Alas, the Thunderbirds’ bats dried up last night, as the College of Idaho took them down in a 3-0 shutout in the first round of the NAIA Region I tourney at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Solid pitching by Mark Hardy put them within reach, but Bob from the Tbirds Baseball Fanpage has the details:

The Coyotes got all their runs in the seventh inning. 1B Richie Snider hit a double off the centre field scoreboard. He scored the only run the Coyotes needed on a single by 3B Alex O’Brien. The remaining two runs came on a single by C Dane McGrady, on an 0-2 pitch with two out; it was starter Mark Hardy’s only mistake of the game. McGrady was out trying to stretch his hit into a double, after the two runs scored.

CoI starting pitcher, Jake Bottari, pitched a complete game shut-out to get the win.

The Thunderbirds aren’t done yet, however, as they play Concordia-Portland, like, right now. The game started at 10am at The Nat, so if you have the morning off, go enjoy some aluminum bat action. It’s a good warm-up for the C’s regular season, which starts in just a few weeks (well, maybe more than a few, but certainly less than a lot).

Speaking of the Canadians, which is something we do kind of often here, they’ve announced their lineup of ’superstar appearances’ for this season, and I’m liking what they’re cooking up.

June 18 brings Tim ‘Rock’ Raines (seen left) to Nat Bailey Stadium, the 12-season Montreal Expos legend who eventually found his way to the White Sox, A’s, Yankees, Marlins and Orioles (and even back to the Expos for a brief period – at the age of 41). Raines was a .294 career hitter, and considering his career went over two decades, that’s a lot of hits. 

No less handy with a baseball bat, only in a slightly different way, is superstar number two – Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart. He’ll turn out on July 10, and if you don’t know who he is, you haven’t seen pro wrestling over the past thirty years. The Hitman is an Alberta native, and was a two-time WWF tag-team champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, and five-time world heavyweight champion. Please, please, please, put him in the sumo suit.

The Famous San Diego Chicken shows up on July 23, and if you’ve never seen The Chicken in action, you simply have to come down to The Nat and get a taste. He’s the champion of mascots, an ongoing comedy routine, and he floored ‘em last year when he came to town.

Last, but certainly not least, is Chatham, Ontario’s own Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Ferguson Jenkins, appearing on August 12. Three-time All-Star, 1971 Cy Young winner, and Cubbie legend, Jenkins’ first season as a starter was spent racking up twenty wins while posting a 2.80 ERA and notching 236 strikeouts. Not too foul.

Last note for today – the C’s have posted their job openings for the coming season – everything from Bat Boy to Beer Hawker to Team Driver. Apply directly to the front office if you’re down, or be at the team Job Fair.