Wahoos Best Biscuits in Extras as Magic Number Narrows to Nine

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Pensacola Blue Wahoos battled back from an early deficit on Thursday night to force extra innings and beat the Montgomery Biscuits 5-4.

The numbers favored the Blue Wahoos entering play; a 7-1 second-half record after losses and wins in all of Eliazar Dishmey’s previous seven starts. Fortune, however, favored the Biscuits early with two hits dividing outstretched defenders, giving Montgomery a 1-0 lead.

Dishmey bent but didn’t break in his start, allowing consecutive singles in the second before a weak pop-out ended a Biscuits two-out rally. In the third, Dishmey quickly found himself in a hole, surrendering a run on back-to-back doubles to extend the Biscuits’ lead to two and consecutive walks to load the bases. Thankfully, the ever-dependable Juan Matheus turned a soft grounder to a 5-2-3 double play and caught a fly ball in foul territory to erase the threat and end the inning.

The wheel of fortune finally spun in the Wahoos’ favor in the fourth when Brandon Compton drove a liner just inside the right field foul line for a double, eventually scoring on a Fenwick Trimble single to right that snuck just underneath the Biscuits’ first baseman, cutting the deficit in half at 2-1.

Mason Vinyard would relieve Dishmey with two outs in the fifth, allowing two baserunners on a hit-by-pitch and a walk, but getting a groundout to quell the Biscuits’ rally.

All offense would be on hold until the top of the sixth, when Fenwick Trimble again stepped up in the clutch, driving home Compton and Dillon Lewis with a two-out, two-run single for the first Blue Wahoos lead.

The pendulum rapidly swung back the Biscuits’ way in the bottom half of the inning, as three more perfectly-placed singles loaded the bases for Mac Horvath, who subsequently drove in two to put the Biscuits back on top 4-3. Poised to add on, Montgomery's rally was snuffed out when Blue Wahoos catcher Ryan Ignoffo picked Ryan Spikes off of third base.

The Wahoos would tie in the eighth after a squeeze bunt single by Juan Matheus scored Adrian Santana. Nigel Belgrave (W, 5-5) replaced Vinyard in the home half, silencing the Biscuits through regulation.

Santana wasted zero time putting the Wahoos on top in the tenth, lacing a leadoff double into right off Justin Yeager (L, 0-1) to score pinch runner Jay Beshears and give Pensacola a 5-4 lead. Brandon Compton walked and stole second base to slot two runners in scoring position, but Yeager limited the damage and stranded both men aboard.

Santana’s RBI was all that was needed. Belgrave continued his no-hit relief appearance until Luis Palacios (S, 3) was called upon to record the final out in the 10th, cementing another one-run and comeback victory for the Blue Wahoos.

The Blue Wahoos improved to 71-51 overall and 35-18 in the second half, and are now 9-1 in extra-inning games. With a win and Columbus loss, the Blue Wahoos’ magic number decreased to nine with 15 games remaining.

The Blue Wahoos continue their series with Montgomery on Friday night. First pitch from DABOS Park is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT, with a live broadcast beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Bally Sports Live, BlueWahoos.com/radio or the MiLB app.