Florida Sports Wire

MEMPHIS – Matthew Etzel and Jesús Bastidas each homered on Friday, but the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp’s five-game winning streak came to an end with a 7-5 loss to the Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park. With the score tied at five, Ramon Mendoza and Joshua Báez bashed back-to-back home runs to start the eighth against Jumbo Shrimp (23-20) reliever Luis Palacios (1-1), giving the Redbirds (26-17) a 7-5 advantage. Ryan Fernandez then worked a perfect ninth to seal the win for Memphis. Jacksonville got on the board first with a two-out rally in the second. Etzel walked and then Bastidas was hit by a pitch. Ethan O’Donnell and Jared Serna followed with RBI singles for the game’s first runs. Memphis immediately tied in the bottom of the second. Jimmy Crooks led off with a single and Mendoza walked. A passed ball advanced both runners and a Bligh Madris sacrifice fly brought in Crooks. Mendoza then scored on a wild pitch to tie things at two. The Redbirds grabbed their first lead in the fourt...

  PHOTO by JAMES BRADY/FSW JACKSONVILLE (SportsTicker) --   The Opening Game of the UPSHOT League is in the books, as the Charlotte Crown rallied with a dominant second half performance in the paint to defeat the Jacksonville Waves 103-95 in a high-scoring affair in front of an announced crowd of 7,308 at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena Friday night.   Charlotte's Deja Kelly led the way with 31 points with 14 rebounds in the game.  Jackonville was led by Ariel "Air" Hearn's 25 points.   Jacksonville held a 12-point lead in the second quarter, but Charlotte won the offensive boards battle down the stretch 15-5, and finished with 52 points in the paint, which proved to be instrumental in their victory.   The two teams will meet again on Wednesday in Charlotte for the Crown's home opener.   The next Waves home game is set for May 23 against the Greensboro Groove.

Special to the Florida Sports Wire JACKSONVILLE – Tim Cobb has only played in the JAGA Senior Amateur Championship presented by Lennar three times since moving to St. Augustine in 2020 but has walked off with two wins and a T3, Scottie Scheffler-like stuff, in JAGA’s premier senior event.  The Tennessee native fired 75-70-73—218 (+2) in his three trips around Stillwater Golf and Country Club to win the 2026 edition of the Jacksonville Area Golf Association’s oldest tournament in convincing fashion, by eight shots.  Cobb, a former University of Memphis golfer, held a one-shot lead as third-round play began on May 5th. While he was steady throughout the final round, his closest pursuers were not. They included 2024 champion Richard Ames (80) of Eagle Landing Golf Club, who started one off Cobb’s lead, and defending champion Brent Dietz (77) of TPC Sawgrass, who was four back of the leader.  Ames and Dietz finished tied for third along with 2004 JAGA Jacksonville Amateur pre...

JACKSONVILLE  – Maximo Acosta and Kemp Alderman smashed two-run home runs on Sunday as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp split their series with the Charlotte Knights with a 6-1 win at VyStar Ballpark. Jacksonville (20-19) took the initial lead in the top of the second and never looked back. With one out, Matthew Etzel singled and scored on a two-run blast by Acosta (1) off Charlotte (19-20) starter Shane Murphy (L, 1-1). The Jumbo Shrimp added to their lead in the bottom of the third. Andrew Pintar started the frame with a base hit and scored two batters later on a two-run blast from Alderman (6), increasing the advantage to 4-0. Mario Camilletti walked and Josh Breaux reached on an error to begin the fifth. Jacksonville then turned a 5-4-3 triple play – their first since May 27, 2023, which also came against Charlotte. The Knights tallied their first and only run in the top of the sixth. After three consecutive walks to begin the frame, Rikuu Nishida scored from third on a double pl...

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp catcher Brian Navarreto was honored with the Miami Marlins’ inaugural Next Wave monthly awards for April, taking home the organization’s Fish of the Month.  The Marlins’ Fish of the Month award recognizes a player who fully embodies what it means to be a great teammate within the Marlins’ organization.  Navarreto has played in 12 games with the Jumbo Shrimp in 2026, going 10-for-40 (.250) at the plate with four doubles, one home run, five RBIs, one walk and four runs scored. A native of Levittown, Puerto Rico, Navarreto came to Florida to attend Arlington Country Day School in Jacksonville. He was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the sixth round of the 2013 draft, and reached as high as Double-A Pensacola before being traded in July of 2019 to the New York Yankees.  Following the 2019 campaign, Navarreto signed a minor league contract with Miami. He made his major league debut on August 23, 2020, going 2-for-3 in a game at the Wa...

HOUSTON, TX – ( www.thefloridasportswire.com ) – Another day, another thriller in the UFL. Houston had a chance to steal it with a 63-yard field goal in the final minute, but could not convert. Orlando escaped with the victory and earned their first win in three weeks, while Houston dropped their second straight. Houston’s defense set the tone early by forcing a three-and-out, and the offense quickly created the game’s first scoring chance. With Hunter Dekkers back under center, he connected on two chunk plays right away. First, a 17-yard strike to Marcus Yarns, followed by 27 yards to Jalen Cropper. The Storm defense bent but did not break, forcing a long field goal attempt. John Hoyland missed from 60 yards on a four-point try, keeping the game scoreless. The Storm answered in a flash with ideal field position. On just their third play, Jack Plummer found Elijhah Badger in stride, and Badger dragged a defender into the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. The Storm were desperate for a ...

ESTERO ( www.thefloridasportswire.com ) – The South Carolina Stingrays fell in Game 2 of the South Division Finals, 6-2, on Saturday night at Hertz Arena. The Stingrays head home to North Charleston for Game 3 on Wednesday trailing the best-of-seven series, 2-0.  Florida wasted no time in Game 2 finding the opener. Jesse Lansdell snapped a shot from the far circle that deflected off a stick and looped over South Carolina netminder Garin Bjorklund into the net, giving the Everblades a 1-0 lead 90 seconds in.  Anthony Romano, who had two goals in Game 1 for Florida, got his third of the series while on the power play with just over seven minutes gone. He found his second of the night while on a 5-on-3 power play with 4:55 left in the frame giving the Everblades a 3-0 lead.  After being held scoreless over the first four periods in the series, South Carolina was finally able to break through in the second eight minutes in. Mikey Adamson wristed a shot from the point through...