Thunderbirds have strong opening day against ASU club team
James Mello
The Mesa Thunderbirds offense returned from the offseason ready to shake the cobwebs off of their bats, and they did just that in a 14-3 opening day blowout of the ASU Club team. Mesa’s offense erupted in a five-run second inning that was highlighted by a Darian Johnson RBI triple.
Johnson is looking to repeat the success of last season, where he was selected as a Second Team All-American and led the ACCAC (Arizona Community College Athletic Conference) in triples.
Right fielder Gary Mayberry followed with an RBI single of his own, making the score 6-0 T-birds after two innings.
Mesa never looked back, finishing with 18 hits on the day as the team scored in every inning up to the seventh.
The ASU Club team did nothing to help their cause, as they committed three errors in the game, enabling the Thunderbirds to keep innings going.
Starting pitcher and Mesa Ace Darin Wiltgen received the win, pitching six innings for the T-birds.
He gave up three runs and struck out three hitters. “I thought it was good for a first start,
I obviously wasn’t happy about some of the runs and hit batters but just got to take it from here and get stronger and better,” said Wiltgen. “Opening day sets the tone for the entire year and when we come out playing good it makes it that much better. Our team’s looking really good and we are looking forward to a solid year.”
Sophomore centerfielder Bryan Dunleavy supported Wiltgen’s effort by going two for five on the day, knocking in a pair of runs and scoring twice. Mayberry finished with two RBI as well in a three-hit effort. It was a team effort for the Thunderbirds, as every position player batted and four different pitchers took the mound.
“It’s huge to try and get all of the freshman in. We try and get the young guys out there and get their first at bats out of the way,” Mesa head coach Tony Cirelli said after the game. “The older guys forget the younger guys get nervous. Today everybody hit and we got four pitchers out there.”
Cirelli admitted that after 17 years of opening days and coaching baseball at Mesa he still felt nerves before the game. “I still didn’t sleep good,” he said, “I woke up early, excited, and ready to go. I had coffee this morning at about 5 and tried to figure out a lineup all over again.
“We made some mistakes today, we missed some signs and that we need to fix. Some teams will beat us if we play like that.
