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SL Pensacola Blue Wahoos

Blue Wahoos Clinch Eighth Consecutive Winning Season After Beating Biscuits

September 13, 2024 - Southern League (SL)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos News Release


Pensacola Blue Wahoos' Nathan Martorella on game night
Pensacola Blue Wahoos' Nathan Martorella on game night
(Pensacola Blue Wahoos)

Pensacola, Fla. - The Blue Wahoos missed on a playoff berth this season.

But they now have continued an impressive feat.

In a performance Friday that reminded of early summer success, complete with a near-capacity crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium filled with energy, along with quality pitching and a big inning, the Blue Wahoos clinched an eighth consecutive winning season with an 6-2 victory against the Montgomery Biscuits.

The Blue Wahoos (69-65) have now had winning seasons since 2016 with three different affiliations. This one is the fourth in a row for Blue Wahoos manager Kevin Randel - the only manager in franchise history to do it - and he guided this season's ballclub with 60 different players.

Pensacola is the only team in the Miami Marlins organization in 2024, from the big-league club through Class A, that will end the season with a winning record.

Friday was also special for the atmosphere. The Blue Wahoos' second Hawaiian shirt giveaway, this one a light blue design sponsored by Kona Brewing Company and presented to fans ages 21-older, helped attract a crowd of 4,827 that had many reasons to cheer.

After the game, a sizable portion of the crowd remained in the ballpark to cheer Jessica Webster, a stomach cancer survivor and member of the Miracle League of Northwest Florida and ARC-Gateway, as she took a trip around the bases with Blue Wahoos mascot Kazoo.

The crowd cheered when learning after six months of treatment, Jessica is now cancer-free.

It provided a poignant finale to a game the Blue Wahoos needed to end a three-game losing streak this week and bring good vibes back to their dugout.

The game began with Montgomery's leadoff batter, third baseman Brayden Taylor, smashing a home run off Blue Wahoos starter Tristian Stevens. Taylor is one of nine Biscuits players ranked in the top 10 of the Tampa Bay Rays' best 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline.

He was also a big part of why the Rays won the first three games of this series to clinch the second half Southern League South Division title, following their first-half division win.

But from that point Stevens settled into a groove and did not allow another run in his four innings of work. He struck out four and had zero walks.

The Blue Wahoos tied the game in the fourth inning on Johnny Olmstead's two-out single to score Joe Mack, who had led off the inning with a walk.

The Biscuits reclaimed the lead in the fifth against reliever Adam Laskey when Jalen Battles hit an RBI double in the gap to score Willy Vasquez.

And then, the Blue Wahoos produced a rally they had lacked earlier this week.

They scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth, beginning with Nathan Martorella's leadoff homer. The next three batters reached base on a walk and two singles. Graham Pauley's single scored Jared Serna, who had walked and stolen second.

Paul McIntosh followed with a sacrifice fly to score Mack. Olmstead delivered another RBI single.

The lead expanded to 6-2 in the sixth when Serna's sacrifice fly scored Andrew Pintar, who had led off the inning with a single. Pintar, Martorella and Olmstead all had two hits as part of the Blue Wahoos' 11-hit attack.

Laskey earned his sixth win in relief, working four innings and allowing just two hits, one walk and striking out four batters. Woo-Suk Go finished the game in the ninth with a scoreless inning.

The Blue Wahoos will have their final Fireworks Night game of 2024 on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. with lefthander Luis Palacios on the mound to seek his 10th win of the season.

GAME NOTABLES

--- Preston Hoffman, part of the Pensacola Song Writers organization, entertained fans outside the ballpark before the game with a medley of country music songs.

--- A crowd formed outside Blue Wahoos Stadium on Friday more than an hour before gates opened at 5 p.m. to be among the first of 1,000 fans to receive the Hawaiian shirt. It was the second of the floral design shirts the Blue Wahoos had for promotions this season. In July, a black-pink design was a popular item and sponsored by Pensacola Kia Autosport.

--- There were several big groups attending Friday's game, led by Navy Federal Credit Union with 150 people on the Coors Deck above right field, along with The Talley Group-Keller Williams Reality Gulf Coast with 133 people on the Winn-Dixie Party Deck in right field.

--- The National Anthem was performed by the Haze Gray Quartet, a group or retired U.S. Navy officers who have performed multiple times this season.

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Images from this story

Pensacola Blue Wahoos' Nathan Martorella on game night
Pensacola Blue Wahoos' Nathan Martorella on game night
   

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Southern League Stories from September 13, 2024


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