Smith Clubs Third Homer of Season

PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Mobile BayBears and Pensacola Blue Wahoos entertained dads on Father's Day this Sunday with home run fireworks.

Pensacola knocked two home runs Sunday while Mobile added five - which ties a franchise record - in an offensive explosion that saw ball flying out of Pensacola Bayfront Stadium like a disturbed flock of seagulls at rest on the beach.

Mobile defeated rival Pensacola, 11-4, in front of 4,005 fans and now have won eight of 10 games against the Blue Wahoos this season.

 "We just couldn't keep the ball in the park," said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. "This is a ballpark that's not conducive to home runs. I didn't expect to see a lot of balls in the air. I expected to see a lot of ground balls. It was as much of a surprise to me as the fans."

Leading the way Sunday for the BayBears was centerfielder Gabriel Guerrero with a two-run and solo shot for three RBIs in his first two at bats. Guerrero, the nephew of nine-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero, now has four homers on the season. Mobile shortstop Jack Reinheimer (2), left fielder Zach Borenstein (4) and third baseman Sean Jamieson (3) also knocked it out of the park.

This series, the BayBears hit 10 home runs in 25 innings off Pensacola pitching. For perspective, Pensacola only has 14 home runs at home this season.

Pensacola first baseman Marquez Smith clubbed his third home run of the month Sunday when he smashed a two-out, two-run line drive over the left field wall in the third inning that pulled Pensacola within one, 3-2. It was also the first hit of the game for Pensacola, which has seen its starting nine go hitless in their first appearances at the plate in the past three games against Mobile.

Few Blue Wahoos batters have hit as well as Smith has in June. The 30-year-old minor league veteran has driven in eight runs, while hitting .339 and earning a .405 on-base percentage.

Blue Wahoos second baseman Juan Perez then hit his first homer in Double-A just inside the left field foul pole in the fourth inning and Pensacola trailed Mobile, 4-3.

However, Mobile put the game away in the sixth inning with five runs to go up, 11-3. It got a three-run homer by Borenstein and a solo shot to the left-center gap to start off the inning by Jamieson.

Mobile jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Guerrero crushed a two-run homer high to left field. The BayBears are 23-13 when scoring first this season.

Mobile finished below .500 for only the third time in a half since 2009, going 34-35 in the Southern League.

Meanwhile, Pensacola finished the first half 25-43.

Kelly has a few goals to turn the Blue Wahoos season around in the second half-a better bullpen and better starting pitching.

Among the relievers, he would like to see Kyle McMyne, Ben Klimesh and Zach Weiss return to form.

"Our bullpen was our strength when you look at the first two months of the season," Kelly said. "We got to solidify that bullpen. When we give them leads, they got to win them."

Also looking into his crystal ball, Kelly would like to receive a starting pitcher or two. Currently, the Blue Wahoos have only four starters.

"Obviously, we're short one," Kelly said. "If we can get one or two guys to help solidify our staff, we're good."

GAME NOTES

RHP Tim Adleman, OF Kyle Waldrop, RHP Robert Stephenson, INF Ray Chang and RHP Kyle McMyne are headed to the Southern League All-Star game scheduled for 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, June 23 at the Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium. Adleman is playing in his first All-Star game since the Class A New York-Penn League game in 2010. Waldrop, who leads Pensacola in home runs (6) RBIs (31) and doubles (12), is scheduled to compete in the Home Run Derby.

Pensacola then plays a five-game series starting Thursday, June 25 against the Atlanta Braves Double-A affiliate Mississippi Braves.

BIG FISH First baseman Marquez Smith smashed a two-run home run in the third inning, his third homer in June. He's hitting .339 for the month after hitting.182 in April and .260 in May… Third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean went 1-2 with two walks and an RBI. He is now leading the team with a .373 average with runners in scoring position…Second baseman Juan Perez hit his first Double-A home run, hitting a high fly ball over the left field fence just inside the foul pole. He was 1-3.

BLUE WAHOOS BASEBALL CAMPS Pensacola is hosting two summer camps with Pensacola Training Academy.

The first camp is a Pre-Summer Instructional Baseball Camp for kids ages 6-14 June 22-26 and will be instructed by local coaches. Campers receive a free T-shirt, lunch daily and camper of the week award. The camp will take place at Pensacola Training Academy located at 4920 N. Davis Highway.

The second camp is a Blue Wahoos and Pensacola Training Academy Camp July 24-25. It's also for kids ages 6-14 and will be instructed by Blue Wahoos players at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. Campers receive a free T-shirt, lunch daily and one ticket to the McDonald's Family Sunday game on July 26.

Registration forms are on BlueWahoos.com and PensacolaTrainingAcademy.com. Contact Travis Mattair for more information at 509-250-3111 or [email protected]

The Blue Wahoos return home to play the Jacksonville Suns July 1-3. Come experience the family-fun entertainment, which includes out-of-school fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday night! You can follow the team at BlueWahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos and twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall.

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