AFA closes out regular season against BYU
5/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 13, 2003
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This Weekend: Air Force (14-35 overall and 2-25 in the MWC) hosts BYU (25-21, 16-11 MWC) in a three-game Mountain West Conference series, May 15-17. The schedule is below.
Thu. May 15 2 p.m. BYU Falcon Field Fri. May 16 2 p.m. BYU Falcon Field Sat. May 17 2 p.m. BYU Falcon Field
Radio/Television: The Saturday game of the BYU series will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KBZC AM 1300. Jay Ritchie, in his 14th season of Air Force athletics and sixth season of Falcon baseball, will call the play-by-play. The pre-game show begins at 1:40 with the first pitch coming at 2 p.m. No television.
Follow the Falcons Anywhere: The Saturday game of the BYU series can be heard anywhere in the United States via the telephone. Falcon baseball radio broadcasts can be heard on TeamLine by dialing 1-800-846-4700. The team access code is 0671. This service is free of charge to listeners thanks to the Air Force Academy athletic department. Baseball games can also be listened to on the internet at www.AirForceSports.com. Go to the baseball page and click on Listen to the Falcons on the right side of the screen.
Series History: Air Force and BYU have played 121 times and the Cougars hold a 111-20 lead in the series that began in 1962. Last season, BYU took three of the five regular-season games and also defeated Air Force in the first round of the MWC Tournament. Last season at Falcon Field, BYU won two of the three games. The Cougars won games one (4-2) and two (9-5). Air Force won the third game, 7-5. Since 2000, the Cougars have won six of eight at Falcon Field as members of the MWC. BYU swept AFA earlier this season in Provo.
Earlier This Season Vs. the Cougars: BYU swept the three-game series in Provo, April 10-12, by scores of 9-2, 17-2 and 22-6. BYU posted a .460 batting average and a 3.00 ERA. AFA hit just .233 and had a team ERA of 13.50. Josh Phifer led the Falcons with four hits, batting .333 with three RBI in the series. The Cougar pitching staff struck out 22 Falcons in the three-game series while walking just three. In the first game, BYU pitcher Jeff Mousser went eight innings and struck out eight in the 9-2 Cougar win. BYU took a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Falcons got on the board in the top of fifth to cut the Cougar lead to 5-2. BYU added two more in the sixth and eighth innings for a 9-2 advantage. Falcon starter Jesper Stubbendorff took the loss. In game two, BYU scored four runs in the first inning and rolled to a 17-2 win. Cougar starter Paul Jacinto went seven innings and combined with relievers Tyler Heid and Tyler Dabo to hold Air Force to just three hits and one walk in the game. BYU first-baseman Jake Stubblefield hit a grand slam homer in the bottom of the first and that set the tone for the game. Falcon freshman Paul Vignola took the loss. He went 4.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. Game three was very similar to game two as BYU scored nine runs in the first inning and cruised to a 22-6 win. Josh Phifer's double scored Adam Howes in the top of the first for a 1-0 Falcon lead. BYU batted around in the bottom of the first inning to take a 9-1 lead. The Cougars scored two more in the second inning and four in the fifth for a 16-2 lead. AFA starter Ken Hodgson was tagged with the loss as he faced seven batters and allowed seven runs on six hits without getting an out.
Scouting the Opponents: BYU (25-21 overall and 16-11 MWC) is in third place in the conference, one game behind New Mexico. The Cougars are third in the conference with a .320 batting average and 5.99 team ERA. Former major leaguer Vance Law is in his fourth season as head coach. Cougar infielder Ranger Wiens leads the team and is second in the MWC with a .407 batting average. Paul Jacinto leads the league with eight wins and is second with a 3.87 ERA.
Final Home Game for Seniors: Saturday's game against BYU will be the final home game for 13 Falcon seniors: Bowie Frost, Adam Howes, Derck Kasel, Johnny Koegel, Nick Liegl, Scott Mears, Dan Petro, Josh Phifer, Nelson Prouty, Jason Pruitt, Tony Shockley, Jesper Stubbendorff and Josh Zumbrun.
Flashing the Leather: Air Force's fielding percentage of .955 is currently the second-best in school history and the best since 1979. The 1979 team posted a .957 fielding percentage.
Taking Several for the Team: Josh Phifer has 44 career hit by pitches and needs just one more to tie the career record of 45 set by current assistant coach Chris Humphrey. Humphrey was plunked 45 times from 1998-00.
Phifer - League Leader: Senior Josh Phifer leads the MWC in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He is one of two players in the league with a .400 or better average. His .414 average is seven points higher than BYU's Ranger Wiens. Phifer's .781 slugging percentage is six points ahead of UNM's Chris Alexander. His .492 on-base percentage is 20 points ahead of Alexander's .472. Phifer could become the first player in the four-year history of the league to lead the MWC in all three categories in the same season.
Kasel Among Conference Leaders: Derck Kasel's .367 batting average in conference games is the 10th best in the league. In conference games only, Kasel leads the team in batting average, slugging percentage (.589), hits (33), home runs (4) and total bases (53).
Zum Getting it Done: Senior Josh Zumbrun has emerged as the team's top pitcher in the last month. The right-hander from Baltimore, Md., was the MWC Pitcher of the Week for his complete-game shutout of San Diego State, April 26. His encore to that performance was a near-complete-game against an explosive New Mexico team, May 3. He threw eight and two-thirds and was a hard luck loser. Zumbrun took a 3-2 lead into the ninth before giving up three runs. He gave up five runs, four earned, on 10 hits with two strikeouts and no walks. He was roughed up in his last start, May 11 against Utah. He gave up 12 runs, seven earned, on 16 hits in five innings. In his last three starts, Zumbrun has a 1-2 record with a 4.37 ERA. In 22.2 innings pitched, he has nine strikeouts and three walks.
Last Week: Air Force broke an eight-game losing streak by taking one of four games from Utah, May 9-11, in Salt Lake City. Utah won the first three games by scores of 7-0, 7-6 and 12-2. AFA won game four, 11-9.
On Deck: Following the BYU series, Air Force travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the annual MWC Tournament, May 21-24. All six teams in the conference compete in the double-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
