MESA, ARIZ. - A spring trip in to the Arizona desert was supposed to start with a doubleheader against Chandler-Gilbert Community College, however, a rare rain-storm canceled the twin bill and pushed the Madison College baseball team's spring trip opener to Friday's 1x9 at Mesa Community College. Despite an early lead, the #8-ranked WolfPack suffered their first loss of the 2024 season with a 6-4 setback to the Thunderbirds. Mesa CC now leads the all-time series by a 7-4 count despite wins by the Pack in each of the previous two years.

Sophomore Dayton Rozinski-Hicks got the game started on the right foot with a single up the middle. Three batters later and with two outs on the scoreboard, second year rightfielder Charlie Marion connected on his first home run of the season. The two-run blast over the right field wall is the second of his career and gave the visitors an early 2-0 edge. 



Starting pitcher Michael Carpenter held the lead through the first despite a pair of hits and a walk, ending the ending with back-to-back strikeouts.Neither team generated much offense until Mesa got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a run-scoring, two-out single. Two more singles against Carpenter in the fifth put the Thunderbirds in position to tie the game, which they did with another two-out base hit. Consecutive doubles off the righthander gave the home team a four-run innings and a 5-2 lead. Freshman Carson Klaus entered to close the inning, which he did with a strikeout. Mesa pushed the score to 6-2 in the sixth inning with a successful double steal that again happened with two outs on the board.

Down to their final at-bats, Madison College attempted to mount a comeback in the ninth inning. Marion opened with a single to right and Will Johannes followed with the team's second two-run home run of the game. The sophomore's second homer on the young season closed the gap to 6-4, however, the Thunderbirds retired three of the next four batters to close out the win.

Marion, a native of Franklin, Wisconsin, finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in to lead the WolfPack offense. Johannes had a hit, two RBI, and a run scored. Rozinski-Hicks and Payton Frehner accounted for the team only other two hits, with Rozinski-Hicks also scoring a run.

Carpenter (0-1) took the loss in his season-debut as he surrendered five earned run on ten hits and a walk over 4.2 innings of work. The Hartland, Wisconsin, product struck out eight batters before Klaus took over. Klaus, a former Adams-Friendship HS athlete, fanned three batters while also allowing a run and a hit. Sophomore Eamonn Mulhern worked a three-batter eighth inning, inducing a double-play and recording a strikeout.

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