White Dominates Early, Rataczak Delivers Late in Walk-Off Wahoos Win
SL Pensacola Blue Wahoos

White Dominates Early, Rataczak Delivers Late in Walk-Off Wahoos Win

Published on August 16, 2025 under Southern League (SL)
Pensacola Blue Wahoos News Release


Eric Rataczak and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos celebrate a walk-off win
Eric Rataczak and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos celebrate a walk-off win
(Pensacola Blue Wahoos)

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Eric Rataczak delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, leading the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to a memorable 5-4 win over the Birmingham Barons Saturday night.

With a runner on third and one out, the Blue Wahoos left fielder poked a pop-up beyond the drawn-in infield against Tyler Davis (L, 0-7), allowing Mark Coley II to score the winning run.

"We were seeing him good, and I was just trying to go one pitch at a time," Rataczak said. "I was just trying to pass the stick again, and sometimes you get a little bit of luck."

Luck was indeed on the side of the Blue Wahoos in the 5-4 win, and it started with left-hander Thomas White on the mound.

White dazzled Saturday night in what turned out to be his best start at home with Pensacola, despite working with what he described as his "C-plus stuff." Over 5.0 innings, MLB Pipeline's top left-handed pitcher racked up nine strikeouts, while allowing only one run on four hits.

"I think [the Barons] are the best hitting team in Double-A, or at least in our league," White said. "So to have my C-plus stuff and get a good outing from it is good for my ego and good for the brand."

White's ability to work through difficulty was a large part of Pensacola's 58th victory.

"Honestly, not a lot was working for me tonight," White said. "I didn't really have my best stuff at any point. I made the big pitch when I needed to, and we took home the win, which is all that matters."

The 20-year-old showed a strong ability to get out of tricky situations in the start, stranding runners on second and third in the fourth after striking out the side. White finished off his escape in the fourth inning with a backdoor sweeper to sit Michael Turner down looking to end a 10-pitch at-bat.

The Marlins' No. 1 prospect topped the fourth inning by treating a sellout crowd of 5,038 to another Houdini act to end the top of the fifth. White stranded the bases loaded by punching out Braden Montgomery on a fastball and Caden Connor with a full count breaking ball.

"The breaking balls were what I was most confident with putting in the zone in that moment," White said. "Sometimes you don't have your best stuff, and that's how it is. That's what I trusted the most at that point, so I kept throwing it."

Birmingham got the scoring started in the top of the second, as designated hitter Wilfred Veras hit a solo home run out to left-center against White. This was only the second homer given up by White this year between Beloit and Pensacola.

The Blue Wahoos took the lead in the bottom half of the second after a pair of RBI doubles down the left field line. Fenwick Trimble picked up his seventh double of the year to score Ryan Ignoffo, and later crossed the plate on a Coley double.

Coley extended the Pensacola lead in the bottom of the fifth, blasting a solo home run for his third of the season. The round-tripper was his second in two days after a seventh-inning home run that proved to be the game-winner Friday night.

Pensacola's two-run lead didn't last long, as Birmingham tied things up at 3 apiece against Evan Fitterer. Veras led off the inning with his second solo home run of the night, and Turner tied it with an RBI double to right field.

The Blue Wahoos found themselves in front again with a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh after Michael Snyder singled to center against Dalton Roach to score Coley.

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Sam Antonacci tied it at 4-4 with an RBI double to right field against Wahoos closer Josh Ekness (W, 4-1).

Pensacola's division lead has grown to 3.5 games, as the Montgomery Biscuits lost both games in a doubleheader against Chattanooga and the Columbus Clingstones fell 12-3 in Biloxi. The Blue Wahoos' magic number to clinch a playoff spot now sits at 23 games.

The Blue Wahoos and Barons will square off in the final game of the series on Sunday with a 4:05 first pitch. Jacob Miller (3-4, 4.73 ERA) will make the start for Pensacola, while Birmingham sends out Tanner McDougal (3-1, 1.94 ERA) for the second time this series.

GAME NOTABLES

- With a steal of second in the eighth inning, Kemp Alderman tied the team record of 163 steals in a season. The mark was first set in 2023.

--- The Blue Wahoos honored former executive president Bruce Baldwin on Saturday by announcing a press box suite will be named in his honor. Baldwin helped direct and manage the construction of Blue Wahoos Stadium, along with the transition in 2011 from an Independent League franchise, the Pensacola Pelicans, into becoming a Double-A affiliate member of the Southern League.

Baldwin, 78, spent decades working for the Atlanta Braves organization at all of their minor league levels. In 2017, he became a special advisor with the Blue Wahoos after his successor, Jonathan Griffith, moved into his role as team president. Baldwin helped mentor Griffith in his rise through the levels in Minor League Baseball.

Baldwin's two sons surprised him Saturday by traveling to Pensacola to be part of the event.

--- The Blue Wahoos wore their Pensacola Pok-Ta-Pok uniforms as part of their continuing effort to bring awareness to MiLB Copa de la Diversion, which recognizes the ancient history and early days of a sport played like baseball.

--- Saturday's fireworks show was sponsored by Bere' Jewelers, which is also doing its fourth annual "Diamond Dig" post-game hunt for a diamond on Aug. 30.

WANT TO GO?

WHO: Birmingham Barons vs. Blue Wahoos

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium

WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.

PROMOTIONS: Sunday - Family & Military Sunday - Children 12-under can run the bases following the game and families can toss soft baseballs in the outfield area for 30 minutes following the game. In addition, the first 100 active or retired military members can obtain a free standing room ticket by visiting the Blue Wahoos box office and showing a military ID.

LIVESTREAM AUDIO: You can listen to the Blue Wahoos' broadcast of this series with Blue Wahoos announcers Erik Bremer and Carter Bainbridge on www.bluewahoos.com/radio or the MiLB App.

LIVE STATS: Available on www.bluewahoos.com.

LIVESTREAM VIDEO: Available on MiLB.TV (subscription required).

TICKETS: Available for purchase online at www.bluewahoos.com/tickets or by visiting the Blue Wahoos box office beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Check out the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Statistics

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Images from this story

Eric Rataczak and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos celebrate a walk-off win
Eric Rataczak and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos celebrate a walk-off win
   



Southern League Stories from August 16, 2025


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