Air Force travels to UNLV
3/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 12, 2003
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This Weekend: Air Force (8-9 overall, 0-3 MWC) returns to Mountain West Conference play as the Falcons travel to Las Vegas for a three-game series against the UNLV Rebels (13-6 overall, 0-0 MWC), March 14-16. All times are Mountain.
Fri. March 14 6:30 p.m. UNLV Earl Wilson Field (UNLV) Sat. March 15 2 p.m. UNLV Earl Wilson Field (UNLV) Sun. March 16 1 p.m. UNLV Earl Wilson Field (UNLV)Radio/Television: There is no radio or television in the Colorado Springs area. 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: UNLV is 13-6 overall and opens MWC play against the Falcons this weekend. UNLV swept Memphis in Las Vegas last weekend by scores of 13-4, 5-0 and 7-5. The Rebels have played a strong non-conference schedule with games against California, Cal State Fullerton, Nevada-Reno and Southern Cal. UNLV is hitting .325 as a team with 34 home runs and 51 doubles in 19 games. Patrick Dobson leads the Rebels with a 410 average. Ryan Ruiz leads the squad with six home runs and 20 RBI. The Rebels have a team ERA of 6.20 and a team fielding percentage of .964. UNLV's top starter is David Seccombe who has a 3-1 record with a 5.54 ERA. In six starts, he has thrown 26 innings and has 35 strikeouts with eight walks.
Series History: Air Force and UNLV have played 48 times and the Rebels hold a 34-14 lead in the series that began in 1970. Since joining the MWC, Air Force is just 1-10 vs. UNLV in Las Vegas. The Falcons took one of three last season in Las Vegas. UNLV won the first two games, 13-1 and 8-6. Air Force's 10-8 win in game three broke a 14-game losing streak in Las Vegas. The two teams split the six-game series last season, with each team taking two of three at home.
Crime Pays: Air Force has stolen 20 bases this season in 25 attempts for an incredible 80 percent success rate. Last season, Air Force's 98 stolen bases were the third most in school history and the most since the Falcons set a school record with 122 thefts in 1979. Last season, the Falcons led the Mountain West Conference in steals and were only caught stealing 34 times for a 75 percent success rate.
Koegel Returns: Senior Johnny Koegel made his first start of the season, after missing the first 14 games due to offseason surgery on his throwing (right) elbow. He started the second game against Monmouth and went four innings on a pitch count. He gave up three runs on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts. The right-hander from West Hills, Calif., was 6-6 last season and led the starters with a 5.93 ERA in 17 starts. He was named the team's most improved player last season. His 95.2 innings pitched were second on the team and the sixth most in school history.
Last Week: Air Force took two of three from Monmouth University (N.J.), March 8-10, at Falcon Field.
Series Notes: Air Force hit a blistering .504 in the three-game series vs. the Hawks with 52 runs and eight home runs. Air Force's team slugging percentage was .822. The Falcons also stole four bases in five attempts. Defensively, the Falcons made a season-high eight errors in the series.
Streaks: Derck Kasel and Nathan DeRohan each have seven-game active hitting streaks, which tie as the longest streak by any player this season. Tony Shockley had a seven-game streak early in the season. Both Kasel (13-26) and DeRohan (9-18) are hitting .500 during the streak.
Player Notes: Josh Phifer, Mike Rose and Tony Shockley all had eight hits in 14 at-bats (.571 average) in the three-game series vs. Monmouth... Phifer also had one home runs, three doubles and five RBI... Rose had four doubles and a home run... Shockley had two home runs and nine RBI... Nelson Prouty and Nate DeRohan had the team's highest average (.667)... Adam Howes hit .467 (7-for-15) with two home runs, six RBI and two stolen bases... Derck Kasel hit .625 (5-for-8) with five runs scored, a double and four RBI... He also stole a base, just the fourth of his career... Senior Jesper Stubbendorff collected his second win of the season as he pitched seven innings and gave up five runs, three earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts... Freshman Paul Vignola picked up his fourth win of the season against Monmouth, March 10... He went six inning, allowing six runs, four earned, with four strikeouts.
On Deck: Following the UNLV series, Air Force returns home to host San Diego State in a three-game MWC series, March 21-23 at Falcon Field.
