Air Force Opens MWC Play At TCU
3/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2007
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Air Force (5-15) vs. #28 TCU (12-6)
Dates: March 16-18; Friday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m
Site: Lupton Stadium - Forth Worth, Texas
Radio/Live Stats: www.gofrogs.com / Gametracker
The Coaches: Mike Hutcheon is 30-146 in his 4th year at Air Force and 269-286 in his 13th year as a head coach.
Jim Schlossnagle is 131-75 in his fourth year at TCU and 208-112 in his sixth year overall.
Series History: TCU leads 10-1
Pitching Probables W-L ERA G-GS IP K BB3/16 TCU Jake Arrieta - Jr. RHP 3-2 3.60 5-5 25.0 31 11 AFA Alex Truesdale - Fr. RHP 0-2 3.96 7-2 25.0 17 73/17 TCU Chance Corgan - Jr. RHP 2-1 3.70 5-4 24.1 24 7 AFA Jake Petro - So. RHP 2-4 4.56 6-6 25.2 11 193/18 TCU TBA AFA Mitch Brown - Sr. RHP 1-4 4.40 7-5 30.2 20 9
Air Force Opens MWC Play At TCU
Air Force baseball (5-15) opens Mountain West Conference play with a three-game series at defending champion and 28th-ranked TCU this weekend, March 16-18 at Lupton Stadium. Internet Radio Broadcast and live stats will be available for the entire series at www.gofrogs.com.
The Last Time Out
Air Force went 1-4 last week in five games played. The Falcons downed Colorado Christian last Wednesday as Karl Bolt hit for the cycle in the 8-3 win. AFA then was swept in a four-game set over the weekend at home by Wright State. The Falcons lost 13-3 on Friday then lost a Saturday doubleheader by the scores of 4-1 and 26-5. The Falcons dropped the Sunday contest 9-2.
The 2007 Falcons
Air Force enters the weekend with a 5-15 record. The Falcons are batting .246 as a team. Sophomore Jason Griggs leads the team with a .327 batting average and eight stolen bases. The Falcon pitching staff has a 7.39 staff earned run average. Senior Mitch Brown anchors the staff with a 1-4 record in five starts this year. Brown leads the Falcons with 30.2 innings pitched, to go with 20 strikeouts and a 4.40 ERA. Air Force is fielding .946 as a team, ranking sixth in the conference.
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.
Scouting TCU
TCU enters the weekend with a 12-6 record. The Horned Frogs went 1-2 over the weekend against three different opponents in Corpus Christi, Texas, and then defeated Texas-Arlington, 11-9 on Wednesday. TUC is batting .300 as a team, led by senior outfielder Keith Conlon, who is batting .426 with a .754 slugging percentage. The Horned Frog pitching staff has a 3.94 staff ERA. Junior right-hander and 2006 All-American Jake Arrieta headlines the pitching staff with a 3.60 ERA to go with 31 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched.
Air Force-TCU Connections
- Air Force has five players on its team hailing from Texas. Casey Allen (Portland - Gregory-Portland HS), Juan Perez (Pharr - PSJA North HS), Jake Petro (San Antonio - Churchill HS), Alex Truesdale (Austin - S.F. Austin HS) and Daniel Walker (Grand Prairie - Jame Bowie HS) all call the Lone Star state their home.
Series History vs. TCU
- TCU leads the all-time series vs. Air Force 10-1.
- The Horned Frogs swept the Falcons in a three-game set in 2006 and also defeated them at the MWC Preseason Tournament.
- Air Force's lone win over TCU came on March 22, 1997, when the Falcons took game one of a doubleheader, 18-10.
Six Doubleheaders Already
The Falcons have already played six doubleheader in 2007, going 3-9 in those games. The Falcons played seven doubleheaders in 2006. Air Force will play its seventh doubleheader this year on March 31 at Hawai'i-Hilo.
A Pair Of Two-Site Doubleheaders
Its rare enough for a team to play a two-site doubleheader any time, but the Falcons have already done so twice this year. Air Force played Navy in Millington, Tenn., during the morning of Feb. 23 and then, due to weather concerns for the next day, decided to play a second game in Memphis, Tenn., later that day. This past Friday, March 2, the Falcons took on Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho at 2 p.m. and then traveled 40 minutes across the Washington border to take on Washington State in Pullman, Wash., at 7 p.m.
Bolt Hits For Cycle
Falcon senior Karl Bolt hit for the Cycle last Wednesday against Colorado Christian. In addition, the senior drove in four runs and scored three. It was the first cycle performance by a Falcon since Tony Shockley accomplished the feat on March 27, 2003 against Hawai'i. Bolt singled in the fourth, doubled in the sixth and hit a two-run homer in the eighth. The Stockton, Calif., native capped the day off by smacking a triple to the right-center gap.
Falcons Aggressive On The Basepaths
Air Force is averaging 1.8 stolen bases per game, the tops in the MWC. The Falcons have stolen 36 bases in 47 attempts, good for a 76.6 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. Eight Falcons already have three-or-more stolen bases. Jason Griggs currently leads the team with eight steals in nine 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 20 games this season, the Falcons have started five-or-more freshmen 14 times and started six four times. Against Akron, the Falcons went with seven freshmen in the starting lineup. Freshman Matt Alexander (CF) has played in all 20 games for the Falcons and is tied for the team lead with 16 RBI. Ben Ausbun (3B) has started 19 games at third and K.J. Randhawa (SS) has 17 starts, 16 at short. Alex Truesdale (RHP) leads the team with a 3.94 ERA and is second on the team with 17 strikeouts. Addison Gentry has started 14 games at DH and leads the team with seven doubles.
Hitting/Offense Notes
• Air Force batted .216 in the four-game set with Wright State.
• Addison Gentry led the way over the weekend, going .385 (5-for-13) with three doubles and three RBI.
• Chay Derbigny hit his first-career home run against CCU last week.
• Matt Alexander is tied for the team-lead with five doubles and 15 RBI. He is second on the team with three home runs and a .339 batting average.
• With his fourth home run of the season vs. Colorado Christian, Karl Bolt has 29 career home runs, ranking him 12th all-time at the Academy.
• Daniel Walker earned his first-career hit against Wright State, hustling his way to an infield single.
• Geno Salazar drew three walks in a game against Wright State, the second time he has walked three times this year.
Pitching Notes
• Air Force had a 12.38 ERA against Wright State.
• Michael Ruvolo pitched in three of the four Wright State games. He currently ranks fourth in the MWC with 11 appearances.
• Alex Truesdale and Mitch Brown both pitched past the fifth inning for the Falcons against WSU, with Truesdale going six and Brown 5.2 innings.
• Joe Peterson did not allow a run in two appearances against Wright State.
• Nick Batey, Tom Bowen and Spencer Tate made their Falcon debuts on the mound against Wright State.
• Josh Meents made is first pitching appearance of `07 against WSU.
Defensive Notes
• The Falcons fielded .930 against Wright State, committing 11 errors.
• First baseman Karl Bolt ranks third in the conference with 156 putouts.
• Freshmen Ben Ausbun ranks third with 61 and K.J. Randhawa ranks seventh in the conference with 51 assists.
• Air Force ranks third in the conference with 17 double plays turned.
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.
• 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.
• The Falcons stole seven bases against Kansas Wesleyan in the first game of the series.
Recapping the Wright State Series
In game one, Wright State pounded out 14 hits to down Air Force 13-3 Friday afternoon at Falcon Field.
Ross Oeder and Gerald Ogrinc led the way for Wright State as both went 3-for-5. Oeder scored two runs and doubled while Ogrinc scored three runs and drove in two. John Kopilchack also had a solid day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run, triple and three RBI.
Air Force had nine hits in the game, eclipsing the seven hits total against Wright State in three games last year. Matt Alexander and Tyler McBride led the way for the Falcons, both going 2-for-4.
Raider starter Garret Holleran (1-0) picked up his first win of the year, scattering seven hits and two runs in eight innings pitched. The right-hander walked two and struck out four.
Air Force starter Alex Truesdale (0-2) took the loss, allowing five runs, three earned, in six innings pitched. Truesdale gave up six hits and walked two while striking out two.
Both teams scored two runs in the first inning. After the first, the Falcons did not score again till the ninth inning, when Geno Salazar doubled over the centerfielder's head to score Josh Meents from first.
Wright State went ahead 4-2 in the second on Kopilcack's two-run homer. The Raiders added a run in the fourth, then blew the game open with four runs in the seventh and ninth innings.
The Falcons used four relievers in the game. Mike Ruvolo and Casey Allen worked the seventh and eighth innings. Freshmen Spencer Tate and Tom Bowen made their debuts on the mound for the Falcons in the ninth.
On Saturday, Wright State took both games of the doubleheader against Air Force. The Raiders won a 4-1 pitchers battle in game one and later erupted for a 26-5 win over the Falcons in game two.
In game one, three Wright State pitchers combined to hold Air Force to six hits and one run. Raider starter Erich Schanz (1-2) earned the win, going 4.1 innings and striking out four.
Air Force starter Mitch Brown (1-4) took the loss, allowing four runs, two earned, in 5.2 innings pitched. Brown had four strikouts in the game. His first strikeout in the game gave him 100 for his career.
The Falcon were led offensively by Karl Bolt, who went 2-for-3.
Wright State had nine hits in the game. Ross Oeder led the way, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
In game two, Wright State scored in all seven innings, including an 11 run third inning to blow out Air Force. The Raiders had 21 hits in the game with seven players getting multiple hits. Justin Parker went 4-for-6 with a homer and six RBI.
Both teams' pitchers struggled to find the strike zone in the second game, combining to throw 20 walks (nine by Wright State and 11 by Air Force).
Raider reliever Jordan Wolfe (1-0) picked up the win tossing a scoreless fourth inning. Wright State starter Dan Barker went three innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
Falcon stater Juan Perez (0-1) took the loss, allowing seven runs in two innings. The Falcons used four relief pitchers in the game. Freshman Nick Batey, a Colorado Springs native and Air Academy HS graduate, made his Falcon debut in relief, tossing the final 1.2 innings for AFA.
Jason Griggs, Addison Gentry and Erol Kelter combined for the three Falcon hits in the second game. Gentry had an RBI double and Kelter drove in two with his hit. Geno Salazar walked three times for the Falcons, scoring two runs.
On Sunday, Wright State defeated Air Force, 9-2, to sweep the four game series.
Wright State scored two runs in the second inning and pulled away with a run in the third and four in the fourth. The Falcons scored their runs in the fourth and seventh innings.
Raider starter Kyle Kearcher (2-1) picked up the win, tossing six innings and allowing just one run on five hits and four strikeouts. Falcon starter Jake Petro (2-3) took the loss, allowing seven runs, six earned, off nine hits and two strikeouts in 3.2 innings pitched.
Wright State had 16 hits in the game. Jeremy Hamilton went 3-for-4 with two runs and RBI. Aaron Fields went 2-for-5 with three RBI.
The Falcons had seven hits in the game with Karl Bolt and Addison Gentry combining for five of the hits. Bolt was 3-for-4 with a run and RBI and Gentry was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Falcons used three relievers in the game. Mike Ruvolo pitched for the third time in the series, allowing one run in 3.1 innings pitched. David Miller allowed one run in the eighth inning and Joe Peterson pitched a scoreless ninth.
Up Next
The Falcons return home to play host to San Diego State, Thursday-Sat., March 22-24. The Thursday and Friday games begin at 2 p.m. and the Saturday game starts at Noon. The Falcons then hop on a plane Sunday and head to Hawai'i, where they play Hawai'i-Hilo five times over the course of Spring Break week.
Season Standing Notes
• Ausbun Named To All-Tournament Team - Freshman third baseman Ben Ausbun was named to the 2007 Service Academies Spring Classic All-Tournament team. The Puyallup, Wash., native batted .455 in the three games (5-for-11), scoring two runs and driving in one. Ausbun had three hits combined in the two games against Navy and also had a pair of hits against Akron.
• Bolt Brothers Battle In Millington - When Air Force took on Navy at the Service Academies Springs Classic at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn., brothers Karl and Kendall Bolt faced 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. Kendall got the better of the brothers, as Navy took both games of the series with Kendall scoring the go-ahead run in the first game.
• 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.
• 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 498-373 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 seven players that can either hit or throw from the left side. Four batters and three pitchers hit and throw from the odd side and will give Mike Hutcheon some strategic possibilities.
