Wahoos Rebound from Wednesday’s defeat, beat Lookouts 5-2

After a thrashing from the Lookouts on Wednesday night, the Wahoos showed their moxie in a come-from-behind road win against Chattanooga, 5-2 at AT&T Field.

The way Thursday’s game began, it seemed as though the Wahoos might be in for another long night. Chattanooga scored off Will Stewart (W, 2-2) in the bottom of the second after a defensive miscue from Devin Hairston.

After a leadoff double from Yoel Yanqui, Lorenzo Cedrola rolled a swinging-bunt single to third that forced Hairston to make a difficult, running throw. His effort sailed wide of first-baseman, Lazaro Alonso and allowed Yanqui to score with ease. Stewart, however, was unfazed by the error and closed the inning with a strikeout and groundout to neutralize the threat.

Pensacola had an immediate response for the Lookouts in the top of the third inning. After a one-out walk to Peyton Burdick, Marlins top-hitting prospect JJ Bleday obliterated a hanging changeup from Chattanooga starter Ricky Salinas for his second home run in as many games and his fifth of the year.

Leading 2-1, the Wahoos chipped in another run with aggressive base running and timely hitting.

Demetrius Sims singled with one out and eventually stole second base to move into scoring position. After that, Lorenzo Hampton roped his first double of the season off the left field wall to score Sims. Pensacola finished the inning with a 3-1 lead.

After the Lookouts scored once in the sixth to cut the lead to one, Pensacola put the game out of reach in the eighth.

With runners on first and second, Demetrius Sims laced an RBI double to center, which brought home Bleday. That was Sims’s third hit of the night as he finished 3-for-3 with a double and a walk. Later in the inning with the Wahoos up 4-2, Lookouts reliever Alexis Diaz threw a wild pitch that allowed Alonso to score from third. The ball caromed away from the catcher Mark Kolozsvary and Sims unsuccessfully tried to score from second, which ended the inning.

Wahoos starter Stewart turned in one of his best starts of the season, flipping 5.2 innings in which the lefty allowed two runs on five hits while he struck out three. Pensacola’s bullpen—which allowed 13 runs in Wednesday’s loss—allowed only two hits and two walks while posting 3.1 shutout innings to close out the game. Colton Hock pitched a scoreless ninth for the Wahoos and picked up his league-leading eighth save in nine attempts this season.

The Wahoos and Lookouts continue their series on Friday, which will feature one of the marquee pitching matchups of the Minor League season. Former third overall pick (2020) Max Meyer (3-1, 1.86) will face off against former second overall pick (2017) Hunter Greene (4-0, 2.31). First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 PM CT, with radio coverage presented by ESPN Pensacola.