Gauchos Rally for 9 Unanswered Runs in 7th, 8th Innings, Defeat #15 Mesa Baseball, 9-6

Glendale, AZ - What started out as something good quickly spoiled as the #15 Mesa Thunderbirds dropped its first game of the season to the Glendale Gauchos, 9-6.

Mesa had a comfortable 6-0 lead through the first seven and half innings until walks and a homer in a two inning span eventually doomed the T-Birds.

Five of Mesa's six runs happened in the third inning, with Corey Chaplin, Greg Student and Connor Denning each singling to start the inning.  Then two straight doubles by Riley Peterson and Marcus Skundrich had Mesa up half a dozen.

After Glendale took the lead 9-6, Mesa went three and out in the top of the eighth and ninth innings to succumb to its first loss of 2018.

The T-Birds are 10-1 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.  Mesa will play at Chandler-Gilbert on Tuesday afternoon at 3 pm then back home on Wednesday against the Coyotes at 3 pm.  They will face Arizona Christian University JV on Thursday at 3 pm and finish the week with a double-header at home against the Pima Aztecs on Saturday with a first pitch at noon.