Falcons face top-seeded UNLV in first round
5/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 20, 2003
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This Weekend: Air Force closed out the regular season with a 15-37 overall record and a 3-27 conference mark for sixth place. The Falcons will play regular-season champion and 18th-ranked UNLV (41-15 overall and 24-6 MWC) in the first round of the double-elimination tournament, Wednesday, May 21, at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, N.M. The first pitch is at 11 a.m. MDT.
Other Tournament Games: The second game of the day will be No. 2 seed San Diego State (26-30, 18-12) vs. No. 5 seed Utah (23-30, 10-20) at 3 p.m. At 7 p.m., No. 3 seed BYU (28-22, 18-12) will face No. 4 seed New Mexico (34-24, 17-13).
What If?: If Air Force beats UNLV, the Falcons will face the loser of the BYU-UNM game Thursday at 3 p.m. If Air Force loses to UNLV, the Falcons will face the loser of the SDSU-Utah game at 11 a.m. on Thursday in an elimination game.
Radio/Television: All of Air Force's tournament games will be broadcast in Colorado Springs on KBZC "The Buzz" 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 20 minutes before the first pitch. The Mountain West Conference and College Sports Television (www.cstv.com), the first 24-hour college sports network, reached an agreement to televise live selected games of the 2003 MWC Baseball Championship. Two second-round conference tournament games will be televised live on CSTV on Thursday, May 22 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (MST). A recap of that day's 11 a.m. (MST) game, with highlights, will air on CSTV from 2:30-3 p.m. (MST). CSTV is currently available to a national audience via DirecTV on channel 610.
Follow the Falcons Anywhere: All of Air Force's tournament games 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.
Air Force in the MWC Tournament: In the first three years of the MWC Tournament, the Falcons have been the sixth (last) seed twice and the fourth seed once (2002). The Falcons are 2-6 in the MWC Tournament. In the first year (2000), Air Force came through the consolation bracket and played SDSU in the championship game. The Falcons fell to the Aztecs and placed second in the tournament. In 2001 and 2002, AFA was eliminated in two games. Below are the scores of Air Force's games in the first two seasons of the MWC Tournament.
2000 2001 No. 1 New Mexico, 17; No. 6 Air Force, 3 No. 1 BYU, 7; No. 6 AFA, 1 No. 6 AFA, 13; No. 4 UNLV, 11 No. 2 SDSU, 8; No. 6 AFA, 0 No. 6 AFA, 10; No. 5 Utah, 5 No. 2 SDSU, 9; No. 6 AFA, 4
2002 No. 3 BYU 18; No. 4 AFA 3 No. 1 SDSU 9; No. 4 AFA 6
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 45 career hit by pitches to tie the 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 .419 average is 13 points higher than BYU's Ranger Wiens. Phifer's .821 slugging percentage is 47 ahead of UNM's Chris Alexander. His .498 on-base percentage is 25- ahead of Alexander. 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. Phifer Batting Average Could Set League Record: Josh Phifer could become the second Air Force player in the four-year history of the league to lead the conference in batting. He could also set a new league record. His .419 batting average currently leads the league and could break the MWC record of .414 set by AFA's Mike Thiessen in 2000.
Kasel Among Conference Leaders: Derck Kasel's .381 batting average in conference games is the ninth best in the league. In conference games only, Kasel leads the team in batting average, hits (40) and total bases (64).
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 two appearances, a start at Utah, May 11, and the start in a suspended game against BYU, May 16. In his last five appearance and three starts, Zumbrun has a 1-2 record with a 6.16 ERA. In 30.1 innings pitched, he has 19 strikeouts and five walks.
Last 10: In the last 10 games, the Falcons are hitting .312, but have been outscored by an average of 14-7. Adam Howes is the team's top hitter, with a .429 batting average, four doubles and two home runs. His 28 total bases in the last 10 games are more than any other Falcon. Mike Rose is hitting .414 in the last 10 games while Dan Petro is hitting .387 with three doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. AFA's opponents are batting .418 in the last 10 games.
Howes-Phifer Academic All-District: Seniors Adam Howes and Josh Phifer were named to the Verizon Academic All-District VII Baseball Team (University Division) for their accomplishments on the field and in the classroom. Both players earned first-team academic all-district honors for the second consecutive year. Both players will be on the ballot for Verizon Academic All-American honors. Howes, a first baseman from Phoenix, Ariz., carries a 3.61 grade point average with a major in economics. Howes was a third-team Verizon Academic All-American last season. Phifer, an outfielder from Torrington, Wyo., has a 3.87 GPA with a major in operations research. Phifer was a second-team Verizon Academic All-American last season.
Streaks: Mike Rose and Josh Phifer each had 11-game hitting streaks earlier in the season which tie as the best on the team. Rose and Reid Lamson each have six-game streaks, the longest active streaks on the team.
The Coach: The 2002 Mountain West Coach of the Year, Reed Peters (UNLV, 1992) is in his fourth season as the Falcons' head coach and his fifth season overall with Air Force. Peters came to the Academy as an assistant coach in the fall of 1998. His career and Air Force record is 88-132. Peters' coaching career began at his alma mater, UNLV, where he was an assistant coach from 1990-94. The Denver native was the head coach at Colby Community College (Kansas) from 1995-98. He led the Trojans to a 123-80 record for a .600 winning percentage. He led the team to a regional championship and two regional runner-up finishes. In his first three seasons at Air Force, Peters won more conference games than any other Falcon coach in their first three seasons. Peters won 28 league games in three seasons, passing the record of Joe Robison and Eric Campbell, who each won 24 games in his first three seasons. Peters won 73 games overall from 2000-02, the second most by a Falcon baseball coach in the first three seasons. Peters led the Falcons to back-to-back 23-win seasons in 2000 and 2001 and to 27 last season. He is assisted by Greg Brummett (pitchers), 1st Lt. Chris Humphrey (catchers/outfielders) and Mark Breeding (infielders/junior varsity).
Petro Player of the Week, May 19: Senior Dan Petro was named the Mountain West Conference player of the week against BYU, May 16-17. Petro, from San Antonio, Texas (Churchill HS), led the Falcons with a .900 batting average, including three doubles, two home runs and nine RBI. He was a perfect 5-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored in Air Force's 17-11 victory to close out the series vs. BYU. He was 4-for-5 with four RBI in a 16-19 loss to the Cougars. Petro was also perfect in the field in nine chances and threw out three of the five runners attempting a stolen base.
Last Week: Air Force took one of three from BYU in a series at Falcon Field, May 16-17. BYU swept a doubleheader, 19-16 and 25-4. AFA won the regular-season finale, 17-11.
