Year after year, when the ThunderWolves’ key rival, Mesa state, comes to town, it is often a battle of the titans, with the victor having the inside track to the RMAC title.

But Mesa State, brutally and unapologetically, showed that that title will likely not go through Pueblo this year. The Mavericks stormed in to Rawlings Field and came away with a dominant 19-1 victory.

The writing was on the wall early, as the Mavs quickly put up four runs in the top of the first, stringing together four hits in the opening frame.

Then the Pack let defensive lapses rule the rest of the day, putting up seven errors and nearly logging more errors than they did hits. The 7-error game came on a day that Pack coach Stan Sanchez tried to tinker with the infield, trying regular centerfielder Jon Proesl at the beleagured shortstop position. Since opening day starter Mark Sayas went down with a potentially season-ending injury, shortstops have committed nine errors in just 16 games. Proesl logged two errors at shortstop Thursday.

By the time the smoke had cleared, the Pack’s “Friday night guy”, Mario Mattivi, suffered his first loss of the season, giving up seven earned runs, and the Pack continued to ride the wave into the storm that has been the 2008 season.

The ThunderWolves will try to turn the tide in their favor Friday when they continue their series with Mesa State in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m.