Mesa Sports Memory: Baseball claims fourth national title in 2014
After the 1980 Men's Outdoor Track & Field team caputred Mesa's 17th National Championship, Mesa Community College endured a 34-year championship drought—until the women's basketball team broke through with a Division II national title in 2014. Just two months later, the wait for the next one ended even faster.
Mesa baseball added to the legacy, claiming the program's fourth national title in dramatic fashion.
Before the celebration in Enid, Oklahoma, the T-Birds had to punch their ticket to nationals, and they did so convincingly. As the No. 1 seed in Region I thanks to a 27-11 conference record, MCC hosted the tournament and quickly dismantled Utah State-Eastern in the opening round with dominant wins of 11-1 and 8-0, both shortened by the run rule.
Mesa then faced Scottsdale Community College in a best-of-three series to determine who would advance to the NJCAA World Series. Game one was all T-Birds, with MCC cruising to an 8-2 victory.
The final game, however, brought the drama. Up 3-0 in the eighth, Casey Moses drew a bases-loaded walk to add what would be a critical insurance run. Scottsdale mounted a ninth-inning rally, scoring three runs with two outs before Ryan Chen, on just his second pitch in relief, forced a fly out to center fielder Cole Loncar—securing Mesa's trip to nationals.
Once in Enid, MCC hit immediate adversity, dropping their opening game 9-4 to Vincennes (Ind.) and falling into the elimination bracket. The path to a title would now require five straight wins.
Mesa answered the challenge.
They opened the comeback with a 9-0 shutout over Lincoln Land (Ill.), fueled by six runs in the sixth and a one-hit gem from pitcher John Havird.
Next came host Northeastern Oklahoma-Enid. Tied 5-5 in the eighth, Mesa surged for five runs to earn a 10-7 win. Alex Gudac powered the offense, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run.
In their next contest against Southeastern (Iowa), MCC again relied on late-game magic. After a 3-3 deadlock, the T-Birds scored twice in the eighth and three more in the ninth for an 8-3 win. Jordan Zimmerman had a breakout performance, finishing 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs.
Hinds (Miss.) was up next, but Mesa made quick work of them with a 12-0 run-rule victory in just five innings. Gudac led the charge again with three hits, including a triple, while Zack Soria and Levi Larmour each drove in three runs.
With momentum on their side, Mesa won a coin toss to advance directly to the national title game. After Hinds eliminated Madison (Wisc.), it set up a rematch between MCC and the Eagles.
The championship game lived up to the moment.
Deadlocked 6-6 after nine innings, the T-Birds broke through in the top of the 11th, scoring three critical runs. Pitcher Tyler Carvalho entered to close the game, but after giving up a run and loading the bases with two outs, he faced the ultimate test. With tournament hits leader Marshall Boggs waiting on deck, Carvalho induced a game-ending groundout to short, sealing Mesa's 9-7 win and the national championship.
The T-Birds finished with a 52-13 record—the best in school history.
Jordan Zimmerman was named Tournament MVP after hitting .438 with 14 RBIs. Nick Schuman earned Pitcher of the Tournament honors, throwing 9.1 shutout innings while allowing just three hits.
Soria, Gudac, and Evan Fresquez joined them on the All-Tournament Team, and head coach Tony Cirelli was named NJCAA Coach of the Year.
It marked the 19th national title in MCC history. Fortunately, the 20th wasn't far behind—Mesa's men's golf team secured that milestone championship in 2017.
Click here to watch a video on the T-Birds journey to the title.
