Rough Day At The Office Against (#2) Roughriders
Thursday, March 31, 2022 - 9:23 pm | Derek Diesner
Prescott, AZ - The Mesa Thunderbirds headed north Thursday for a doubleheader against 2nd ranked Yavapai College in Prescott. The Roughriders offense thrived on T-Bird pitching, as they swept Mesa 17-4 in 5-innings and 10-1 in 5-innings.
With the losses, Mesa drops to 7-19 overall on the season and 7-19 in ACCAC action. With the pair of victories, Yavapai; who is currently ranked 2nd in the latest NJCAA DI Softball National Poll, improves to 33-2 overall and 25-1 in ACCAC play.
Game One:
Thursday's doubleheader was a make-up from the scheduled double-dip scheduled for this past Tuesday. The games were pushed later in the week, due to inclement weather in the area.
The Roughrider bats got going early in game one and would not let up. Yavapai struck for four runs in the bottom of the first, three runs in the bottom of the second, and eight runs in the bottom of the third inning, before Mesa could get on the scoreboard.
With the T-Birds trailing 15-0 heading into the top of the fourth inning, Mesa's offense would get things moving. Odessa Treese got Mesa on the board with a base hit to right field, which scored Justine Encinas. Alex Reeve then doubled in Absidee Sanchez and Odessa Treese for the second and third runs of the game for Mesa. The T-Birds scored one more run in the top of the fourth inning, on a Rylee Blackburn fielder's choice; scoring Alex Reeve.
Yavapai responded with two more runs in the bottom half of the fourth inning and then faced four batters in the top of the fifth inning to secure the 17-4 run-rule win in five innings.
Game Two:
Mesa wasted no time in game two, striking for what would be their lone run of the game just three batters in. Alanie Ornelas led the game off with a double. Following a popout to the second batter of the game, May Obata came to the plate and reached base on an error by the Yavapai first baseman. That error allowed Ornelas to come around and score from second to give Mesa the early 1-0 lead.
It was all Yavapai from there. The Roughriders scored five runs in the bottom half of the first inning and would tack on another run in the bottom of the second inning to take a 6-1 lead. Yavapai closed the game out with a four-run fourth inning, to secure the 10-1 victory in five innings.
In the losses Thursday, Mesa managed just five total hits. The Thunderbirds have now dropped five of their last six games as they get set to return home this Saturday for a conference doubleheader against Eastern Arizona College. The Gila Monsters (28-8 overall, 20-6 ACCAC) are currently receiving votes in the latest NJCAA DI Softball National Poll. The first pitch between EAC and Mesa is set for 12 Noon from Mesa Community College. If you are unable to attend the game in person, you can watch the game live online: https://mesatbirdsports.com/live
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