Varsity Firebirds Recap: Week 1

The Firebirds started their 2026 campaign strong with 3 wins over the Saguaro Sabercats, Willow Canyon Wildcats, and Mountain Pointe Pride, and one road loss to the the San Luis Sidewinders. On Mon Mar 2, the Firebirds opened the season with a 10-0 home victory over the Sabercats led by a dominant pitching performance from senior Devin Long (5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO). Offensively, the Firebirds were led by senior Bo Shuba who went 3-4 with 4 RBIs. His effort was helped by sophomores Cruz Chavez who doubled in the 2nd inning scoring 2 runs, and Keone Ede who homered in the 2nd inning scoring 1 run. The Firebirds kept the offense hot with a road win against the Wildcats on Tues Mar 3, 15-4. They were led by senior Tanner Anderson's monster night, going 3-4 (just a base hit shy of the cycle) with a home run, triple and a double with 9 RBIs on the night. The team collected 12 hits and 14 RBIs total, and were led defensively by an overpowering pitching performance from junior Grafton Marshall-Inman (4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 10 SO). The team kept the win streak going with a 13-2 victory at the Pride on Thur Mar 5. Junior Hunter Halvorson led the Firebirds on the mound with 5 IP allowing only 3 hits, 0 ER, and collecting 8 SO. Offensively, the Firebirds had another balanced day at the plate with 13 runs on 8 hits. Junior Jahir Jensen (2-3, 1 R) had an RBI triple, junior Joe Perry (1-1, 1 R) had an RBI double, and sophomore Keone Ede (1-4) had a 3 run RBI homer to help the cause. The Firebirds finished the week with a tough road loss to the Sidewinders on Fri Mar 6, 0-3. Bright spots included strong pitching performances by junior Will Gnirk (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB and 6 SO) and senior Max Mangini (1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO). The team had base hits from sophomores Cruz Chavez (1-2) and Keone Ede (1-3). The Firebirds have a week and a half off before their next home game against the Riverton Silverwolves on Wed Mar 18 at 6:00 pm for their first game of the 2026 Boras Baseball Classic tournament. Let's Go Birds!