PENSACOLA, Fla. — When Carson Joyner delivered the first pitch to Joseph Stephens Thursday night, Bayside Academy and Gulf Shores officially became the first Alabamian baseball teams to play at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, the home of the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

The pair of top-ranked teams fresh off their fourth consecutive area championships capped the busiest prep baseball season seen at Blue Wahoos Stadium by producing a tightly contested, 4-2 battle that took all seven innings before the host Admirals took home the victory.

“That's awesome to be a part of history. What a beautiful stadium, beautiful field here and we've been excited all season trying to get to this,” Bayside Academy skipper Matt Limbaugh said after the game. “Something I know I'll never forget and I'm sure they won’t either, and man they battled.”

“I think it was a good experience for both clubs to come over here and play. And it's a beautiful, beautiful venue,” Dolphin head coach Chris Jacks said. “It kind of gets you prepared for if you make a run at this thing (state finals) and you get to the big stadium at the end of the year. It's a similar light situation with everything on a bigger scale than what it is for most high school ball.”

Big-time players felt at home on the big stage

With the lights shining bright, the stars showed out with top talent on both sides headlined by the night’s starting pitchers who eclipse 90 mph with their fastballs. Joyner signed to pitch at Louisiana-Monroe and Gulf Shores’ Connor Gehr penned a commitment to Meridian College which boasts 207 Division I signees and 81 Major League Baseball draftees.

After Joyner, the Admirals turned to three other Division I commits to take the hill, including Teague Broadhead (Southern Miss), junior Cole Dean (South Alabama) and Gatlin Pitts (Samford). The Dolphins’ roster features senior signees going to Houston (Mac Anderson), Coastal Alabama-South (Stephens) and Lawson State (Alex King and Jackson Beck).

“Just good high school baseball. You got Gehr on the bump. You had their guys on the bump,” Jacks said. “I think it was good baseball. I think it was good to come over to the state of Florida and these people get to see some Alabama baseball. They get to see what we have over there because they've got really good baseball over here in Pensacola. So it's good to come over here and let our guys showcase what we're doing over there.”

“Anytime you play a caliber team like that, it can only help you. And we're appreciative of being so close to so many good teams to be able to do that,” Limbaugh said. “They're a heck of a team. You're not the No. 1 team in 5A for no reason. … I think Gehr is one of the top pitchers in the state as well so being able to face someone like that is great for this team also.”

Couple good-on-good matchups with the pitchers walking away victorious. ULM commit @Joyner8Carson strikes out Houston commit @Macanderson21 before Meridian commit @Connorgehr gave the favor back to Joyner. Gulf Shores leads Bayside Academy 1-0 in Bottom 2 #ALHSBaseball pic.twitter.com/P3ZuUYoMxy

— Gulf Coast Media Sports (@GCMSportsAL) April 12, 2024

Pensacola welcomed high school baseball with open arms

A beautiful evening complemented the top-tier baseball as confirmed by Shannon Hannah, Event Sales Manager for Blue Wahoos Stadium.

“We've had college teams from everywhere, but these are the first two high school teams from Alabama so that was exciting to branch out in that way this year,” Hannah said during an April 12 interview. “It was a fun day and the best weather day we've had for any of the high school games so far this year. It was a perfect night and the sun broke through right before the game.”

While high school baseball has traditionally been played at Blue Wahoos Stadium, Senior Writer Bill Vilona said Thursday’s contest was the fifth day of prep games this year which marked the most in stadium history. The previous games were also normally held before Pensacola’s season starts but a schedule conflict led to the historic meeting of Baldwin County teams in Florida.

“Typically, we see the games happening in February and March and we use it to kind of knock the dust off of our team a little bit so it benefits our team for sure,” Hannah said.

Gulf Shores was originally slated to play against Florida’s Gulf Breeze Dolphins at Blue Wahoos Stadium on April 3. However, MLB later scheduled Pensacola for an exhibition contest against the Monterrey Sultans from Mexico that same date.

“Of course, MLB trumps anything that I do, so we just offered (Gulf Shores) a date one week later, which is the reason why they were playing during the Wahoos season,” Hannah said. “They were originally scheduled to play before the season got started last week, but we just bumped them a week later and with that Gulf Breeze had a scheduling conflict.”

Minor League opportunity turned into fundraising chances

Jacks said Limbaugh was on board from the start of their conversation to move April 11’s non-area contest from the Bayside Academy Sports Complex to Blue Wahoos Stadium and set up a unique fundraising opportunity.

“It's a great opportunity that the stadium gives to these high school teams because we invite them out or they reach out, they come out and we don't do a rental fee or anything like that. The Blue Wahoos fully produce the games, the only commitment from the teams is we ask them to purchase 250 tickets to a Blue Wahoos game during the season,” Hannah said. “Then they’re able to sell the tickets and use that as a fundraising opportunity. … It's just a privilege for us to be able to work with these teams and I've seen it grow year over year.”

And Hannah plans on seeing more teams come through to continue developing the program. She can be reached by emailing sreeves@bluewahoos.com or calling 850-341-2949.

“As many as want to play. We're glad to have them,” Hannah said. “Anyone can reach out to me if they're interested in this or any other opportunities. We do events year-round and it's not just baseball. The stadium is a community spot here in Pensacola.”

Follow @GCMSportsAL on social media for more sights and sounds from the first Alabamian high school baseball game at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Florida.

Money quotes

“We kind of had to bring them back to Earth there at the beginning and everything,” Limbaugh acknowledged. “It's just such a neat feel and such a neat atmosphere, but they locked in pretty quick and you credit them for that. They've been in some big games before.”

“JV was able to end their year on this field. I think it was good experience for those guys getting to ride the charter bus over with us and we just kind of made it a program day. JV came out on the good side right there and got their 15th win of the year,” Jacks said. “I think it's good for kids to come over here to get to play in a beautiful venue like this. I mean, it's first class. It really is a beautiful place. I'm excited to be able to come over here and share this moment with the kids. I wish we would have come out with the W but that’s baseball.”

“The stadium is built as a community space and that's our mission: to serve the community,” Hannah said. “We love to do it in that way and just give these teams and these kids an opportunity to come to the stadium.”