Blue Wahoos Inaugural Women In Sports Night Includes Game Filled With Big Moments

An event-filled Friday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium included a game with plenty of back-and-forth moments.

The Montgomery Biscuits made the game’s final big play, however, as the one proving decisive.

Jordan Qsar hit a two-out, two-run single in the eighth inning and Biscuits reliever Jose Lopez” held off the Blue Wahoos with runners on base in their last two at-bats for Montgomery’s 6-4 win to even the week-long series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

A capacity crowd of 5,038 turned out on the first Women In Sports Night and the Giveaway Friday item of a commemorative 10th anniversary T-Shirt for the first 1,000 fans.

Before the game, three of Pensacola’s greatest female athletes – Beth Barr, Michelle Snow and Melissa Miller-Shubeck provided insightful, powerful message to a mostly female crowd inside the season-ticket holders lounge at the ballpark.

“I think it’s important to have goals to work towards. If you don’t have goals, you are not shooting towards anything,” said Miller-Shubeck, addressing the audience. A Tate High grad, she trained for the U.S. Olympic team as teenager, then became a star for the Florida Gators with six All-American honors, two SEC All-Around titles and was inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame.

“For me personally, fear actually motivated me,” said Snow, who went from Pensacola High and state prep fame to play for the Tennessee Vols under legendary coach Pat Head Summitt and then played a lengthy career in the WNBA and overseas.

“I believe people have to understand there will be a lot of obstacles in the way and a lot of fear you have to overcome,” Snow said.

All three women shined during the same era 1980-90’s in Pensacola. Barr, was a 16-year-old junior at Booker T. Washington High when she made the 1988 USA Women’s Olympic Swim team as its youngest member. Joining fellow Washington grad Andrea Hayes and classmate Daniel Waters on the men’s team.

All three women were honored on the field, following a hour-long seminar. They threw out a first pitch, were recognized again on the first base dugout and did an in-game radio interview with Blue Wahoos broadcaster Erik Bremer.

The game itself wasted no time developing momentum shifts. The Biscuits touched up Blue Wahoos’ 18-year-old acclaimed starter Eury Perez with a two-run homer in the first inning and a pair of run-scoring singles in the third inning.

But the Blue Wahoos answered in the second inning with solo homers from Griffin Conine and Luis Aviles Jr. to knot the score then at 2-2.

The trailed 4-2 when getting a run-scoring double in the third inning from Jerar Encarnacion and then his mammoth game-tying blast in the seventh inning.

He now has a 10-game hitting streak.

Blue Wahoos reliever Colton Hock nearly escaped a jam in the eighth. With runners second and third an none out, he made big pitches to retire the next two hitters. But Qsar jumped on Hock’s first-pitch for the go-ahead runs.

The two teams will play Saturday at 6:05 p.m. in the second Saturday post-game fireworks show of the season.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Blue Wahoos weekend homestand

WHO: Montgomery Biscuits vs. Blue Wahoos

WHEN: Saturday at 6;05 p.m. and Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.

PROMOTION; Saturday features post-game fireworks and an earlier evening start. Sunday is Family Sunday with kids being able to run the bases and family toss in the outfield following the game.

INFO: www.bluewahoos.com.