Baseball: Air Force drops second game to Navy

  • Published
  • By Nick Arseniak
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Assistant Sports Information Director
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AFNEWS) --  Air Force's (4-6) late rally came up just short, as Navy (8-1) held the Falcons off for a 7-5 win Feb. 23 at Nat Buring Stadium. The win gave the Midshipmen a double-site doubleheader sweep over the Falcons as Navy took game one earlier in the day, 7-1, at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn.

The Falcons and Mids battled back-and-forth early in the game until Navy went ahead for good on a two-run home run by Mitch Harris in the fifth inning. The loss spoiled a gutsy effort by Falcon starter Mitch Brown. Brown (1-2) took the loss, despite tossing 8.1 innings and striking out five. He allowed seven runs, five earned, off of eight hits and two walks.

Navy starter Mike White improved to 3-0 on the season. The right-hander went 6.1 innings, striking out five. Closer J.D. Melton went the remaining 2.2 innings for the save.

The Mids had eight hits in the game and were led, for the second game in a row, by Harris. The Falcons had seven hits in the game, led by freshmen Ben Ausbun and Matt Alexander, who both went 2-for-4.

After Navy scored a run in the top of the first, the Falcons responded with a run in the first and one more in the second to pull ahead 2-1 early on.

Navy came back with two runs in the fourth to go back ahead 3-2 but the Falcons responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 3-3 tie.

After Harris' homer in the fifth, Navy added a run in the seventh. Air Force then pushed across two runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 6-5 game. Karl Bolt and Alexander hit back-to-back doubles to score Bolt for the first run and Addison Gentry came through with a two-out RBI-single to score Alexander.

Navy scored an insurance run in the eighth to go ahead 7-5.

The Falcons made things interesting in the ninth, getting two base runners on with one out. But Melton got the next two batters out to end the game.

The Falcons return to action Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. against Akron.  


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