Blue Wahoos Struggle For Hits In Loss To Shuckers

When a team is struggling at the plate, as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos have recently encountered, any sign of hope is welcomed.
Manager Ramon Borrego believes he saw some positive indications during Thursday night's 5-1 loss against the Biloxi Shuckers at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos (41-37 overall, 3-5 in second half) managed just four hits and six baserunners in the game, which became their seventh loss against Biloxi in the past eight meetings.
The teams will continue their series on Friday and Saturday, amid the Blue Wahoos nine-game homestand. The Mississippi Braves arrive Sunday to start the next series.
"We weren't a factor offensively," Borrego said. "(Friday) will be a big day for us. We're going to try some new things in (batting practice) on the field and I think these guys are going to be ready to break out of this.
"We are really hurting right now, but our position is to come back out and try and win the series. We had some really good at-bats (Thursday) and I think we're close. We're going to get this right."
The Blue Wahoos received another quality pitching performance from Charlie Barnes, who entered in the second inning, after Andro Cutura started the game and threw one inning as planned in the role of an opener.
Barnes (0-2), a fourth-round pick in 2017 by the Minnesota Twins out of Clemson, battled his way through the next six innings throwing 100 pitches - 62 of those for strikes. He had rough luck in the third when yielding a pair of unearned runs.
With two out, an errant throw on an infielder grounder by C.J. Hinojosa gave Biloxi a new opportunity with runners on first and second. Patrick Leonard followed with an RBI single that eluded right fielder Alex Kirilloff, allowing Hinojosa to come around and score the second run.
It became two unearned runs against Barnes.
"It should have never gotten to that point," Borrego said.
In the fifth inning, Biloxi took a 4-0 lead on a leadoff double by Joantgel Segovia, a one out double by Luis Avilles Jr., then a triple by Hinojosa, before Barnes struck out the next two batters.
"He's a really good competitor," Borrego said. "Charlie did a really good job except for those hits in that inning, but he gave us six innings of solid pitching."
The Blue Wahoos got their lone run in the sixth inning on another booming homer by newcomer Lewin Diaz, his 15th overall this season and second in two games. He is batting .343 in eight games with the Blue Wahoos.
The other hits were by Ben Rortvedt, Mark Contreras and Kirilloff, who was also one of the two players to reach on a walk.
This was the sixth time in the past 10 games, dating back to the final two games of the first half schedule, where the Blue Wahoos scored two or less runs.
"We got to get guys going and it can carry throughout the lineup with our bats," Borrego said.
BALLPARK MEMORIES
The Blue Wahoos' crowd of 3,678 Thursday pushed season attendance past 160,000. The Blue Wahoos are one of only three teams in the Southern League averaging more than 4,000 fans per-game, behind much larger cities Jacksonville and Birmingham.
Blue Wahoos' majority owner Quint Studer spoke with season ticket holders Thursday inside the Better Homes & Garden Lounge. In a 25 minute, wide-ranging question and answer, Studer thanked season-ticket holders for their support and vital importance to team operations.
He addressed topics about the field, the affiliation, relationship in the community and other matters with fans.
The National Anthem was performed the Pace Assembly of God Church choir. The choir was part of a 95-member group from the church attending the game. Immanuel Baptist Church in Pace also had a group attending the game.
United Bank president and CEO Bob Jones threw out the first pitch. United Bank, which has locations in Pace, Jay and well as a variety of locations in south Alabama, had 185 people attending and seated in the Winn Dixie Party Deck.