Blue Wahoos Put on a Show in 9-7 Victory
August 15, 2019 - Southern League (SL1)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos News Release
The moment they heard of a contest offering a free, summer trip to see the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, brothers Dan and Jeff Cook raced to complete entries.
Lifelong Minnesota Twins fans and residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a mid-August, mini-vacation to Pensacola sounded enticing enough.
"We know the Twins have all these great players in their minor league system and we knew this is a great area," said Dan Cook, 29, explaining their interest.
Of course, they rarely experienced good fortune in any contest.
"We've never won anything this good," said Jeff Cook, 27, laughing.
But they have now.
The Cook brothers beamed Wednesday, wearing their Twins apparel, while standing in the Hancock-Whitney Club as winners in the first all-expense paid trip, arranged by the Blue Wahoos, to see the Twins' new Double-A affiliate and Pensacola's bayfront ballpark.
"Wow! This is amazing," said Jeff Cook,, as he gazed across left field, the expanse of Pensacola Bay and its glass-like stillness Wednesday, along with the Gulf of Mexico in the distance.
Oh yeah, and Wednesday's game worked out well, too, for them.
Dan and Jeff got to see the Twins' three No. 1 draft picks from 2016-18 - Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis and Trevor Larnach - go a combined 8-for-14 with three RBI as the Blue Wahoos outslugged the Chattanooga Lookouts 9-7 to even their series.
The Blue Wahoos scored four runs in the first inning, five runs in the sixth.
"I'm just glad our team put it together, had a bunch of hits (13), scored a bunch of runs and got a win," said Larnach, the Twins' 2018 No. 1 pick, after he went 3-for-4 with an RBI to raise his batting average to .292.
The Cook brothers, meanwhile, watched Brusdar Graterol, the top pitching prospect in the Twins organization, produce his first-ever save, complete with his 102-mph fastball, as reliever in the final two innings.
Their two-night stay included lodging at a Highpointe Hotel, a corporate partner with the Blue Wahoos, tickets for both games, Hancock-Whitney Club entry, along with $100 each day for other expenses.
The Cook brothers' trip also happened at the same time that several of the Twins' top front office executives, led by senior vice president-general manager Thad Levine, director of minor league operations Jeremy Zoll and Brian Maloney, senior manager of minor league operations, are together in town watching the Blue Wahoos.
"Hopefully, we can steal a couple of your players,'' Jeff Cook said, laughing.
The idea of a Twins' fans trip to Pensacola was part of the requests the Blue Wahoos made when changing affiliations after the 2018 season.
The Blue Wahoos had been a Cincinnati Reds affiliate since their inaugural 2012 season. The Lookouts were a Twins' affiliate the past four years.
The Minnesota Twins massive radio network, the Treasure Island Baseball Network, held a contest asking fans to guess the organization's weekly player-of-the-week award winner. Each winner was placed in a grand prize drawing in July for the Pensacola trip.
The Twins radio network in partnership with Treasure Island Resort and Casino, located 35 miles north of St. Paul on the Mississippi River, is one of the largest in Major League Baseball.
The Twins have 81 affiliate stations in five states, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin in addition to Minnesota.
"We're huge Twins fans," Dan Cook said. "We are big followers of Treasure Island Baseball Network and Twins radio and they were advertising both on the radio and on Twitter about this contest they were having.
"Back in May, I was able to correctly guess that it was a pitcher. In July, around the (MLB All-Star Game) break, they announced the winner and I saw it was me. I was ecstatic."
Before the game, Dan Cook threw out a first-pitch after they were introduced to the crowd. They took a photo with Royce Lewis. Graterol came over to meet them near the dugout area.
Plus, the Cook brothers experienced the hospitality the Blue Wahoos' organization prides itself on for family-friendly fun.
"Every single person has been fantastic to us," Dan Cook said. "This has been such a great experience. What a stadium setting. Everybody has been so nice."
Among their hospitable encounters, the Cook brothers met Daniel Venn, the Blue Wahoos media relations director and Cannon Falls, Minn. native. Turns out, Venn pitched against Jeff Cook when both were playing on rival high school baseball teams.
Here they were, meeting in Pensacola.
"Baseball is a small world," Venn said.
After the Cook brothers arrived at the Hancock-Whitney Club, they saw the Blue Wahoos erase Chattanooga's 1-0 lead on Kirilloff's solo homer in the first inning, his eighth of the season. With two out, Larnach, Jimmy Kerrigan and Ryan Costello all singled.
Costello's single drove in Larnach. Caleb Hamilton, who recently rejoined the team from Triple-A Rochester, delivered a two-run single.
"Just good at bats, each and every one of them," Larnach said. "Just getting a pitch to hit I can do damage is really what I looking for."
Blue Wahoos pitcher Bryan Sammons had one of his best outings, working six innings, allowing six hits, two run, three strikeouts.
In the sixth, Kirilloff drove in his second run of the game on a single. Larnach and Costello both hit sacrifice fly RBI in the inning.
Both teams leaned on their bullpens again, using three relievers apiece. Jorge Alcala preceded Graterol and allowed a run on two hits in two innings.
Southern League Stories from August 15, 2019
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- Montgomery Stuns Jackson, 10-9, with Six-Run Sixth Inning - Jackson Generals
- Smokies Edge Shrimp 5-4 in 12 Innings - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- M-Braves Spoil Parke's Perfect Game Bid, But Fall Short - Mississippi Braves
- Biscuits Come Back Again, Nip Generals, 10-9 - Montgomery Biscuits
- Parke Near Perfect as Barons Top M-Braves - Birmingham Barons
- Lockhart Placed on IL, Hursh Activated from IL - Mississippi Braves
- Generals Gameday: August 15 vs. Montgomery - Jackson Generals
- Fan Favorite Willians Astudillo Joins Blue Wahoos on Rehab - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Game Notes, August 15 at Tennessee - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
- Smokies Announce Wooden Bat Fall Ball League - Knoxville Smokies
- Blue Wahoos Put on a Show in 9-7 Victory - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Biscuits Rally, Stun Generals, 5-4 - Montgomery Biscuits
- Late Montgomery Homers Cut Down Generals Again, 5-4 - Jackson Generals
- Late Jacksonville Homer Pushes Smokies to a 4-2 Loss - Knoxville Smokies
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
