Your NTX Thunderbirds opened the playoff run against the Knights in good fashion Thursday night wining 8-2 and advance to the 2nd round.

After falling behind 2-0 after 3 innings, the birds used a 5 run 4th and 3 run 6th to take the lead and close the door respectively.

On the mound , Brent Smerczynski threw another complete game for the Birds to improve to 9-2 on the year. He surrendered 1 earned run on 4 hits and collected 6 strikeouts on the night.

Jody Nicewonger led off the 4th with one of his 2 hits on the night followed by a Brian Synatzske walk. John Menth and Brad Bode both reached on errors, the latter scoring Synatzske. With 2 outs, Don Massoud stung a double to the fence in left center and Bo Vaculik followed with an RBI single as the birds took the lead 5 -2. In the 6th, after the Menth an Bode reached base again, Rob Carrol delivered the knockout blow with a triple to the wall in center scoring both. Carroll scored to make it 8-2. Other Tbirds collecting hits on the night include John Ward.

The Thunderbirds take on the Cardinals next week in round 2 for a 830 contest at First Baptist.

Your NTX Thunderbirds wrapped up regular season play last night knocking off defending league champions and first current first place Modoc 3-1 at McInnish park.

The birds used a combined effort on the mound to hold down the sturdy Modoc offense. Brent Smerczynski got his 8th win of the year going 3 innings giving up only 1 run on 3 hits and notching 8 strikeouts. Joh Ward got the hold for the birds tossing an impressive 2 shutout innings and grabbing 2 Ks himself. Ron Short got the save going the final 2 innings also going scoreless and picking up a K.

At the plate the Thunderbirds were led by Fabian Mendive who was involved in all 3 of the runs scored. Fabian went 2-2 with a stinging double to the right centerfield wall , a single and a run scored on the night. Other Thunderbirds collecting hits on the night included Rob Carroll, Brad Bode, Ryan Karonka, Bo Vaculik and John Ward.

The opening round of the playoffs begin next Thursday with the Thunderbirds sitting in the 2 seed.

It was a roller coaster of emotions and battles back and forth all night but the end result was a tie as the NTX Thunderbirds and Dallas Spirits walked away from Graham Field Thursday night locked at 8.

The Spirits jumped on Tbird starter Fabian Mendive for 4 runs in the top of the first inning. They added one more in the second to hold a commanding 5-0 lead. Brent Smerczynski came in relief in the 2nd and held the Spirits scoreless until the 7th walking 2 and striking out 3.

The tbird offense then began chipping away at the lead, scoring 3 in third inning. Jeff Whanger , Mendive and Jared DeRusha all singled to load the bases before Jody Nicewonger singled to drive in the first run. Brian Synatzske followed with a sac fly and Smerczynski singled to right to drive in the third run. John Menth also singled in the inning for the birds.

In the fourth, Rob Carroll led off getting hit with a pitch, stole second, moved to 3rd on a ground out and scored on a Ryan Karonka sac fly. Ron Short then took a hit by pitch as well, moved to 2nd on a wild pitch and scored on Whanger’s second hit of the night to tie the game at 5.

In the 6th. the Birds would take the lead, albeit for a short time. After a Smerczynski single, there was a pop out, then Brad Bode reached on a fielders choice, forcing the runner out at 2nd. Carroll singled putting two runners on . Bo Vaculik then had a 10 pitch battle at the plate, fouling off pitch after pitch before finally driving in the go ahead run with a 2-out single to left scoring Bode. The big blow followed with a Karonka missle to the right -centerfield wall for a 2 run triple.

Smerczynski couldn’t shut the door in the 7th and preserve the win. After a leadoff walk, he got a pop up and a fielders choice, things looked good. The heart of the Spirits lineup stepped up and strung together 3 straight singles before a 2 strike HBP and a walked tied the game at 8.

The birds still had a chance to win in the bottom of the 7th loading the bases with 2 outs , but failed to push the winning run across. While nobody likes ties, this was a hard fought battle on both sides with timely two out hits, high tension and big momentum swings.

The birds return to action Thursday night against the Knights for a 7pm contest at First Baptist Academy.

The NTX Thunderbirds jumped out quick and held on late to edge the Dodgers Monday night to improved their record to 9-3.

After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first , the birds bounced back to take the lead 3-2. Brent Smerczynski led off with a single, stole 2nd and scored on a John Menth single. After Menth stole second, he scored easily on a Brad Bode double who then scored on a 2 out Bo Vaculik single to right. In the 2nd, Ron Short reached on an error, moved to 3rd on a Fabian Mendive single and scored on a Jared DeRusha sac fly. Other Tbirds collecting hits on the night include Jeff Whanger,

Bode started on the mound going the first 3 innings giving up 2 earned and walking 2 while only giving up one hit. DeRusha picked up the win for the Birds throwing a dominant 4 innings of shutout baseball in relief only surrendering 2 hits, walking one and striking out 3 to improve to 2-1 on the year.

The birds have a quick turnaround, weather permitting, against the Spirits Thursday night for a 6:30 pm contest back at Graham Field.

The NTX Thunderbirds used a stellar pitching performance, timely hits and solid defense to manufacture a 3- 0 win over the Dallas Cardinals Thursday night to improve to 8-3 on the year and hold sole possession of 2nd place.

Brent Smerczynski picked up his 7th win of the season with his 5th complete game effort. Smerczynski went the distance only giving up 2 hits while striking out 5 Cardinals. He set the Cardinals down in order in 5 of the 7 innings with only one runner reaching second base. Player/Coach Jody Nicewonger commented after the game, “I’ve played on the same team with Brent for many years and he’s always been solid on the mound, but tonight’s game was the best I’ve ever seen him pitch, and against one of the top hitting teams in our league.”

All the run support needed on the night started in the 2nd inning when Brad Bode led off with a stinging single to left. Rob Carroll then promptly laced his team leading 7th double to the wall in left center to drive in Bode. Brian Synatzske added a 2 out RBI single in the third to score Ron Short. The Birds added another insurance run in the 7th inning when Synatzske reached 2nd base on a Cardinal miscue . Smerczynski then laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third before being driven in by Bode on his second hit of the night.

Other Tbirds collecting hits on the night include: Bo Vaculik

The Birds play game 2 of 3 in 7 days Monday night when they take on the Dodgers for an 8:45 pm contest at Graham Field.