Pensacola Wins 5-4 Thriller over Birmingham
PENSACOLA, Fla. - Pensacola Blue Wahoos fans know Phillip Ervin is speedy. After all, he has stolen 19 bases this season, which is tied for third in the Southern League.
However, who knew he was so light on his feet?
Ervin refused to get tagged out in a rundown in the eighth inning that allowed Pensacola third baseman Tony Renda to score the winning run to edge the Birmingham Barons, 5-4, in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 Saturday at Blue Wahoos Stadium. It was the Blue Wahoos 11th sellout this season.
Ervin, who lost 10 pounds in the offseason, said that's helped improve his speed and footwork. Ervin was 0-11 in his last three games before going 3-4 and getting on base four times, scoring twice, including the tying run in the sixth inning and knocking in one run.
"I just didn't want to run into a tag and give (Renda) enough time to score," Ervin said. "I was trying to get as many throws as possible. The more throws the more chance of getting a mistake. It all worked out in the end."
Renda, who leads Pensacola with 14 multi-hit games and a .302 average, scored the winning run and Ervin made it to second base when shortstop Eddy Alvarez dropped the ball. The rundown started when right fielder Sebastian Elizalde grounded to the second baseman.
Pat Kelly called the game "ugly." There was a combined 21 hits, seven walks, seven errors and 21 runners left on base in the three hour and 16 minute game.
"It was an ugly game and we didn't play very good," Kelly said. "(Barons pitcher David) Holmberg put the whole ballpark to sleep. We played ugly enough to win."
Birmingham center fielder Adam Engel takes Blue Wahoos pitcher Nick Travieso over the left field wall in first inning to put the Barons ahead, 1-0.
Then in the bottom of the first inning, Pensacola third baseman Tony Renda led off with a stand-up double to the left center gap and scored on left fielder Phillip Ervin's line drive single to left to tie the game, 1-1. Ervin then scored after stealing second and third base, his 18th and 19th steals on the season, when DH Donald Lutz hit a sharp liner to center field to put the Blue Wahoos up, 2-1.
Lutz is hitting .368 in his six game hitting streak (7-19) with one RBI, three walks and only four strikeouts. On the year, Lutz, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, is hitting .217.
Birmingham's starter Holmberg threw 43 pitches in the inning in which he also walked Pensacola first baseman Kyle Parker and hit center fielder Bryson Smith with a pitch. Last season, Holmberg started six games going 1-4 with a 7.62 ERA for Cincinnati Reds last season before being granted free agency.
Birmingham tied the game, 2-2, when Barons first baseman Nick Basto, who singled to right field, scored on a wild pitch by Travieso.
Birmingham loaded bases with one out in the fourth inning and Travieso went to three balls and no strikes on Birmingham third baseman Jake Peter, the No. 3 hitter, and ended up striking him out on a 93 mph heater.
However, right fielder Eudy Pina slapped a grounder to Pensacola's Renda at third base and he threw it to second baseman Alex Blandino, who dropped the ball and then was slow to pick it up, allowing Barons shortstop Eddy Alvarez and center fielder Adam Engel to score for a 4-2 lead.
Travieso threw 101 pitches over 5.2 innings and gave up 11 hits, four runs, three earned and struck out six. He battled out of jams all night, except in the fifth inning when he retired Birmingham 1-2-3.
Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson launched a deep fly ball for a double over the center fielder's head in the bottom of the fifth inning that drove in second baseman Zach Vincej, pulling the Blue Wahoos within, 4-3.
Pensacola loaded the bases in the sixth inning and Ervin, who doubled, scored on a wild pitch by Barons reliever Nolan Sanburn to tie the game, 4-4.
The only thing that wasn't ugly about the game was when center fielder Bryson Smith, who has played parts of the last five seasons with Pensacola, proposed to his girlfriend, the future Raphaelle Smith. Smith got down on one knee after the game and asked for her hand in marriage. Then fireworks went off.
The Blue Wahoos captured its fifth straight five game series at home and improved to 17-7 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. This season, they are 29-20 and remain in first place against the Biloxi Shuckers, who defeated Mobile, 2-1, to improve to 28-21.
GAME NOTES
Pensacola hosts the final game of a five-game series at 4 p.m. Sunday against the Chicago White Sox Double-A affiliate Birmingham Barons. Pitching for the Barons is LHP Blair Walters (2-1, 2.59), who is going against Blue Wahoos LHP Amir Garrett (3-3, 1.49).
Because the Blue Wahoos scored five runs, fans can receive Papa John's pizza Sunday for 50 percent off with the promo code: WAHOOS.
The games are broadcast live on the Blue Wahoos flagship station 97.1 The Ticket. Listen for free at bluewahoos.com and by using the TuneIn Radio app on your mobile, desktop or home devices. Stream Wahoos games on MiLB.TV, a subscription-based service provided by Minor League Baseball.
BIG FISH Left fielder Phillip Ervin went 2-3, scored two runs and stole 2 of 3 bases and extended a rundown in the eighth inning to let Tony Renda score the winning run…Third baseman Tony Renda was 3-5, doubled twice and scored two runs, including the winning run…Catcher Joe Hudson went 2-4 and caught Barons leadoff hitter Adam Engel trying to steal second base in the sixth inning and is now 12-29 or 41.4 percent…Donald Lutz went 2-4 with an RBI.
FUNNY BIRD Join the Blue Wahoos Sunday for the funny and zany BirdZerk! Known as "America's Ballpark Prankster" he has more tricks up his feathers than Houdini. Whether BirdZerk! is pulling off hijinks with the players and coaches, harassing the umpires, or having fun with the crowd, the lovable jokester's antics always leave fans laughing. Dominic Latkovski has entertained millions of fans as BirdZerk! since 1995 in the United States, Canada, Japan and Mexico during professional baseball, basketball and hockey games.
Celebrate five seasons of baseball with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos this season! Blue Wahoos tickets are available for purchase at Hill-Kelly Dodge Pick-Up Window and by calling (850) 934-8444. Follow the team at BlueWahoos.com, facebook.com/PensacolaBlueWahoos and twitter.com/BlueWahoosBBall.
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