Air Force Academy
Utah (DH)
Falcons and Utes split doubleheader
5/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2003
SALT LAKE CITY - Air Force broke an eight-game losing streak and collected its second conference win of the season by splitting a Mountain West Conference doubleheader with Utah, Sunday, May 11, at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City. Utah won the first game, 12-2, while AFA won the second game, 11-9.
Air Force is now 14-35 overall and 2-25 in the MWC. Utah is 22-28 overall and 9-18 in conference.
In the first game, Utah scored four runs in the second and five in the third for a 9-0 lead. The Utes led 12-0 before the Falcons scored two in the bottom of the sixth of the seven-inning game. Air Force was the home team as this game was the make-up game from a snow out in Colorado earlier in the season.
In the second inning, Mike Basham drove in two with a triple to right field. In the third inning, Jake Jordison hit a two-run homer to left-center field. The Utes tallied 16 hits while holding Air Force to a season-low three hits.
Eric Chevalier led the Utes with three hits, three runs scored and three RBI. Four other Utes had two hits. Josh Zumbrun took the loss for Air Force. He went five innings and gave up 12 runs, seven earned, on 16 hits with four strikeouts. Jason Price was the winner for Utah. He gave up just two runs on three hits in six innings with eight strikeouts.
In the second game, Air Force scored three runs in the top of the ninth for an 11-9 win.
After a scoreless first, Air Force scored one run in both the second and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Adam Howes doubled and scored in the second inning. In the third, Nick Liegl reached base on a bunt single and then scored on Dan Petro's RBI single. The Utes tied it at two in the bottom of the fourth on a Cort Wilson two-run double.
In the top of the sixth, the Falcons scored four runs on a two-run home run to left field by Ryan Fitzgerald and a two-RBI single to left center by Reid Lamson.
Utah cut it to 6-3 later that inning when Chevalier tripled to center field and was brought home on a sacrifice hit by Wilson. Air Force added to its lead in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs. Josh Phifer drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Liegl had an RBI single.
Utah tied the game at 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth when Matt Ciaramella scored on a wild pitch.
Then, in the top of the ninth, the Falcons scored three runs to take an 11-8 lead. Colton Walter led off the inning with a double and then scored on Nelson Prouty's infield single. Fitzgerald scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Lamson and then Prouty scored on a passed ball.
Ute Jake Jordison led off the ninth with a solo homer to right field, making it 11-9. Though the Utes had two more hits in the inning, they could not plate another run off of Falcon reliever Michael Chapados.
Chapados earned his first win of the season, going one and one-third and allowing one run on three hits. Ute reliever Ben Buck suffered the loss. He pitched one and one-third innings, giving up two runs on three hits, while striking out one.
Howes and Walter led the Falcons with three hits each. Lamson drove in three while Fitzgerald drove in two. Walter scored three for the Falcons. Utah was led by Chevalier, who finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs, while Wilson was 2-for-4 with one run and five RBI.
Air Force closes out the regular season with a three-game series against BYU, May 15-17, at Falcon Field. The first pitch is at 2 p.m. each day.
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