Seven Runs Down, Blue Wahoos Pull Off Spectacular Comeback

On a memorable night at Blue Wahoos Stadium as records fell, hits soared and a disbelieving comeback ensued, even a massive Fourth of July fireworks show became the encore.
But nobody minded, of course.
Twice trailing by a lot, the Blue Wahoos kept swinging, kept scoring and eventually rallied to pull of a 14-13 victory Wednesday night against the Mississippi Braves for a sixth straight win, a series sweep, and an overflow, sellout crowd left spellbound on what they just saw.
How did this happen? Especially after the Blue Wahoos won identical 1-0 games Monday and Tuesday against the M-Braves to move into first place in the Southern League South Division.
"I don't know," said Blue Wahoos' designated hitter Ben Rortvedt, laughing, after his eighth-inning, two out, single drove in the decisive run. "It was wild out there."
That's for sure. The Blue Wahoos trailed 10-4 in the fourth inning, then 13-6 in the seventh when putting up seven runs to tie the game in a hit barrage that mirrored the grand finale of the fireworks show. 
After Rortvedt's single scored Travis Blankenhorn, who stole second to get into scoring position, reliever Sam Clay followed in the ninth to get his second win by getting Drew Waters, the hits leader in Double-A, to hit into a game-ending double play.
"It was awesome.. no doubt about it," said Blue Wahoos manager Ramon Borrego. "We didn't pitch well, but the offense was the biggest thing. We finally got a big inning and it blew up."
Some of the explosion was historical.
Of the 36 hits in the game, the teams combined for 20 extra base hits, setting a Southern League record in a league that goes back to 1964.  
The Blue Wahoos set a franchise record with 21 hits. It is also believed to be the largest comeback win.
The M-Braves set a franchise record with five homers in the game, including three homers by first baseman Ryan Casteel, who became the team's first player to do that.
"I haven't seen many games like that… with that many runs, that many home runs," said Clay, who entered with two out in the eighth inning and carried into the ninth. "The first thing that comes to mind is the (NY) Yankees-(Boston) Red Sox game (17-13 Yankees) that was just played in London (last weekend)
"The ball was really jumping off the bat.. a lot of hard hit balls."
And a lot of pitching too.
The teams used a combined 10 pitchers, who threw a total of 358 pitches.
In the Blue Wahoos lineup, only right fielder Alex Kirilloff, who has been hitting well lately, failed to get a hit, though he did score a run and drove in two runs.
The rest of the Blue Wahoos starting lineup was top-to-bottom of batters with multiple hits. Blankenhorn went 4-for-6 with two RBI. Rortvedt and Lewin Diaz each had three RBI with three hits.
An omen for the night struck early. In the first inning, Blue Wahoos starter Jorge Alcala gave up a cycle in the first four batters he faced. Christian Pache led off with a double, Waters tripled, Tyler Neslony signaled and cleanup hitter Ryan Casteel homered.
When the inning ended, the M-Braves had a 4-0 lead. Their starter, Ian Anderson, who threw a combined no-hitter in his last start, gave up a hit on the first pitch to leadoff batter Blankenhorn.
Anderson, the Atlanta Braves' No. 3 prospect, only pitched the first inning to rest for the MLB Futures Game on Sunday in Cleveland's Progressive Field, site of the July 9 MLB All-Star Game.
In the second inning, the Blue Wahoos Jimmy Kerrigan led off with a homer and Blankenhorn homered.
But in the seventh, after scoring another run, the M-Braves led 13-6.
"Being absolutely honest, I thought we were out of it," Rortvedt said. "You never want to think that, but it was a big deficit.
"We all chipped in. We stuck with it and ended up coming out on top somewhere. We were slugging it today. We were seeing (comparative) balloons and it happened in front of a big crowd that was amped up and it was fun."
In the eventful seventh inning, the Blue Wahoos used 12 batters. Mark Contreras and Brian Navarreto both walked and Michael Davis followed with a single to load the bases.
After Kirilloff forced in a run with a walk, first baseman Lewin Davis cleared the bases with his double. With two out, Rortvedt homered with. Jimmy Kerrigan, Contreras and Navarreto all followed with two out signals.
After Rortvedt's cluch hit in the eighth for the go-ahead run, Clay gave up a one single in the ninth, then got Waters out on the next pitch to end the game.
"I know they are a very aggressive team and they like to swing early and often," Clay said. "I'm a sinker ball pitcher so I like to keep pitches down and get lot of ground balls.
"Drew Waters, he is unbelievable hitter. I gave him what he wanted to hit, but not where he wanted the pitch, and he hit it hard, but on the ground and it end up a double play."
It also brought a loud roar from the crowd and fitting send off.
The Blue Wahoos will be in Birmingham to begin a six-game series Thursday night against the Birmingham Barons before returning home to play a six-game series starting July 11 against the Montgomery Biscuits.
BALLPARK MEMORIES
The special Fourth of July fireworks show that followed the game was provided by game sponsor Hancock Whitney Bank.
The National Anthem was performed by the Blue Anchor Belles, who are three wives of military officers stationed in Pensacola. The three women were part of the Pensacola's Got Talent contest in March and wowed the contest judges. The group also performed a variety of patriotic songs during the pregame events Wednesday.
In addition, the All-American Twirlers of Escambia and Santa Rosa County were part of the pregame and in-game festivities. The group of girls were of the All-American Twirlers LLC, open to girls ages 5-up and with lessons offered in Pace, Pensacola, Gulf Breeze and Crestview.
A pie-eating contest, sponsored by Winn-Dixie occurred on the concourse behind home plate following the third inning.
On a Wine and Sign Wednesday, Blue Wahoos outfielder Aaron Whitefield and infielder Joe Cronin signed autographs before the game for a large crowd of fans inside the Bait and Tackle Shop.
Season-ticket holders were treated to "bomb pops," red-white-blue popsicles and S'mores, courtesy of Blue Wahoos and season-ticket concierge Gracey McDonald.