Tucker Thomason’s six-hitter lifts Palo Verde baseball team

The Palo Verde baseball team was in dire need of a pick-me-up after Thursday’s blowout loss to Cimarron-Memorial, so Panthers coach Kevin Fiddler pulled aside Tucker Thomason for a chat.

Instead, Thomason did most of the talking.

“You could see it in his eyes,” Fiddler said. “He flat-out said, ‘I want it, Coach. I got it.’ ”

Thomason tossed a six-hit complete game Friday, and visiting Palo Verde got an early lift from Will Hamilton’s solo home run in the first inning during a 6-2 victory over No. 8 Coronado.

Thomason held the Cougars (9-4) scoreless before a two-run double to Jacen Yergensen in the seventh. Thomason finished with two strikeouts and three walks and was aided by two double plays.

“His brother Tallon’s been dealing on the bump for us,” Fiddler said. “They’re twin brothers, and Tucker came out and said he was basically going to prove that he was the better Thomason twin today.

“He just came out there with some stank, and it showed. And it picked up our guys, too.”

The Panthers (4-10) were without leading hitter J.D. Brooks because of an ankle injury, and Hamilton moved into the No. 3 spot in the batting order in his absence. Hamilton finished 2-for-4, including his blast off Coronado starter Daniel Witoslawski that gave Palo Verde a 1-0 lead.

“These guys are high-energy kind of guys, so they are a momentum kind of group,” Fiddler said. “Will is the straw that stirs the drink for us. For it to be him in the three hole … that’s a huge boost of confidence for our guys getting an early lead. It got us a little exhale.”

Palo Verde added two runs in the third on a sacrifice fly from Yodai Nakamura and an RBI single by Mitchell Rathbun, who went 3-for-3. The Panthers then capitalized on a couple of breaks in the sixth.

Cougars reliever Jake McLean thought he struck out Zach Ortale to end the inning before Ortale battled back to draw a walk. After a single, Ryan Merino hit a pop fly that shortstop Jordan Dalrymple lost in the sun, allowing Ortale to score. Austin Nilemo followed with a two-run double to put Palo Verde up 6-0.

“Timely hitting has been a big thing for us this season, and today we got the timely hitting finally,” Fiddler said. “Our seniors came out, and they led. For us to get off the schneid a little bit is perfect going into spring break.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.