Air Force Academy
New Mexico*
Falcons Swept At New Mexico With 16-6 Defeat
5/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2004
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Joe Salas and Daniel Stovall hit two back-to-back home runs to lead New Mexico to 10-run rule shortened 16-6 seven inning win and series sweep over Air Force in Mountain West Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Isotopes Park. The Lobos improve to 22-25-1 overall and 18-9 in MWC play, while the Falcons fell to 5-41, 0-22 MWC.
New Mexico starter Cooper Eddy improved to 5-4 on the season, allowing five runs in 5.2 innings pitched. Air Force starter Clayton Couch (2-6) was roughed up for 12 runs in four innings pitched.
UNM had 17 hits in the game, led by Salas and Stovall. Salas went 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBI's and Stovall went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI's.
Seven Falcons had a hit on the day, with Josh Wolfram homering and Jason Brown, Nathan DeRohan and Jon Polston doubling.
After a scoreless first inning, New Mexico jumped on Couch, scoring four runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Joe Salas and Daniel Stovall opened the inning by hitting back-to-back home runs. Chris Dabbs then came around to score on a single by Matt Foote for the third run and then Matt Young drove in Ryan Barba with a sacrifice fly to straight-away center.
The Falcons battled back with two runs in the top of the third to make it a 4-2 game. Dale Kasel doubled to right center to lead-off the inning and then came around to score on a triple to deep left by Geno Salazar. Josh got AFA's second run with his first-career home run, a towering blast that hit midway off the foul pole down the left field line.
The Lobos made it a 6-2 game after Joe Salas tripled to score Josh Mader and then scored on Stovall's single in the bottom of the third. New Mexico made it 7-2 on a rare triple play in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, A.J. Spitaleri hit a hard ground ball up the middle that shortstop Nathan DeRohan snared. DeRohan stepped on second and threw to first for the first two outs and then Matt Foote was thrown out at home by first baseman Brent Tittle as he tried to score from second to complete the triple play. Barba scored on the play from third base.
New Mexico broke the game wide open in the fifth, scoring six runs to make it a 13-2 game. Highlighting the six-hit inning was Salas and Stovall combining to hit back-to-back round-trippers for the second time in the game.
Air Force came back with four runs in the sixth to make it 13-6. Jon Polston doubled to start the inning and came around to score on a wild pitch by Salas, who came in from the designated hitter spot to relieve Eddy. Jason Brown then doubled down the right field line to score Karl Bolt and Brent Tittle. Brown then came around to score on Nathan DeRohan's double to right field.
New Mexico scored three in the seventh to end the game.
Air Force concludes its 2004 regular season withe six games in three days (May 20-22) against BYU at Larry H. Miller Field in Provo, Utah.
Game Notes: Clayton Couch made his 10th start of the season for the Falcons... Salazar's triple was his team-leading third of the year... Nathan DeRohan's double was his team-leading 15th of the season... Kyle DePierre made his 14th relief appearance of the season... JT Schroeder made his 11th relief appearance of the season.
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