Focused Biscuits Batter Blue Wahoos
Published on September 1, 2019 under Southern League (SL1)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos News Release
Ryan Costello of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos
(Pensacola Blue Wahoos)
An emotion-challenging weekend hasn't deterred the Montgomery Biscuits from maintaining a focused performance against the Blue Wahoos.
The Biscuits have instead reaffirmed how they've produced the Southern League's best record.
After the entire team returned late Saturday from a heart-wrenching funeral service in Virginia, mourning the horrific deaths of pitcher Blake Bivens' family, the Biscuits responded Sunday with seven runs in the first three innings to beat the Blue Wahoos 11-7 at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery.
The win enabled the Biscuits (88-49) to clinch the series, their 20th series win this season. It was the eighth time in 10 meetings the Biscuits beat the Blue Wahoos (75-63), who Friday clinched a playoff spot by virtue of having the second-best overall record in the South Division.
The teams played a doubleheader Friday to enable Montgomery's team and staff to travel to southwest Virginia to support the 24-year-old Bivens and a grieving community.
Bivens' wife, Emily, 25, and the couple's 14-month old son, along with Bivens' mother-in-law were found shot to death last Tuesday in Keeling, Va., not far from where Blake Bivens graduated from high school.
Emily's 19-year-old brother was arrested on three counts of first degree murder.
The shock and anguish of that situation has taken brief pause to complete the final games of the regular season. The Biscuits, winners in both half-season, division races, will host the Jackson Generals in the North Division playoffs, beginning Wednesday in Montgomery.
The Blue Wahoos will travel Wednesday to face the Biloxi Shuckers at 6:35 p.m. in Game 1 of the South Division playoffs at MGM Park in Biloxi, Miss.
Sunday, the Biscuits used a five-run, third inning, to stake a 7-2 lead against the Blue Wahoos. It was a rough outing for Blue Wahoos starter Charlie Barnes, who was rocked for nine hits, seven earned runs, with two walks two strikeouts.
It matched the most runs Barnes has allowed this season. He yielded seven runs in an April 20 game while pitching for the Fort Myers Miracle, the Minnesota Twins' Advance-A affiliate in the Florida State League.
The game began with the Blue Wahoos up 2-0 on Caleb Hamilton's 2-run homer in the second inning. The Biscuits tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on a bloop, 2-run single by Lucious Fox.
In the third, Taylor Walls started the rally with his solo homer. After a sacrifice fly brought home another run, Jim Haley launched a 3-run homer.
The Blue Wahoos tied the game in the sixth inning on Ryan Costello's bases-clearing triple
But the Biscuits roughed up Stephen Gonsalves, a former Twins reliever, with a three-run rally in the seventh, then got another run off Alex Phillips in the eighth.
Joe Cronin hit a two-run triple for the Blue Wahoos in the ninth. Travis Blankenhorn, Trevor Larnach and Costello all had two hits among a 10-hit output for the Blue Wahoos.
The teams will conclude the series and regular-season schedule at 12:05 p.m. Monday. The Blue Wahoos will send unbeaten Bailey Ober (3-0, 3 starts) to the mound hoping to salvage a final-game win. They will return to Pensacola following the game and prepare Tuesday for the playoff series.
The Blue Wahoos will host Game 3 of the best-of-five series on Friday night with a post-game fireworks show to follow. Tickets are available online at the Blue Wahoos website (www.milb.com/pensacola) and are priced the same as individual game tickets during the season.
It will be the Blue Wahoos fifth consecutive year to reach post-season, matching the Mobile BayBears, who did it from 2010-14, for the second-best streak in Southern League history.
Images from this story
 Ryan Costello of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos |
 Ryan Costello of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos |
Southern League Stories from September 1, 2019
- Focused Biscuits Batter Blue Wahoos - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
- Kingham Tosses Complete Game in Sunday's Win - Mississippi Braves
- Braves Pitching Too Strong for Lookouts - Chattanooga Lookouts
- Biscuits Edge Wahoos, 11-7 - Montgomery Biscuits
- Banks and Bullpen Blank Shuckers on Sunday - Biloxi Shuckers
- Barons Win Final Home Series in Dominant Afternoon - Birmingham Barons
- Early Deficit Buries Smokies in 8-4 Defeat - Knoxville Smokies
- BayBears Pile on Early Runs to Top Smokies - Mobile BayBears
- Shuckers Play a Dozen in Walk-Off Defeat to Birmingham - Biloxi Shuckers
- Generals Win Regular Season Finale, 2-1, on Walk-Off Double-Play - Jackson Generals
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.
Other Recent Pensacola Blue Wahoos Stories
- Wahoos Fall Short in Extras, Lose Homestand Finale
- White Delivers Flawless Gem in 7-4 Wahoos' Win
- Look out: Chattanooga Wildness Gives Wahoos Walk-Off Win
- Blue Wahoos Stadium to Host "Wahoos Winter Nights" Holiday Experience this December
- Homers Not Enough as Wahoos Fall to Lookouts
