Promise Made, Promise Kept As Blue Wahoos Rally To Beat M-Braves In Series Opener

With his team trailing 5-0 in the fourth inning Tuesday, Cobie Fletcher-Vance provided encouragement for Blue Wahoos pitcher A.J. Ladwig.

“I said, ‘Hey, A.J. we’re good. Leave it right there and I promise we’re good,” Fletcher-Vance said. “Five (runs down) is nothing. We’re a team where I think 10 runs on the board (behind), we can come back and score.”

Promise kept.

Fletcher-Vance scored the tying run in the sixth inning, after leading off with his second double in the game, then Victor Victor Mesa drove home the go-ahead run as the Blue Wahoos matched their biggest comeback win this season at home with a 6-5 victory against the Mississippi Braves to begin a week-long series at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Ladwig had quick innings in the fifth and sixth to earn the win, and the Blue Wahoos bullpen was outstanding with three hitless innings to seal the game.

Miami Marlins reliever Anthony Bender, who arrived in Pensacola on an injury rehab assignment, started with a strong performance in the seventh. He threw just 12 pitches, nine of those for strikes in a 1-2-3 inning.

Sean Reynolds followed and was credited for a second hold in the eighth and Eli Villalobos earned his seventh save by retiring the M-Braves in order to finish the ninth.

Every batter in the Blue Wahoos lineup had at-least one hit. Mesa, Fletcher-Vance and Ray-Patrick Didder had two hits apiece in a 12-hit night.

“Honestly, we are just resilient,” said Fletcher-Vance, who went 2-for-4, scored two runs and drove home another. “We have a bunch of dudes that want to go in and have at-bats for the team. We score runs and we keep it moving. We work together well, we mesh well and we want to win.”

A Tuesday night crowd of 3,876, which included Miami Marlins minority owner David Ott, who has the second-highest stake in the team, watched the Blue Wahoos chip away with three consecutive, 2-run innings.

Part of that was set up by base-running speed. Fletcher-Vance’s first double in the fourth inning scored Ray-Patrick Didder from first base. Jose Devers’ ground ball single to center then scored Fletcher Vance.

In the fifth inning, Mesa led off with a single, stole second base, and scored on Paul McIntosh’s one-out single. A wild pitch that took a weird bounce then scored McIntosh.

“Base running is a big thing with the Marlins,” Fletcher-Vance said. “We’re big on scoring those runs and making sure we get in.”

The M-Braves entered the game with the best second-half record (15-6) in the Southern League. They began Tuesday with a 14-4 record in July, which is tied for the best among all Minor League Baseball teams at any level.

The Blue Wahoos (11-11) were coming off a series loss in Biloxi – the team they held off to win the first-half South Division race and quality for the playoffs in September.

Ladwig endured early inning struggles to work six innings, giving up 10 hits, five runs and striking out three. By going that deep into the game, however, he helped the bullpen from being strained in the first game of a six-game series.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Blue Wahoos Homestand

WHO: Mississippi Braves vs. Blue Wahoos

WHEN: Wednesday Through Sunday

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium.

TICKETS: Available for each game through www.bluewahoos.com, the stadium box office during normal business hours, or by calling the box office at 850-934-8444.

GAMETIMES: Games on Wednesday through Friday begin at 6:35 p.m. Saturday’s game starts at 6:05 p.m. and Sunday’s game is at 4:05

PROMOTIONS: Wednesday is one-price Wednesday with all available seats $18 and each ticket providing a hot dog, chips and soda. Plus there will be post-game fireworks.

Thursday is Pensacola Mullets night with the team wearing specialty jerseys and Thirsty Thursday with beverage specials.

Friday is Giveaway Friday with the first 1,000 fans getting a Blue Wahoos beach towel.

Saturday is Pensacola Pelicans Reunion Night along with Latin Heritage Night, plus post-game fireworks.

Sunday is Family Sunday with kids able to run the bases following the game and family toss in the outfield.