Boys of Summer Travel to Southern Utah
2/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 11, 2003
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This Weekend: Air Force (4-2 overall) travels to Cedar City, Utah for a four-game series with Southern Utah University. The teams play a doubleheaders Fri.-Sat., Feb. 14-15. The first pitch on Friday is at noon and while Saturday's doubleheader will start at 11 a.m.
Radio/Television: There is no radio or television. Selected baseball games will be broadcast later in the season, but the schedule has not yet been set. Once the schedule is confirmed, it will be posted on the baseball page of the website on the right side of the screen.
Scouting the Opponent: Southern Utah opens the season this weekend against Air Force. The Thunderbirds are a Division I member of the Mid-Continent Conference. Head coach Kurt Palmer is in his fourth season at the school with a 71-100 record. Last season, the Thunderbirds were 18-37 overall and 11-7 in the conference that includes Oakland University (Mich.), Chicago State, Western Illinois, Oral Roberts (Okla.) and Valparaiso (Ind.). The team played a solid schedule last season that included Arizona State, Arizona, Utah, San Diego State and BYU.
Series History: Air Force and SUU have played six times and the Thunderbirds hold a 4-2 lead in the series that began in 1984. The teams played twice last season in Southern Utah and SUU won by scores of 14-3 and 9-0. SUU has won three straight in the series. The Falcons and Thunderbirds split two games in Cedar City in 1999.
On the Road Again: Air Force plays its next nine games, and 11 of the next 14, on the road. After the Southern Utah series, the Falcons travel to Millington, Tenn., for the 14th annual Service Academies Spring Classic, Feb. 21-23. Air Force opens conference play Feb. 28-Mar. 2 at New Mexico.
Light Up the Scoreboard: In the first six games of the season, Air Force has lit up the scoreboard vs. Northern Colorado and Hastings. The Falcons are hitting .433 with 14 home runs and 43 extra-base hits in six games. Air Force is averaging 13 runs per game while allowing 10 per game. The Falcons are slugging .814 as a team with a .500 on-base percentage. Josh Phifer leads the team in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.667), runs (13), hits (16), doubles (4), home runs (5), RBI (18) and slugging percentage (1.542). Mike Rose is hitting .500 while Zach McAngus and Dan Petro are both hitting .474 followed by Adam Howes (.440), Tony Shockley (.438) and Bowie Frost (.417). Frost is second on the team with three home runs, 12 RBI and 21 total bases.
Hot in the Field: Air Force's defense, which showed great improvement last season, is picking up where it left off in 2002. The Falcons are fielding .957 with nine errors in six games. Prior to a four errors in the third game vs. Hastings, Air Force was fielding a sizzling .972. Freshman second baseman Zach McAngus and catcher Dan Petro have both made 27 plays in the field without an error. Shortstop Nelson Prouty has started four of the six games and is perfect in 21 chances. Outfielders Josh Phifer and Mike Rose are perfect in eight chances. Last season, AFA fielded over .953 for most of the season and finished the year at .948, the best in eight years and the seventh best in school history.
Last Week: Air Force swept a three-game series from Hastings College by scores of 20-4, 3-1 and 16-6 last weekend at Falcon Field.
On Deck: Following the Southern Utah series, Air Force travels to Millington, Tenn., for the 14th annual Service Academies Classic, Feb. 21-23. The Falcons will face Navy, Memphis and Kansas State in the three-day tournament.
