Pensacola, Fla. – The players raced from the dugout and a filled ballpark erupted in glee.
The Blue Wahoos couldn’t have dreamed a better ending to their only two-week homestand and one of their greatest Sunday crowd settings in franchise history.
Harrison Spohn’s bases-loaded ground ball found the right place, the throw home bounced away, and Jacob Berry scored as the Blue Wahoos pulled off a 3-2 walkoff win in 10 innings against the Biloxi Shuckers, affixing a bright bow on their fifth win in the week’s six-game series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
“You just try to keep things simple,” said Spohn, who put the ball in play well enough that Shuckers shortstop Freddy Zamora had to make a tough throw. “When the game is on line, you just want to slow your heart rate down and just find some barrel and put the ball in play.”
That’s all it took. But that’s only part of the showcase this day became.
Nearly an hour before Sunday’s finale, the ticket line formed at the stadium box office. And it continued to swell. So much so, that more than 1,000 walk-up fans purchased tickets.
They combined with a massive turnout of school children and parents from the Blue Wahoos’ Kazoo Reading Program incentive where area kids could earn a free ticket by reading four books at their age level and get their teacher’s confirmation.
It created a spectacular crowd at the ballpark’s 5,038 capacity with kids filling the outfield berm area, the party decks jammed and the concourse area teeming with people.
“I think it’s the biggest Sunday crowd we’ve ever had,” said team president Jonathan Griffith.
The Blue Wahoos have now attracted capacity crowds in eight of their first 15 home games, including three straight capacity crowds to complete the weekend.
The hundreds of school children also created a special scene before the game when they paraded from the right field service entrance and did a lap around the field to build memories. There were also several large group outings for this game, including 200-plus from Allen Turner Automotive dealerships.
All festiveness was matched by the game.
The Blue Wahoos took a 1-0 lead without a hit in the first inning. Berry walked, moved around on a wild pitch and ground out, then scored on a second wild pitch from Shuckers’ starter Jacob Misiorowski.
Berry also had the game’s best defensive play. Playing in right field in this game, Berry threw out the Shuckers’ Ethan Murray, who had tagged up on a fly ball in the third inning that Berry played perfectly with a catch and throw to the plate to compete a double play.
The Shuckers then tied the game on a pair of hits and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning on an Ernesto Martinez towering home run into the berm.
After getting their first hit in the game on Cody Morissette’s fifth inning double, the Blue Wahoos kept the deficit at one run behind strong pitching and defense. In the eighth inning, Sean Roby led off with a single, then scored on Dalvy Rosario’s two-out single to tie the game.
In the top of the 10th, Blue Wahoos closer Austin Roberts pitched out of a two-on, none-out situation when first baseman Bennett Hostetler, converted from catcher, snared a line drive and stepped on first for a double play. Roberts then got Biloxi’s Mike Boeve to ground out to Hostetler to end the inning.
In the 10th, Berry started on second as the automatic runner. Roby singled to put runners on the corners. Morissette intentionally walked. Hostetler flied out. Spohn delivered and the celebration ensued.
GAME NOTABLES
— The Blue Wahoos’ April attendance finished at 63,195. It is the highest April attendance since 2014.
— Before the game, the Blue Wahoos players signed autographs for 30 minutes exclusively for season-ticket holders in a special event on home plate concourse area.
— Twelve different area schools from four counties had students at the game, part of the 30-plus schools the Blue Wahoos have visited since the winter in the Kazoo’s Reading Program.
— Three Chick-Fil-A restaurants in the Pensacola area provided scholarship money for 31 area students who are working at Chick-Fil-A locations while attending college.
— The Helen Caro Elementary School choir performed the National Anthem and a smaller chorus then entered the field to sing God Bless America in the seventh inning.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Mississippi Braves
WHEN: Tuesday (April 30) Thru Sunday (May 5).
WHERE: Trustmark Park, Pearl, Miss.
GAMETIMES: Tuesday at 6:05 p.m., Wednesday at 11:05 a.m., Thursday-Friday games at 6:35 p.m, Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and Sunday at 2:05 p.m.
AUDIO BROADCAST: Available on www.bluewahoos.com/radio (Blue Wahoos broadcaster Erik Bremer on play-by-play) or on the MILB App.
LIVE TV: The game will be available on a video stream through Bally Live and MLB.TV (subscription required).
ON DECK: The Blue Wahoos return following their May 5 game and will begin a six-game homestand on May 7 vs. the Birmingham Barons, the Chicago White Sox affiliate.
