Falcons Travel To Service Academies Spring Classic
2/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 21, 2007
Complete Series Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Air Force vs. Navy & Akron (2007 Service Academies Spring Classic)
Dates: Feb. 23-25 - Friday at 10 a.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. vs. Navy; Sunday at 9 a.m. vs. Akron
Site: USA Stadium - Millington, Tenn.
Live Stats: www.goAirForceFalcons.com
The Coaches:
Mike Hutcheon is 29-135 in his 4th year at Air Force and 268-270 in his 13th year as a head coach
Paul Kostacopoulos is 32-21-1/2nd year at Navy
Pat Bangston 15-36/2nd year at Akron
Series History:AFA leads vs. Navy, 11-6 - First-ever meeting vs. Akron
Pitching Probables W-L ERA G-GS IP K BB2/23 Navy Mitch Harris - Jr. RHP 2-0 0.00 2-2 11.0 16 3 AFA Gary Whiteman - Fr. RHP 1-1 11.30 3-3 14.1 6 62/24 Navy Matt White - So. RHP 2-0 1.50 2-2 12.0 3 11 AFA Mitch Brown - Sr. RHP 1-1 2.25 3-2 12.0 8 12/25 Akron TBA AFA Jake Petro - So. RHP 2-1 5.59 3-3 9.2 5 7
Falcons Travel To Service Academies Spring Classic
Air Force (4-4) travels to Millington, Tenn., to take part in the 2007 Service Academies Spring Classic this weekend, Feb. 23-25. The Falcons take on service academy rival Navy on Friday and Saturday and Akron on Sunday. Live stats will be available via gametracker for all three games.
The Last Time Out
Air Force swept Kansas Wesleyan in a three-game set. The Falcons downed the Coyotes, 9-5, on Sunday and took both games of a Monday doubleheader winning, 8-2 and 5-4.
The 2007 Falcons
Air Force returns 10 letter winners, including five starters off the 2006 squad. The Falcons welcome 18 newcomers to the team, nine of whom are pitchers.
The 2006 Falcons
Air Force went 10-38 in 2006 and 1-21 in Mountain West Conference play, finishing seventh in the conference. The team's leading hitter was team MVP Karl Bolt, who led the team in nearly every statistical category, batting .314 with nine home runs and 30 RBI. AFA's top pitcher was Mitch Brown. Brown led the team in nearly every pitching category, going 3-10 with 51 strikeouts in 71.2 innings and posted a 5.65 earned run average.
Bolt Brothers Battle On Ballfield
When Air Force takes on Navy at the Service Academies Springs Classic at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn., brothers Karl and Kendall Bolt will face each other for the first time. Karl, a senior outfielder at Air Force and Kendall, a freshman shortstop at Navy, are both products of Lincoln HS in Stockton, Calif.
Top Hitting Team In The MWC
Air Force enters the weekend as the top hitting team in the Mountain West Conference, batting .343 and slugging .518 as a team. The next closest team in the conference is TCU, which is batting .314 and slugging .439. Air Force also leads the conference with 25 stolen bases and is second in fielding with a .966 fielding percentage. Individually sophomore Jason Griggs is the top hitter in the conference, batting .583 with a .655 on-base percentage.
Air Force at the Service Academies Spring Classic
The Falcons have played 51 games in the classic and have a record of 23-28. Last year, the Falcons went 0-3 at the Classic, losing 8-2 to #22 Notre Dame, 11-6 to Navy and 6-5 to Indiana State. Air Force has won the tournament five times (1990, 91, 96, 99 & 02), the most by any team.
Scouting Navy
Navy enters the weekend on a roll, having won five consecutive games and sporting a stellar 6-1 record. The Midshipmen are batting .285 as a team, led by junior Mitch Harris, who is batting .59 with two home runs and nine RBI. The pitching staff has an earned run average of 2.48. Harris also anchors Navy's pitching staff with a 2-0 record and has yet to give up a run while striking out 16 in 11 innings pitched. Freshman Kendall Bolt, brother of AFA's Karl Bolt, is batting .345 with six runs and RBI.
Series History vs. Navy
- Air Force leads the all-time series against Navy 11-6. The Mids have won the last two meetings however against the Falcons.
- Last year, Navy defeated Air Force at the Service Academy Spring Classic last year by a score of 11-6. Mitch Harris got the win for the Mids, as he scattered six hits over seven innings with 11 strikeouts. Price Paramore hit a grand slam in the game for the Falcons and Karl Bolt also homered.
Scouting Akron
Akron opens the season this weekend in Millington. The Zips were 15-36 in 2006, finishing fifth in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. Akron's top returning hitter is junior catcher/first baseman Kurt Davidson, who batted .338 with 12 homers and 47 RBI. The Zips' top returning pitcher is sophomore right-hander Frank Turocy, who went 1-6 with a 5.34 ERA to go with 24 K's in 57.1 innings pitched.
Series History vs. Akron
- Air Force plays Akron for the first time-ever.
First Sweep Since 2003
The three game series sweep of Kansas Wesleyan was the Falcons' first in four years. The Falcons last swept a three-game series against Hastings College in 2003.
Offense Much Improved So Far
When looking back at how the Falcons have done through eight games this year, compared to the first eight games in 2006, the Falcons have shown considerable improvement offensively. The Falcons are batting 82 points higher so far this year (.343 to .261) and slugging 197 points higher (.533 to .336). At this same point last year, the Falcons had just two hitters batting above .300. So far in 2007, the Falcons have five regulars above that mark including three batters above .400. The Falcons have 29 extra-base hits in 2007 compared to 12 in 2006.
Griggs Getting It Done At The Plate
After starting the season as a pinch hitter, Jason Griggs has simply hit his way into the lineup starting every game since. Griggs started the season off by getting a base hit in his first three at bats, went six consecutive games with two hits and had an RBI in his first seven games. Griggs, and outfielder and second baseman, currently leads the conference in hitting, batting .583 (14-for-24) and a .655 on-base percentage. The sophomore from Dublin, Ohio, enters the weekend with a 10-game hitting streak which includes two games from the 2006 season.
Falcons Aggressive On The Basepaths
Air Force is averaging 3.1 stolen bases per game, the tops in the MWC. The Falcons have stolen 25 bases in 33 attempts, good for a 75.8 percent success rate. In the Northern Colorado series, the Falcons were a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. In the first game of the series against Kansas Wesleyan, the Falcons swiped seven bases. Seven Falcons already have multiple swipes and six have three or more. Jason Griggs currently leads the Mountain West Conference with seven steals in eight attempts.
Freshmen Making Immediate Impact
Featuring one of the youngest, if not the youngest, team in the nation, Air Force is relying heavily on its freshman class so far in 2007. Through the first eight games of the season, the Falcons have started five freshmen six times and started six twice. Freshmen Matt Alexander (CF), Ben Ausbun (3B), and K.J. Randhawa (SS) have started in every game for the Falcons. Gary Whiteman (RHP) has started three games on the mound and Alex Truesdale (RHP) leads the team with eight strikeouts.
Ten Is The Number
When the Falcons hold their opponent under 10 runs in a game, they are 4-0. When allowing 10 or more runs, the Falcons are 0-4. The Falcons have allowed just 13 runs in their four wins (3.2 per game) and 44 runs (11.0 per game) in their four losses.
Hitting/Offense Notes
• Air Force enters the weekend as the top hitting team in the Mountain West Conference, batting .343. The Falcons batted .364 against Kansas Wesleyan.
• The Falcons have out-hit their opponents in six of eight game this season.
• Jason Griggs has a 10 game hitting streak.
• With his third home run of the season vs. Kansas Wesleyan, Karl Bolt has 28 career home runs, ranking him 13th all-time at the Academy.
• The Falcons stole seven bases against Kansas Wesleyan in the first game of the series.
• The Falcons stole 12 bases total against Kansas Wesleyan.
Pitching Notes
• Air Force has an 6.97 team ERA. The Falcons had a 3.91 ERA vs. Kansas Wesleyan.
• Mitch Brown fanned a season-high six batters in six innings against Kansas Wesleyan.
• All three starting pitchers picked up the win vs. Kansas Wesleyan.
• David Miller closed two games vs. KWU and has closed four of the Falcons' eight games this season.
• The Falcons used just six pitchers in the entire KWU series.
Defensive Notes
• Air Force ranks second in the MWC with a .966 fielding percentage.
• The Falcons fielded .962 against KWU, committing four errors in the series.
• The Falcon turned five double plays against Kansas Wesleyan.
• Through eight games, the Falcons have three errorless games and one with just one error.
• First baseman Karl Bolt is errorless in 43 chances and second baseman Geno Salazar is perfect in 30 chances.
• Freshmen Ben Ausbun and K.J. Randhawa lead the team with 24 and 23 assists.
Additional Notes
• The Falcons 5-4 win against Kansas Wesleyan took just one hour and 18 minutes to play. The Falcons played the doubleheader that day (14 innings total) in a combined three hours and 26 minutes.
Recapping the Kansas Wesleyan Series
Strong pitching by a trio of freshmen and timely hitting propelled Air Force to a 9-5 win over Kansas Wesleyan in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Falcon Field.
Falcon starter Gary Whiteman (1-1) picked up his first-career win with six-plus strong innings of work. Aside from a shaky fourth inning, where he surrendered four runs off of two walks and a hit batter, Whiteman held Kansas Wesleyan scoreless in five of the first six innings. The freshman finished the day with three strikeouts and allowed five runs, four earned, off of six hits.
Timely hitting and strong pitching for the second-straight day carried Air Force to a doubleheader sweep of Kansas Wesleyan (1-6) Monday at Falcon Field. The Falcons took game one 8-2 and game two 5-4 and improved to 4-4 on the season.
The three-game series sweep was the Falcons' first since 2003, when they swept Hastings.
In game one, the Falcons utilized a five-run second inning and some strong pitching to cruise to an 8-2 win. Falcon starter Jake Petro and reliever Michael Ruvolo combined to hold the Coyotes to two runs on eight hits in the seven inning win.
Petro improved to 2-1 on the season, scattering six hits and two walks, while striking out two in five innings. Ruvolo tossed two scoreless innings while striking out one to close out the game.
Air Force had nine hits and stole seven bases in game one. Geno Salazar went 2-for-2 with a double, triple and three RBI. Jason Griggs continued his hot hitting with a 2-for-4 game and Matt Alexander connected for his second home run of the season.
Falcon starter Mitch Brown turned in a solid effort, going six strong innings for the win. Brown improved to 1-1 on the season, striking out six batters and allowing just one run on three hits. Brown was completely dominant in stretches, pitching three 1-2-3 innings.
Rare Two-Site Doubleheader
The Falcons will play a rare two-site doubleheader next Friday, March 2. The Falcons will take on Lewis & Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho at 2 p.m. on Friday and then travel up the road to Pullman, Wash., to take on Washington State at 7 p.m. The Falcons were originally slated to play WSU on Sunday, but made the schedule change to accomodate Sunday travel plans.
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Lewiston, Idaho to take part in the Banana Belt Classic, hosted by Lewis & Clark State College from March 1-3. The Falcons take on Gonzaga on Thursday and play LCSC and Washington State on Friday and Utah Valley State on Saturday.
Season Standing Notes
• Falcon Brotherhood - Falcon sophomore right-hander Jake Petro is the second Petro to play for the Falcons. Older brother, Dan Petro, played for the Falcons from 2000-03 and was an all-conference catcher in `03.
• Falcon Brotherhood part II - Brent and Gary Whiteman are the latest brother combo to play for Air Force. The last Falcon brother duo to play for Air Force were Derck and Dale Kasel in 2003. Both brothers enter the Academy as freshmen but Gary will be a sophomore in terms of eligibility after playing his freshman year at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona in 2005.
• Falcons Tabbed 7th in MWC Preseason Poll -The Air Force Falcon baseball team was tabbed to finish seventh in the Mountain West Conference as voted by the seven head coaches and select media. TCU, the defending conference champion, was selected to finish first, followed by San Diego State in second and BYU in third. UNLV followed up in fourth, New Mexico in fifth and Utah in sixth.
• Closing in on 500 - The Falcons are two wins away from 500 wins all-time at Falcon Field. Air Force is 498-369 all-time at Falcon Field.
• Finally, some lefties - After several years of just having one or two left-handers on the team, Air Force features eight players that can either hit or throw from the left side. Five batters and three pitchers hit and throw from the odd side and will give Mike Hutcheon some strategic possibilities.
