Baseball: Falcons fall in first of double-header

  • Published
  • By Nick Arseniak
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  The U.S. Air Force Academy baseball team lost the first game of its doubleheader 10-6 to New Mexico April 15 at Falcon Field here. The second game was called due to darkness with the game tied 12-12 after a wild 10 innings. 

The Falcons (6-27, 0-8) and Lobos (16-21, 5-6) will resume the second game beginning at 11 a.m. April 16 and play game three of the series immediately after.

In game one, New Mexico utilized the long ball -- hitting four home runs -- to win 10-6.

The Falcons made a game of it, chipping away at a 6-1 deficit by scoring four unanswered runs to pull to withing 6-5 headed into the ninth inning. But Matt Foote, who entered the final inning having gone hitless in his first five at bats, drilled a grand slam home run to straight-away center on the first pitch he saw to put UNM ahead 10-5.

The two teams combined for 37 hits, with the Lobos getting 20 hits and the Falcons tying a season-high 17 base hits. Jordan Pacheco and Matt Hibbitts both had four hits to lead the way for New Mexico.

Senior Geno Salazar continued his hot hitting of late, going 3-for-5 with a homer and double. The Falcons freshmen trio of Ben Ausbun, Addison Gentry and Daniel Walker all collected career-bests of three hits apiece.

The two teams traded runs in the second inning. Then New Mexico jumped ahead 6-1 with two runs in the third and fourth innings and one run in the fifth. The Falcons scored a run in the fourth and rallied with three in the eighth to make it a 6-5 game.

Lobo starter Stephen Smith (4-5) earned the win, holding the Falcons to two runs on 11 hits in six innings. Brandon Hewett picked up the save with 1.1 innings of relief.

Falcon starter Casey Allen (0-1) took the loss, allowing six runs off 13 hits in four-plus innings of work. Mitch Brown provided four solid innings of scoreless relief for the Falcons, scattering four hits while striking out three. Mike Ruvolo pitched in his eighth consecutive MWC game for the Falcons, tossing the ninth inning.

In the second game, New Mexico scored all 12 of its runs in the fourth inning and Air Force rallied from a nine-run deficit to tie the game up in the ninth.

The Falcons jumped on the Lobos in the first with three runs to take an early 3-0 lead. UNM then put up 12 runs off 14 hits in a marathon fourth inning.

Air Force refused to go away, however, as they chipped away at the New Mexico lead with two runs in the fourth and three in the sixth.

The Falcons then rallied with four runs in the ninth to tie the game. With runners on first and third and two outs and nursing a 12-10 lead, the Lobos elected to pitch to the academy's best hitter, Karl Bolt. Bolt made the Lobos pay with a two-run double to right to tie the game up.

The two teams played a scoreless 10th inning and then the umpires called the game due to darkness.

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