After First Half Misfortune, Blue Wahoos Seek Redemption In Second Half Race

Nelson Prada was on the top dugout steps when the Blue Wahoos manager was informed Sunday the first half divisional race in the Southern League had been decided.

He expected the bad news. The Biloxi Shuckers won the first game of their doubleheader to seal the South Division win.

“I knew it was going to be tough, but that’s the way it is,” he said.

In what became a bizarre finish to a split-season chase, the Shuckers (35-30) played four less games in the first half, had one less win, but won the division on win-loss percentage. The Shuckers claimed the playoff spot on June 21 over the Blue Wahoos (36-33) in a week filled with never-ending rain delays.

Biloxi received 22 inches of rain last week and played games only two days at their stadium.

The Blue Wahoos didn’t have quite the same deluge in Pensacola, but had one game on June 18 against the Birmingham Barons delayed a franchise record 3 hours, 40 minutes in the seventh inning, only to have that mark smashed two nights later by a 4-hour delay before the start of a Saturday night game.

Both ended after midnight. It became the first time the Blue Wahoos shot off post-game fireworks on a Saturday before the game’s first pitch against Birmingham.

Also, the first time the fabled “Roach Run” with kids didn’t happen at the end of the sixth inning, because of few people remained past 11:30 at that point.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, but I have never faced anything like that before,” said Prada, who began managing in 2005.

NEW BEGINNING

Now, it’s a reset.

The Blue Wahoos started the second half Tuesday night on the road against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The two Southern League divisions begin anew with the second-half set of 69 games and everyone with a 0-0 division record.

The Blue Wahoos are seeking to return to post-season after a two-year absence. They will be essentially competing against the Montgomery Biscuits and Columbus Clingstones in the South Division. Should Biloxi win the second half as well, the second playoff team is determined by tie-breaking scenarios.

Since 2016, the Blue Wahoos have not finished a season with a losing record across three different affiliations. Since becoming a Miami Marlins affiliate, the Blue Wahoos have produced winning records five times in the half season races and a winning record in the shortened 2021 season - - the first as a Marlins affiliate.

Prada wants that positive trend to continue.

“I thought going into the season we had a good club and they’ve played that way,” he said. “The guys showed me (last week) a lot of pride. They showed me they are hungry to win. And that’s important.

“When the guys are sitting (nearly) four hours to resume a game at 12 o’clock and helping with tarp to cover the field, that shows you a lot in how they want to win.”

Ultimately, the ballclub lost the division race when Birmingham rallied in their final at-bat June 17 to take the second game of a doubleheader. The first game of the series on June 16 was postponed by weather – the third time this season at home the Blue Wahoos had to play a makeup doubleheader.

The next night, the Blue Wahoos had a 10-run rally in the fifth inning to take a 11-6 lead, only to have the Barons score seven runs in the sixth inning. A line of severe thunderstorms struck in the seventh inning and the teams waited until 12:15 a.m. to resume the game.

Prada successfully pleaded his case to continue. The Barons eventually won 16-13.

“It was the only path we had (for the division race),” said Prada, in his second year as Blue Wahoos manager. “I prefer to play a game later at night than play a doubleheader. When you play a doubleheader, there’s a really good chance you lose one game.

“There are more chances for you to win in two days. We had two games we should have won. If we win just one of those games, we’re in (as division winners).”

HOME GAME GAP

The Blue Wahoos started this season with five straight losses. They were 6-12 after three weeks. But they recovered to go 16-11 in May and 10-8 so far in June.

“If you take out those first five games, we’re fine,” Prada said. “But I’m proud of the guys for the way they came back.”

The road series in Chattanooga, which lost its first half division race by one game to the Knoxville Smokies, begins an extended time away from Blue Wahoos Stadium.

The team’s next home game is July 7. It’s the first time in franchise history the Blue Wahoos will not have a home game during the Fourth of July week.

But there will be two nights of events on July 3-4 at Blue Wahoos Stadium that will feature a movie, music, on-field inflatable water slides and bounce houses, the Pensacola Symphony’s annual concert on July 4 and fireworks shows on both nights. Tickets begin at $10 each night and parking is free at the stadium’s main lot.