Falcons play at New Mexico, March 22-24
3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 19, 2002
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This Weekend: Air Force, 13-10 overall and 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference, travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for a three-game conference series against the New Mexico Lobos. AFA and UNM play Friday-Sunday, March 22-24. Friday's game is at 2 p.m. The first pitch Saturday and Sunday is at 1 p.m.
Radio/Television: All three games of the AFA-UNM will be broadcast locally on KUBL 1300 AM in Colorado Springs. Jay Ritchie, in his 13th season of Air Force athletics and fifth year with Falcon baseball, will call the play-by-play.
Road Trip: Air Force's 12-game road trip continues with the series at New Mexico. The trip started on the east coast as the Falcons posted a 2-2 record against Coppin State and Towson University in Balti-more. The Falcons then won one of three at San Diego State last week. After the UNM series, the 12-game stretch ends with two non-conference games at Southern Utah, March 26-27.
Series History: Air Force and New Mexico have played 104 times and the Lobos hold a 70-34 advantage in the series that began in 1957. Last season, UNM won five of the six games. AFA's only victory was a 4-2 decision at Falcon Field. UNM swept the Falcons, 8-2, 17-3 and 6-0 in Albuquerque at the Sports Stadium last season. UNM has won 16 of the last 17 in the series. The Falcons and Lobos have not played at Lobo Field, the site of this season's series, since 2000. UNM won all four of those games. AFA has lost 12 straight, and 21 of the last 22 in Albuquerque. The last Falcon win in New Mexico was a 15-8 win in 1996.
Scouting the Opponent: New Mexico enters the series 13-12 overall and 3-0 in the MWC. The Lobos swept Utah at home last weekend, 13-9, 20-11 and 13-12. UNM has won five straight and 10 of the last 12. The team is hitting .351 with a .958 fielding percentage and a 6.86 team ERA. All those numbers are slightly higher than the Falcons' totals of .327, .949 and 7.71. Junior second baseman Troy Cairns leads the team with a .431 batting average. Centerfielder Matt Young is hitting .417 with a team-high 11 stolen bases. First-baseman Chris Alexander leads the team with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. Sophomore right-hander James Vermilyea is 5-2 with a 4.24 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 57 innings.
BYU Series in March Changed: Due to the addition of the Southern Utah series, AFA's series against BYU, scheduled for March 28-30, has been changed. The game on March 28 will not be played. Instead, the teams will play a doubleheader Friday, March 29, at 11 a.m. Saturday's single game, March 30, will be played at 1 p.m. as scheduled.
Metro State Game Moved: The Air Force-Metro State baseball game scheduled for Falcon Field, April 17, has been moved to MSC's field in Denver. Since Metro State played Air Force twice at Falcon Field in early March, the Falcons will play the Roadrunners in Denver in April. The first pitch is at 3 p.m.
Rare Win in Southern California: Air Force's 7-6 win at San Diego State, March 16, was a rare accomplishment. The Falcons have won just twice in the last 13 years at San Diego State. The 1989 team earned a road win against the Aztecs. Last season, AFA defeated SDSU, 7-5. Both victories in the last 13 years have come under Reed Peters.
Crime Does Pay: In 23 games this season, Air Force has stolen 50 bases for an average of more than two per game. The Falcons have only been caught stealing 10 times for an incredible 83 percent success rate. The Falcons are on pace to steal the most bases in the Reed Peters era. In Peters' first season, the Falcons stole 76 bases. AFA had 71 thefts last season. The school record for stolen bases in a season is 122 set in 1979, but AFA has not stolen more than 77 bases in the last 15 years.
Offense Improved: After a down year offensively in 2001 in which the Falcons hit just .289 and averaged less than six runs per game, the Falcon offense is much improved. As a team, the Falcons are hitting .327 and averaging 9.3 runs per game. The team has just 14 home runs, but has 64 doubles, 50 stolen bases and a combined 32 sacrifices (21 flies and 11 bunts).
Defense Wins Games: Air Force's defense is much improved over last season. The Falcons are fielding .949 this season. Over the last five seasons, the Falcons' team fielding percentage has averaged .930. Air Force has not fielded about .943 in seven years. The 1994 team fielded .953 as a team. In 11 of the 23 games, the Falcons have made one or less errors. AFA's fielding percentage of .980 in the New Mexico State series was as good as any series in recent history. Air Force made 97 of the 99 plays in the field flawlessly.
Pitchers Climbing up Career Strikeout List: Prior to last season, no Falcon pitcher had cracked the top 10 in career strikeouts in 12 years. Last season, Mike Tufte finished his career tied for second with 224. The Falcons currently have two pitchers who rank among the top five. Fisher had five strikeouts in the loss to Villanova in February and moved into second place, ahead of Rich Haynie and former teammate Mike Tufte. Kaercher had five strikeouts in the win over Navy in February and moved ahead of Alan McClure for fifth place.
1. Bob Wright, 1981-84 278 2. Erik Fisher, 1999-Present 241 T3. Rich Haynie, 1971-74 224 T3. Mike Tufte, 1998-2001 224 5. Matt Kaercher, 1999-Present 214 6. Alan McClure, 1964-66 196 7. Pete Bracci, 1963-64 183
Last Week: Air Force won one of three games from San Diego State at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego. SDSU won the first game (2-1) and the third game (14-5). AFA won the second game (7-6).
Koegel On Fire: With record-setting senior pitchers Erik Fisher and Matt Kaercher anchoring the pitching staff, junior righthander Johnny Koegel was slated as the third starter. More and more people now know who he is. The native of West Hills, Calif., has been solid this season. He is 3-1 and leads the team with a 4.05 ERA. His 35 strikeouts and 40 innings pitched are second on the team. His 15 walks are the fewest among the starting rotation. His first two wins came in solid performances against New Mexico State and Hastings College. In his third start, a strong outing resulted in a 2-0 loss to Texas-Arlington. He went seven innings and gave up just two runs, one earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and no walks. He did not get a decision in another fine outing against Memphis, Feb. Feb. 24. He gave up just three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts and just one walk. Koegel picked up his third win of the season, March 16, over San Diego State. He went 7.1 innings and gave up six runs, three earned, on five hits with four strikeouts.
Streaks: Juniors Derck Kasel and Bowie Frost own the team's longest hitting streaks this season, nine games. Kasel's streak ended March 15 vs. San Diego State as he went 0-for-2. Frost's streak was snapped as he went 0-for-3 against Memphis, Feb. 22. Several players have had seven-game hitting streaks this season. No current Falcon has a streak longer than two games.
Player Notes: Junior infielder Derck Kasel is on a tear... Despite going 1-for-11 last week at SDSU, Kasel is hitting .441 for the season to lead the team... He is second on the team with two home runs and fourth with 18 RBI and 26 hits... His .695 slugging percentage is second on the team... At the Service Academies Classic, Feb. 22-23, he was named to the all-tournament team as he hit .667 (6-for-9) with three doubles and three RBI... After a strong freshman season, Josh Phifer struggled as a sophomore... He seems to have regained his groove as he is batting .395 and leads the team with a .711 slugging percentage... He also leads the team with 28 runs, 29 RBI, 54 total bases, three home runs and 13 doubles... He is second on the team with 30 hits... 17 of his 30 hits have gone for extra bases... Adam Howes has been swinging a hot bat this season... In 23 games, he is hitting .360... He leads the team with 32 hits and 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts... He is second on the team with 25 runs and is third with 22 RBI and eight doubles... Third-baseman Bowie Frost is getting it done on both sides... He has been outstanding defensively, making several spectacular plays and fielding .922 at the hot corner... He is hitting .380 this season with eight doubles, three home runs and 23 RBI... His team-best nine-game hitting streak ended against Memphis, Feb. 22... He hit .538 on the Baltimore trip with two doubles, seven runs scored, eight RBI and a home run... He was perfect in the field in 11 chances, including several diving stops... He hit .429 in two starts at San Diego State with a double and two RBI... Brian LaBasco, who has started 18 games at second base this season, is a two-year letterman on the Falcon football team at wide receiver... Last season, he led the team with two receiving touchdowns and was second on the team in receptions and yards... On the diamond, he is hitting .279 and is third on the team with 21 runs scored... He hit .375 against SDSU, March 15-17... Junior catcher Dan Petro has been solid this season... He has started all 23 games behind the dish and has made just two errors in 154 chances... He has thrown out 13 of the 27 base-runner trying to steal on him (48 percent)... Petro is hitting .254 with 17 RBI and 17 runs scored... He led the team with three RBI in series against SDSU, March 15-17 Senior Matt Kaercher picked up his third win of the season with a seven-inning complete-game win over Metro State College, March 3... He earned a seven-inning win over Navy, Feb. 22, in the Service Academies Classic... He gave up just two runs on three hits with five strikeouts and no walks... Kaercher took a hard-luck loss at SDSU, March 15... He pitched a complete-game (eight innings) and gave up just two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts... AFA lost the game, 2-1... For the season, he is 3-4 with a 6.54 ERA in a team-high 42.2 innings... Kaercher has 31 strikeouts and 18 walks.
On Deck: Following the series in New Mexico series, the Falcons travel to Cedar City, Utah, for a two-game non-conference series against Southern Utah, March 26-27. AFA plays its first conference home series, March 29-30 against BYU at Falcon Field.
