pass, his third of the game and got to third on a base knock prior to scoring on a fielder’s choice.
Hamilton (2-4, 2 R) was the lone Blue Wahoos batter to record two hits in the contest, while Chattanooga RF Blake Smith (2-4, 1 2B) collected half of the Lookouts’ four base knocks. With his three thefts, the 21-year-old has now stolen 131 bases this season, meaning he needs 15 to break Vince Coleman’s single-season Minor League record of 145, which he set in 1983.
The two teams are scheduled to face off again Thursday night, with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. LHP Tony Cingrani is slated to toe the rubber for the Blue Wahoos, while the Lookouts are expected to counter with LHP Aaron Miller.
Andrew Green
Obispo Shines As Pensacola Beats Huntsville Stars 6-1
August 8, 2012
Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Wirfin Obispo earned his third straight win with seven shutout innings pitched, while catcher Tucker Barnhart and left fielder Donald Lutz each blasted homers to lead Pensacola to a 6-1 victory over the Huntsville Stars in the series finale on Tuesday night at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama.
With the win, the Fish improved their second half record to 23-22 to remain within two games of Jacksonville for first place in the South Division of the Southern League. The defeat dropped Huntsville to a 22-23 mark since the league’s All-Star break.
Obispo (7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 8 SO) was victorious for the third consecutive outing after yielding just four hits in his seven scoreless innings. Including tonight, the right-hander in his last three starts has accumulated a 1.50 ERA (3 ER in 18.0 IP) and struck out 25 while giving up just eight hits in that span.
Relievers Wilkin De La Rosa (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 SO) and Curtis Partch (1.1 IP, 2 BB, 2 SO) joined forces to fire the final two frames in support of Obispo, holding the Stars to just one run. Huntsville starter Jimmy Nelson (5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO) suffered the loss to fall to 1-2 on the year, while RHP R.J. Seidel (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 SO) kept the Fish off the scoreboard in his three innings of relief for the Stars.
The Blue Wahoos got the game’s scoring started in the fourth, taking an early 1-0 lead. RF Josh Fellhauer drew a leadoff walk and then moved to third on a double to right from 1B Beau Mills, before coming across on a passed ball for the contest’s first score.
Pensacola would then power ahead to a 6-0 advantage in the next two frames to go up 6-0. 2B Brodie Greene began the fifth with a double, before Barnhart left the yard for his first homer at the Double-A level, which made it 3-0. Andrew Means and 3B David Vidal would then each reach on free passes in the next frame, before Lutz brought both in when he launched his third longball for the Blue Wahoos to right.
Huntsville plated their lone tally in the eighth to dash the Blue Wahoos’ shutout hopes. CF Josh Prince doubled to left and would move to third on a groundout, before coming across on 2B Scooter Gennett’s run-scoring single to center.
Greene (2-4, 1 R, 2 2B), Barnhart (2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB) and CF Ryan LaMarre (2-5) each recorded multi-hit efforts for the Blue Wahoos in the victory, while Gennett (2-4, 1 RBI) collected two hits for the Stars. Greene continued his hot streak at the plate and has now compiled a .533 average (8-15) in his last four games after going hitless in his previous five contests.
The Fish now head back to Pensacola Bayfront Stadium for a five-game series with the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. First pitch of the series is set for Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m., with RHP Chad Rogers scheduled to get the nod for the Blue Wahoos, while the Lookouts are expected to counter with RHP Matt Magill.
Families Count will be holding a hygiene drive to benefit homeless veterans, and will be collecting new hygiene products such as soap, shaving cream, razors, deodorant and more at the main gate. It’s also Back to School Night at the bayfront stadium, with fans encouraged in addition to bring new school supplies to help “Cram the Van. All items will be donated to area families, while there will also be old fashioned carnival games set up around the concourse.
By Andrew Green
Pictured: Wirfin Obispo earned his third straight win Tuesday night for the Blue Wahoos. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Former NBA Coach Leads Bratt Basketball Camp
August 7, 2012
A basketball camp was held recently at the First Baptist Church of Bratt under the leadership of a former NBA coach.
Coach Roger Dutremble of Global Sports Outreach taught kids the fundamentals of basketball along with Biblical awareness.
Dutremble is a a retired coach and member of the International Basketball Hall of Fame. His career includes coaching at every level from high school to the NBA, and into international arenas, with a lifetime coaching record of 687-117 and seven national championships. He was selected “Coach of the Year” six times, and served as national team head coach to Belgium, Scotland, and Jordan. He was an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, serving under Paul Westhead and Pat Riley, from 1979-83 and helping the team to three NBA championships with players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
For a photo gallery, click here.
“One of the many things that touched me about the camp”, said Bratt Student Pastor Tim Hawsey, “is coach does not receive any salary.The $35 registration fee will actually be used to purchase shoes and basketballs for children in other countries that do not even own a pair of shoes. So, we not only benefited much from learning about basketball, but we were able to participate in missions, too.”
Each of the over two dozen students completing the camp received a t-shirt and copy of Dutremble’s book “From the Backcourt to the Frontcourt – A Journey Into Faith” which details the coach’s life from abandonment as a child, living on the street, to his climb to the top of the sports world.
Pictured: A basketball camp with former NBA coach Roger Dutremble was held recently at the First Baptist Church of Bratt. Submitted photos by Ken Wooton for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs To Hold Football Camp For Ages 8 To 8th Grade
August 7, 2012
The Northview High School Chiefs will host a football camp Saturday.
The camp is for players age eight years to the eighth grade. Registration is $30 which includes a hot dog lunch, camp t-shirt and a free pass to the first home game. Camp participants will be recognized at halftime of the first home game.
For more information and a registration form, click here (pdf).
Stars Score Five Unanswered Runs To Down Wahoos 5-3
August 7, 2012
After plating three first inning runs, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos allowed the Huntsville Stars to score five unanswered runs as the Wahoos dropped their third straight in Huntsville, 5-3, on Monday night.
As they did in the first three games of the series, the Blue Wahoos scored first. Pensacola plated three runs in the first inning to give starter Daniel Corcino some early run support. The Wahoos loaded the bases with one out and got the first run on a fielder’s choice to the shortstop off the bat of Bryson Smith plating Josh Fellhauer from third. David Vidal followed with a base hit that scored Ryan LaMarre. Pensacola went up 3-0 a batter later on an RBI single from Brodie Greene. That would be all the offense the Wahoos would get. They only had one hit after the second inning and did not have a single base runner over the last four innings.
The Stars started their attack by tying the game in the third. Hunter Morris scored Brock Kjeldgaard from first on a triple down the right field line. Two batters later he scored on a double from Kentrail Davis. Stars starting pitcher Johnny Hellweg brought Davis around with his first professional hit to tie the game at 3-3.
Huntsville went ahead for good in the third inning when Domnit Bolivar scored from third on a soft ground out by Morris. Anderson De La Rosa doubled home Davis in the fourth inning for an insurance run.
Hellweg (2-0) was finished on the mound after five innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. The right-hander walked seven and struck out three to earn the win. Corcino (7-6) was charged will all five Stars runs. He lasted six innings and walked three and struck out two batters in the losing effort. Darren Byrd (4) worked a perfect ninth to earn the save.
Fellhauer singled in the first inning to extend his hit streak to seven games. Billy Hamilton stole two bases giving him 127 for the season. The Wahoos shortstop is now 18 steal shy of tying the Minor League Baseball single-season stolen base record.
The series concludes on Tuesday. RHP Wirfin Obispo (3-0, 2.47) is slated to start for the Blue Wahoos against RHP Jimmy Nelson (1-1, 4.66) for Huntsville. First pitch is set for 6:43 p.m. from Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
By Tommy Thrall
Josh Fellhauer extended his hit streak to seven games with a first inning single. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County’s Justin Gatlin Takes Bronze
August 6, 2012
It’s wasn’t the gold he had hoped for, but Escambia County’s Olympian took the bronze Sunday.
Justin Gatlin of Pensacola finished third in the men’s 100m dash at London’s Olympic Stadium. Gatlin’s personal best time of 9.79 was 0.16 behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who posted a time of 9.63 seconds, which broke the Olympic record. Bolt’s teammate, Yohan Blake, took the silver in 9.75 seconds.
Tyson Gay (Lexington, Ky.) was fourth, 0.01 behind Gatlin, while Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, Calif.) was fifth in 9.88 seconds.
Gatlin had waited eight years to get back on the podium. The 2004 Olympic 100-meter champion, Gatlin served a doping ban.
Gatlin, 30, said he was inspired watching Bolt and Blake as the Woodham High graduate served his suspension, and then worked his way back to the top.
“I went out there to challenge a mountain,” Gatlin said. “I went out there to challenge the odds, not just what I’ve been through, but the legacy of Usain Bolt. I went out there to be fearless.”
Choking up, he said, “Just to be part of an epic race, I just wanted to get on the podium and be there for my country. There were a lot of people in the audience with flags so I wanted to be there for them.
Gatlin’s next event will be the 4 x 100 relay for Team USA on Friday.
Hamilton Steals Three As The Pensacola Blue Wahoos Fall 7-4
August 6, 2012
The Huntsville Stars broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh by scoring a pair of runs on back-to-back wild pitches during an attempted intentional walk to Hunter Morris on their way to a 7-4 win Sunday night at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Ala. The win is the Stars’ second straight over the Wahoos in the five-game series. Blue Wahoos shortstop Billy Hamilton stole three more bases giving him 125 for the season. He is now alone in third place on the all-time single-season Minor League Baseball stolen base list.
Despite the loss, Pensacola remains just two games out of first place in the Southern League South Division after the Montgomery Biscuits lost to the Jacksonville Suns.
As they did in the first two games of the series, the Blue Wahoos scored first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Ryan LaMarre put Pensacola ahead with an RBI single bringing home Hamilton from third. Josh Fellhauer came home later in the inning on a groundout by David Vidal.
After getting a run in the second inning, Huntsville took its first lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Josh Prince doubled home Brock Kjeldgaard and Morris to make it a 3-2 game. Pensacola responded the next inning when the Blue Wahoos got three straight two-out extra-base hits. Beau Mills started it with a double. Vidal traded places with him a batter later to tie the game. Then, he scored when Brodie Greene tripled to give the Wahoos a 4-3 advantage.
After the Stars tied it with a sacrifice fly in to bottom of the sixth inning, they moved in front for good in the seventh. With runners at first and second base, a passed ball was charged to Wahoos catcher Tucker Barnhart moving runners up to second and third with one out. This opened first base with Morris at the plate, so an intentional walk was called for to load the bases. The next two pitches from reliever Josh Ravin were thrown to the backstop allowing both runners to score giving the Stars a 6-4 advantage. They added another run in the eighth on their way to the win.
Ravin took the loss after giving up the two seventh inning runs, though only one was earned. Brian Garman worked two scoreless innings out of the Stars bullpen in the winning effort. Brandon Kintzler worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
Offensively, Greene and Vidal continued their hot hitting with two hits each. Andrew Means also had a two-hit game for the Wahoos.
The series continues on Monday with RHP Daniel Corcino (7-5, 3.09) getting the start for Pensacola against RHP Johnny Hellweg (1-0, 0.00) for Huntsville. First pitch is set for 6:43 p.m. from Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured: Billy Hamilton had three steals on Sunday night giving him 125 for the season. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Michael Phelps Ends Olympic Career With 18th Gold, 22nd Medal
August 5, 2012
American superstar swimmer Michael Phelps closed out his brilliant career with a gold medal, swimming the butterfly leg of the victorious U.S. men’s 4×100 meter medley relay team.
It was the final race in the pool at these Summer Games and gave Phelps a remarkable all-time Olympics career record of 18 gold medals among his remarkable 22 total. No one else has more than nine golds.
“Through the ups and downs through my career, I’ve still been able to do everything that I’ve wanted to accomplish. And I’ve been able to do things that nobody has ever done, and that’s been something I’ve always I wanted to do,” he said.
The previous all-time total for Olympic medals was 18 held by former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina.
At his post-race news conference, Phelps was asked how he would describe his place in Olympic history, and he shared a conversation he had with longtime coach Bob Bowman.
“I was in the warm-down pool and I said to Bob, I’ve looked up to Michael Jordan my whole life because he’s done something that no one has ever done and he is the greatest basketball player to ever play the game,” he said. “And I said, ‘you know what, I’ve been able to become the best swimmer of all-time, and we got here together.’ And I thanked him. And it was funny, when I got out of the pool, he was like, ‘that’s not fair.’ And I said, ‘What’s not fair about it?’ And he goes, ‘you were in the pool. I was like ‘yeah, my tears could hide behind my goggles. Yours are streaming down your face.’”
At age 27, Michael Phelps says he is done with competitive swimming.
At age 17, Missy Franklin is the rising star of the U.S. women’s swim team. She captured her fourth gold medal of the Olympics by helping lead the U.S. to victory in the women’s 4×100 meter medley relay. The quartet posted a time of 3:52.05 seconds, breaking the world record set by China in 2009 by .14 seconds.
The U.S. women gave each other a big group hug on the pool deck after the win, and Franklin said they were almost at a loss for words.
“I don’t really think we said anything. I think just that hug said it all, just being together and being in each other’s arms and knowing that it was done and our Olympic experience of 2012 was over. And we couldn’t be more happy with how we finished it, just knowing that we were all there together, just savoring that moment of being world record holders and gold medalists for our country,” she said.
The other world record on the final night came in the men’s 1,500 meter freestyle, China’s Sun Yang clocked 14:31.02, bettering his own mark of last year (14:34.14) by more than three seconds.
The gold medal in the men’s 50 meter freestyle went to Dutchman Ranomi Kromowidjojo.
The United States dominated the London Olympics swimming competition. The American men’s and women’s teams each won eight gold medals, or half of the races contested. Together they won 30 total medals of the 96 handed out. Seventeen countries in all won swimming medals.
There are still two more swimming contests, but they are the 10-kilometer marathon events that take place in open water. The women compete Thursday and the men on Friday.
Track & Field in Full Swing
Meanwhile, British runner Mo Farah has won the 10,000-meters competition, holding off American training partner Galen Rupp and Ethiopia’s Tariku Bekele, who finished third.
Earlier, a packed track and field stadium roared as Briton Jessica Ennis clinched the heptathlon competition with a win in the 800 meters. Britain’s medal tally places it third in the overall standings, behind the United States and China.
History Making
South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius also strode into Olympic history Saturday, becoming the first amputee runner to compete in the Games.
Pistorius, who wears special prosthetics on both legs, finished second in a preliminary heat of the men’s 400 meters. He qualified for the semi-finals.
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce retained her Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the women’s 100-meter race. She clocked 10.75 seconds to beat American Carmelita Jeter, who crossed the finish line at 10.78 seconds. Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown took the bronze in 10.81.
[VOA]