As Blue Angels Roar Above, Conine Blasts Blue Wahoos To Big Win

The spontaneous crowd murmur caught outfielder Griffin Conine’s attention, followed by a roar from the sky as the famed jets approached.

Yes, the Blue Angels actually buzzed low Sunday across Blue Wahoos Stadium -- on the way home from performance at an air show in Chicago -- and right above home plate as Conine awaited his first-inning pitch against the Biloxi Shuckers.

“You hear the sound and I was like, no way, I’ve got to swing here, it would be so cool to put one out while the planes were flying,” said Conine, describing the incredible moment. “And I got a good pitch to do it, too. And I just missed it.

“And I was like, ah man, that would have been a cool moment.”

But wait, this only gets much better.

On a two-strike pitch, Conine created an unforgettable memory, blasting a two-run homer over the left field wall as the smoke trail from the Blue Angels was still visible over Pensacola Bay.

He then hit another home run, a solo shot in the third inning, as his parents were watching from behind home plate, helping power surge the Blue Wahoos to a 9-1 victory against the Shuckers in their homestand finale Sunday. Conine finished 2-for-4 with four runs batted in.

His 34 homers across two levels, including 11 since joining the Blue Wahoos, leads all levels of Minor League Baseball.

And get this: Conine’s father, Jeff Conine, who played 17 years in the major leagues, becoming affectionately known as “Mr. Marlin” for helping the Miami Marlins win both of their World Series championships as a two-time MLB All-Star outfielder, happens to be a huge fan of military fighter planes.

Jeff and his wife, Cindy, were standing on the Blue Wahoos Stadium concourse. They were behind Section 102, when the Blue Angels squadron flew over and their son hit his first homer of the game.

“My dad loves planes. He’s always been a planes’ junkie,” said Griffin Conine, laughing. “He got to fly… I don’t know if it was the Blue Angels…. but he got to fly in a fighter jet, and he’s knows there is a Naval base here close by (Naval Air Station Pensacola, where the U.S. Navy Blue Angels have their hangar).

“So he’s been asking me, ‘Have (Blue Angels) ever flown over the field?’ and I was like, no it’s never happened. I wasn’t even aware of this. And then, sure enough today…”

Sure enough on Sunday, Conine crushed two homers. He did this after hitting a game-tying homer in the ninth inning Saturday, leading into the Blue Wahoos eventual 3-2 walk-off win.

The Sunday win enabled the Blue Wahoos to take the series – their first series win since July 4 -- also against the Shuckers.

Meanwhile, on the mound, former Florida State standout Antonio Velez made his Double-A debut with the Blue Wahoos and got the win. He worked six innings, allowed five hits, stuck out three and walked just one batter.

For Conine, his trio of bombs in 18 hours pushed him to 34 homers for the season across two levels, including 11 since joining the Blue Wahoos, which leads all sluggers in all levels of Minor League Baseball.

“These last few days, certain things clicked in my approach, said Conine, 24, a former second-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018, who was acquired by the Marlins through a trade in September 2020.

“Certain cues. Every hitter has cues and It could be anything,” said Conine, who has risen to No. 16 among the Miami Marlins top prospects by MLB Pipleline. “These last couple days I felt really good and that’s kind of the story of the season.

“When everything is in line and the mechanical part is good, then everything just really translates well. It has been up and down, but when it clicks, it’s great.”

Conine’s big weekend was the first time his parents visited Pensacola. They traveled to Beloit, Wisc. earlier this year to see their son play at the Marlins’ High-A affiliate, which the Blue Wahoos manage.

“This is a different experience. We had great crowds here the last couple days and (Blue Wahoos staff) do a great job here,” Conine said. “So they’ve had a lot of fun seeing the park, the surroundings and it’s been a lot of fun.”

The previous five games of the series against Biloxi were low scoring affairs. Four the games were decided by one run.

Not Sunday. The Wahoos’ 2-0 lead expanded on Zach Kone’s RBI single in the second inning, then Conine’s second homer in the third inning.

In the fourth, the Blue Wahoos scored four runs on two singles. Two Shuckers pitchers combined to plunk three Blue Wahoos hitters, part of four hit batters in the game. Two of those occurred with the bases loaded to force in a run.

One of those hit was Conine with the bases loaded, giving him his fourth RBI. First baseman Chris Chinea then followed with a two-run single. It gave the Blue Wahoos an 8-1 lead.

The game wrapped up a two-week, 12 games in 13 days homestand. The Blue Wahoos will travel late Monday to Pearl, Mississippi where they begin a six-game series on Tuesday against the first-place Mississippi Braves.

The M-Braves (58-38) have opened a wide gap atop the Double-A South standings. They lead second-place Montgomery by 6.5 games. But the Blue Wahoos (49-47) are among five teams battling to finish second overall in the eight-team league to qualify for the playoffs.

The Blue Wahoos trail second-place Montgomery and Birmingham by three games.

WHAT’S NEXT?

WHO: Blue Wahoos vs. Mississippi Braves

WHEN: Tuesday (Aug. 24) through Aug. 29.

WHERE: Trustmark Park, Pearl. Miss.

RADIO: ESPN-Pensacola (99.1 FM, 1330 AM), Chris Garagiola on play-by-play.

FINAL HOMESTAND: Begins on Sept. 7 vs. Biloxi Shuckers