#17 Mesa Baseball Takes 7-3 Win From Coyotes Wednesday Afternoon
Mesa, AZ - The #17 Mesa Thunderbirds swept a two game series with the Chandler-Gilbert Coyotes Tuesday and Wednesday, with the T-Birds scoring a 7-3 win on Wednesday afternoon at Mesa Community College.
For the second day in a row, the Alaskan, Paul Steffensen, went yard as he rode the windy jet stream to right center field for his fourth homer of the season.
Steffensen wasn't the only T-Bird to use the opposite field to score runs as Brian So knocked in Mesa's first run of the game with a double to right field scoring Josh Leslie. Zach Wagner then singled to right field, scoring Ben Ferguson and So, making it a 3-1 game at that point.
Corey Chaplin would knock in Ben Ferguson in the sixth inning to make it a 4-1 contest and with Steffensen's solo homer in the seventh and Mesa scoring two more runs on Coyotes miscues, the Birds secured the four run victory.
Winning pitcher was starter Jake Denham, who threw seven innings, allowing eight hits, three runs, struck out three while walking just one. Nolan Ruff finished the eighth and ninth innings, earning his third save of the season.
The T-Birds will play a two game weekend series with the Paradise Valley Pumas this coming Friday and Saturday. Friday's game will be at Paradise Valley, first pitch at 3 pm, then Saturday's game will be at MCC, first pitch at noon.