Air Force Academy
Colo. Springs Sky Sox (EXH)
Falcons play Triple A Sky Sox, fall 4-2
4/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 3, 2002
For nine innings on a chilly spring afternoon, the Air Force baseball team walked on the same field and played against Triple A ballplayers. For the second consecutive season, the Falcons played an exhibition game against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the top minor league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. And, for the second straight year, the Falcons held their own.
The Sky Sox scored three unearned runs on two Falcon errors in the fourth inning and held on for a 4-2 win over Air Force, Wednesday, April 3, at Sky Sox Stadium. The exhibition game does not count in either team's statistics or record. The Sky Sox open their regular season against Oklahoma City, Thursday, April 4, at Sky Sox Stadium.
The game was played with wood bats and was scoreless after three innings. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Mike Bell doubled to right-center field. Cliff Brumbaugh reached base on an error by Falcon shortstop, Scott Mears, and Bell scored. After Bo Porter walked, Rod Bair struck out but reached first base on an error by Falcon catcher Ryan Fitzgerald. Porter scored when AFA pitcher Jason Pruitt walked Kevin Nicholson with the bases loaded.
Air Force scored two in the top of the sixth to make the score, 3-2. Pinch-hitter Bryan Zumbro walked and Mike Rose singled. Zumbro scored on a wild pitch, sending Rose to third. Rose scored when pinch-hitter Steve Winters hit a ground ball to third base. The Sky Sox scored their fourth run in the bottom of the eighth. Jack Cust singled and scored on a wild pitch.
The Falcons out-hit the Sky Sox, 7-5, in the game. Rose led the Falcons by going 2-for-2 with a run scored. Air Force used eight pitchers, one each inning, and 20 position players in the game. No Falcon pitcher gave up more than one hit in an inning. Pruitt was tagged with the loss for giving up three unearned runs with three walks in the fourth. Sky Sox starter Ryan Seifert earned the win. He pitched five scoreless innings, giving up five hits with four strikeouts.
"What a great experience for our team," Falcon skipper Reed Peters said. "For one day, our guys get a taste of professional baseball and they can see that they are not that far away. We played a very solid game overall and had a lot of fun."
Air Force, 15-16 in the regular season, returns to Mountain West Conference play with a three-game series against UNLV, Friday-Sunday, April 5-7. The Falcons and Rebels play at 2 p.m. on Friday and at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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