Laskey Leads Wahoos to Twin Bill Split with Barons

Birmingham, Ala. - The Pensacola Blue Wahoos played their first doubleheader of the season on Saturday night, falling 4-0 to the Birmingham Barons in game one but rallying late to take the nightcap by a 4-1 final.

Game one, originally scheduled for 4:30, was delayed past 6:00 due to the same persistent weather threats that forced a postponement on Friday. Once the game began, the Blue Wahoos managed only two singles as the Barons pitching staff worked a combined seven-inning shutout.

Birmingham scored two runs in the second inning against Pensacola starter Dax Fulton (L, 1-1), taking advantage of a dropped third strike that would have otherwise ended the frame. Adam Hackenberg and Jacob Burke each followed with RBI singles, putting the Barons up 2-0. A Jacob Gonzalez two-run double in the fifth doubled the home team advantage to 4-0.

Grant Taylor worked 3.0 scoreless innings in his start for the Barons, and Jake Palisch (W, 2-0) and Peyton Pallette worked the final four frames of the seven-inning game without allowing a Pensacola base hit.

In game two, the Blue Wahoos jumped ahead in the first inning with singles from Jared Serna and Jake Thompson before a Nathan Martorella sacrifice fly plated the game's first run.

The Barons tied it up in the second with back-to-back two-out doubles from Gonzalez and Weston Eberly, but that would be the only damage against Blue Wahoos starter Adam Laskey (W, 2-0). The lefty worked 5.0 innings, keeping the game tied 1-1 until Pensacola took the lead for good in the sixth.

Martorella sparked a two-out rally in the sixth inning against Andrew Dalquist (L, 2-1), lining a single to right field. He was off on contact as Josh Zamora sent a pop fly into shallow center field, advancing to third base and then scoring on an errant throw back to the infield. Mark Coley II added an RBI single to score Zamora and provide more insurance.

Josh White protected the lead with a quiet sixth inning, and Dale Stanavich (S, 5) earned his Southern League-leading fifth save with a spotless seventh.

The Blue Wahoos wrap up their series on Sunday against the Barons. First pitch from Regions Field is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT, with a live broadcast beginning at 3:55 on BlueWahoos.com/radio or the MiLB app.