Burdick's Walk-Off Blast, Eder's Craft Provide Blue Wahoos Twinbill Wins

The day began with some of the worst imaginable, tropical weather hitting Blue Wahoos Stadium.

It ended 12 hours or so later Saturday night with the Blue Wahoos producing a pair of memorable wins.

Peyton Burdick created first-game euphoria with his two-run, walk-off homer for a 4-2 win against the Montgomery Biscuits, following a strong start by Miami Marlins touted pitching prospect Edward Cabrera.

Jake Eder followed with six-inning shutout and Josh Roberson earned his first save for the Blue Wahoos in a 2-0 win to complete a doubleheader sweep before the fireworks show. Both games were 7-innings, following Friday’s rainout.

The win clinched another series for the Blue Wahoos (26-16), who now have the best record in the Double-A South and have lost just one series this season.

“It’s good to see how we got the goose eggs on the board, playing some defense and pitching, timely hits and game over,” said Blue Wahoos manager Kevin Randel. “We finished up a long day and glad we finished up on top.”

On Juneteenth, now a national holiday, the Blue Wahoos paid homage to the Pensacola Seagulls, a member of the Negro Southern League, which had its final official season 70 years ago in 1951.

The Blue Wahoos players wore the Seagulls uniforms for the second game of the doubleheader. The jerseys were then auctioned for the Southern Youth Sports Association during the game.

All of this, of course, happened after Tropical Storm Claudette caused morning wrath and early afternoon uncertainty. And then, like magic, the nasty weather parted into a colorful sunset.

“Once we started coming in about 10:30 (morning), we realized how bad this thing was and we sent out a text (to players) that said don’t come in till about 2 o’clock,” Randel said. “Everything moved out, the field held up, the field looked immaculate after all that rain and we had to strap it on real quick and get going.”

Incredibly, after the storm made landfall early Saturday less than 200 miles west, thus creating a series of rain squalls, high winds and tornado warnings, the sky then broke into late afternoon sunshine in late afternoon and it became a beautiful night at the ballpark.

“We woke up and it was like a hurricane outside. The tarp crew did a great job. Our field is great, it drains great.. When we got that little window (of dry weather), there was no doubt we were going to play.”

Burdick ended the first game in dramatic fashion with his blast on an 0-2 slider over the left field fence The ball traveled 419 feet and so high that the Biscuits left fielder Garrett Whitley never looked up to see it. He just broke into a slow trot off the field.

“We had opportunities before that and I had opportunities myself to tack on a couple extra runs,” Burdick said. “And I hit on top of it and ran into double play (in fifth inning) and kinda screwed us out of a couple runs.”

The Blue Wahoos had the bases-loaded in the sixth inning of the game with none out and came up empty as well when Riley Mahan hit into a double play.

But in the seventh with two out and catcher Jhon Nunes on third base, following his leadoff double and throwing error on a pickoff attempt, Burdick produced the team’s fourth walkoff win.

“We just have a bunch of competitors up there. We all go out there and try not to make the last out,” Burdick said. “It’s been up and down the lineup abd people have been putting together good at bats, so we are never out of it.”

Two years ago, on July 31, 2019, Edward Cabrera was pitching for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp – then the Marlins Double-A affiliate, when he earned a win against the Blue Wahoos.

Saturday, he made his first start for the Blue Wahoos on an expected road to the big leagues. He was projected to be part of the Marlins’ starting rotation this year before an injury in February.

His first pitch Saturday clocked at 100 mph and he finished four innings and a 65-pitch limit with seven strikeouts, one walk and one earned run allowed. Colton Hock got the win in the seventh with a scoreless inning.

“He’s with us building up his pitch count… he threw the ball well, coming in hot,” Randel said. “But I think the story was his changeup. It got him right back in count

In the second game, Bubba Hollins produced a two-run single in the second inning and that held up. Eder worked six innings, allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts. He got out of a two-on, none out jam in the fourth inning, then retired the last batter in the sixth on a base-loaded situation.

In that inning, JJ Bleday made a spectacular diving catch in right field to rob Biscuits’ shortstop Jake Palomaki of a hit.

“(Eder) really had to battle,” Randel said. “His fastball command wasn’t there again. He just grinded out there. We gave him another inning.

“One of those things where he had to just grind it out and figure it out. But it was a good day for him.

GAME NOTABLES: Between games of the twinbill, the Blue Wahoos three members of Pensacola’s history with the Negro Southern League: Nehemiah McNeally, Herman Grace and Eunice Sampson, who played for the Seagulls and in Grace’s case, the Pensacola Giants.

Also honored was Richard Mobley, who became one of the area’s first African-American players to move on to an NCAA Division I college team.

The fifth member of the group in pregame ceremonies, which included a ceremonial first pitch, was Hosken Powell, a Woodham graduate, who became one of Pensacola’s greatest big-league players after chosen No. 3 overall in the 1975 draft by the Minnesota Twins.

BLUE WAHOOS HOMESTAND FINALE

WHO: Montgomery Biscuits vs. Blue Wahoos

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.

WHEN: Sunday, 4:05 p.m.

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

PROMOTIONS: Sunday is Military Discount Sunday and Kids Run The Bases, plus Family Toss after game, sponsored by WKRG News 5 and Covenant Care.

TICKETS: Single game tickets are available online at www.bluewahoos.com or at the stadium box office.