The Thunderbirds let a big first-inning lead get away, but got a win with some clutch ninth-inning performances. They trailed 14-12 going into the ninth. They started the top of the ninth with a single by Aidan Rose. After a fly out, Kaden Zarowny was hit by a pitch. Then, Kyle Yip hit a single to score Rose, which made it a one-run game. Then, Aaron Marsh hit a double to score Zarowny and Yip, and the Thunderbirds had a one-run lead going into the bottom of the ninth.
The Mustangs did not go quietly. The Thunderbirds brought in Vicarte Domingo to close it. He walked the first batter he faced, Miles Henderson. Henderson stole second. Domingo struck out the next batter, Ty Beck, but Henderson stole third base on strike three. The Mustangs now had the tying run on third with only one out. Domingo struck out the final two batters to strand him there, and preserve the win. To summarize, Domingo faced four batters, struck out three of them.
The game started with two outs and the bases empty, but the Thunderbirds proceeded to get seven unearned runs. It started with a single by Trent Lenihan, then Jonny McGill got hit by a pitch. Lenihan scored the first run when Mitchell Middlemiss reached on an error. Jaden Lamothe hit a single to score another run, and Rose hit a three-run home run. After another hit batter, Zarowny hit a two-run home run.
The Mustangs got one back in the bottom of the first, and the Thunderbirds made the lead 8-1 with an RBI single by Middlemiss in the top of the second. However, the Mustangs got back into it with a grand slam home run by Kobe Katayama in the bottom of the fourth, at the expense of starter Shawn Heppner. Heppner was relieved by James Brock after a walk, a ground out, and another walk, but he still managed to record seven strikeouts. He allowed only four hits, but walked four batters, and hit another one.
The Mustangs took a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the fifth. The Thunderbirds re-took the lead in the top of the sixth with a three-run home run by Middlemiss and and RBI single by David Draayers. The Mustangs answered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth off Tyson Kilbreath, three of them on a home run by Ryan Mathiesen. However, Kilbreath allowed only one hit over the seventh and eighth innings, and got the win.
Middlemiss had a huge day; 3-for-5 with the home run that got the Thunderbirds back in it, and five RBI. Marsh finished 2-for-4, Lenihan 2-for-6, and Draayers 2-for-4. Lenihan was also robbed of a hit in the seventh with a great sliding catch by Conor Christiansen in left field. Mathiesen finished 4-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI. He also pitched the final two innings, and got the loss.
The Mustangs were 8-2 coming into this game, and won two of three against a good Vanguard team the past weekend. The Thunderbirds are now 6-2. They will play Providence Christian at 10:30 AM on Friday, and The Master’s again at 2 PM. video
In other news, a game scheduled between the College of Idaho and Northwest Nazarene was moved to Friday, and they will be playing a double-header.
