PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams got his first professional hit Saturday night -- in his 12th at-bat.

The 34-year-old John Henry Williams, playing for the Southeastern Cloverleafs of the unaffiliated Southeastern League of Professional Baseball, hit a soft popup that fell in behind Pensacola Pelicans shortstop Heath Kelly in the ninth inning. Pensacola won 5-3.

Ted Williams finished with a .344 career average and was the last major league to bat over .400, when he hit .406 in 1941. John Henry Williams' career average is .083.

He did not ask for the ball, Pelicans owner Quint Studer said.

"It just dropped in there and he went to first,'' Studer said moments after the hit. "He's not even smiling. Nobody's making a big deal about it.''

Williams reached second after a walk, then was removed for a pinch-runner with two outs.

The game drew 1,803 fans, typical for a Saturday night Pensacola home game, Studer said.

"Ninety-five percent of the people here don't have any idea John Henry Williams is Ted Williams' boy,'' Studer said.

Williams, who started at first base, struck out in his first two at-bats Saturday, then grounded out to third. He went 0-for-2 on Friday, in his first appearance with Southeastern.

He signed with a minor league squad affiliated with his father's old team, the Boston Red Sox. Last year, he went hitless in six at-bats for Boston's Gulf Coast League affiliate before cracking three ribs running into a rail chasing a foul ball.

This season, he went 0-for-7 and was cut May 28 after three exhibition games with the Schaumburg (Ill.) Flyers of the independent Northern League. Then, he went hit hitless in this first five at-bats with the Cloverleafs.

Williams is best known for his legal fight to have his father's body frozen. Ted Williams died last year.