(RV) Thunderbirds Shutout Coyotes 3-0

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - 8:50 pm | Derek Diesner

Mesa, AZ - It was a pitcher's duel on Tuesday afternoon at Mesa Community College. The Thunderbird offense struck for three runs in the second inning and never looked back, on their way to a 3-0 shutout win over Chandler-Gilbert.

With the victory, the Thunderbirds; who are currently receiving votes in the latest NJCAA DII Baseball National Poll, improve to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in ACCAC action. With the loss, the Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes fall to 4-6 overall and remain winless in conference play at 0-3.

All of the offense Tuesday came in the second inning for the Thunderbirds. Six batters came to the plate for Mesa in the bottom of the second, all but one reached base in the inning. The bottom third of the battery; Dawson Baracani, Dean Bittner, and Jacob Roybal all scored for the T-Birds. Roybal singled in Dawson Baracani, then Cal Walsh doubled in both Bittner and Roybal for the games' final two runs. Walsh was later picked off to end the bottom of the second inning with catcher Chase Burke at the plate.

On the mound, the Thunderbirds used just two arms in the win. T-Bird starting pitcher Erik Dulittle (2-0) picked up the win, lasting six innings while allowing just three hits and striking out four Coyotes. Colton Vercoe earned his first save of the season, tossing the final three innings in relief of Dulittle. Vercoe allowed just one hit, one walk, and struck out three.

The Thunderbirds and Coyotes meet again on Wednesday afternoon, this time at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. First pitch is scheduled for 3 pm and the game can be seen live by visiting this link: https://youtu.be/D5nlUSyxIcA.

Don't forget to check out the MCC Team Shop, as well as our Booster Club.