Air Force Closes Out 2007 Season At UNLV
5/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2007
Complete Series Notes in PDF Format
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Air Force (8-41, 0-20) vs. UNLV (19-34, 7-14)
Dates: May 17-19 - Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.
Site: Earl E. Wilson Stadium - Las Vegas, Nev.
Live Stats: Gametracker
The Coaches:
Mike Hutcheon is 33-172 in his 4th year at Air Force and 272-312 in his 13th year as a head coach.
Buddy Gouldsmith is 120-117 in his fourth year at UNLV and overall.
Series Histories: UNLV leads 58-14
Pitching Probables W-L ERA G-GS IP K BB5/17 UNLV Craig Heyer - Jr. RHP 5-8 6.06 19-16 98.0 71 42 AFA Casey Allen - So. RHP 0-2 10.44 13-6 35.1 15 165/18 UNLV Matt Hutchison - Fr. RHP 2-7 6.84 17-16 79.0 49 41 AFA Alex Truesdale - Fr. RHP 0-8 7.64 18-11 73.0 33 175/19 UNLV Kevin Skogley - Jr. LHP 2-5 6.56 16-11 70.0 55 33 AFA Jake Petro - So. RHP 3-9 5.82 16-14 72.0 37 41
Air Force Closes Out 2007 Season At UNLV
Air Force baseball (8-41, 0-20) concludes its 2007 season with three games at UNLV (19-34, 7-14) this Thurs.-Sat., May 17-19. Live stats will be available for all three games of the series.
The Last Time Out
Air Force went 0-3 hosting Utah in its final home series. The Falcons lost the first game 20-3 on Friday. Air Force then lost 9-6 and 8-6 on Saturday and Sunday.
The 2007 Falcons
Air Force enters the weekend with a 8-41 record. The Falcons are batting .269 as a team. Senior Karl Bolt leads the team with a .358 batting average. His eight homers and 45 RBI rank in the top ten in the conference. The Falcon pitching staff has a 8.26 staff earned run average. Senior right-hander Mitch Brown leads the Falcon pitching staff. Brown is 2-10 on the year and leads the Falcons with a 5.75 ERA in 72 innings and has struck out 46 batters. Air Force is fielding .952 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.
Final Series For Four Falcon Seniors
The UNLV series marks the final three games for Falcon seniors Karl Bolt, Mitch Brown, Joe Peterson and Geno Salazar.
Karl Bolt - A four-year starter, Bolt enters the weekend with 193 starts in 197 games played. The rightfielder/first baseman has a .334 career batting average to go with 33 home runs.
Mitch Brown - His 77 career appearances ranks fourth all-time at the Academy. He has led the Falcons in ERA and strikeouts each of the past two years.
Joe Peterson - Returned to the Falcons in 2007 after three years away from the program due to a religious mission and his junior year off. Was a catcher on the 2002 and 2003 teams. Has made 15 relief appearances and did not allow a run in seven of those games.
Geno Salazar - A four-year starter at second base and shortstop, Salazar has started in 170 of 181 career games. Salazar has 167 career hits to go with 12 home runs and 85 RBI. He currently ranks second on the team with six home runs.
Scouting UNLV
UNLV enters the weekend with a 19-34 record after getting swept at New Mexico and defeating Southern Utah. The Rebels are batting .288 as a team, led by senior outfielder Keith Smith, who is batting .345 with five homers and 37 runs scored. The UNLV pitching staff has a 6.10 staff ERA. Junior right-hander Craig Heyer leads the Rebel staff with a 5-8 record and 6.06 ERA. Heyer has logged 98 innings in 19 appearances, striking out 71.
Air Force-UNLV Connections
- Air Force has no players on its team from Nevada. - UNLV has three players on its roster from Colorado: Spencer Roberts - Littleton (Chatfield HS) Calvin Beamon - Aurora (Smoky Hill HS) Patrick Darrow - Englewood (Cherry Creek HS)
Series History vs. UNLV
- Air Force is 14-58 all-time against UNLV. - UNLV took all four games against the Falcons last year including a three-game sweep at the Academy. - The Falcons have dropped 23 consecutive games to UNLV. - AFA's last win over UNLV came on May 12, 2002, a 10-8 win in Vegas.
Marked Improvement In 2007
Despite an even younger team in 2007, the Falcon baseball team has shown improvement from the 2006 season. Even with four freshmen regularly in the starting lineup, the Falcons have improved their team batting average 20 points .269-.249 from a year ago. The Falcons have stolen 76 bases this year, compared to 59 in 2006. The Falcon pitching is much improved also in 2007, with an earned-run average that is two runs per game lower (8.26-10.69) overall and nearly three runs fewer (11.11-14.07) in conference play. The Falcon pitchers have allowed just 42 homer runs in 2007 compared to 76 allowed in 2006.
Bolt Moving Up The Falcon Record Charts
Senior Karl Bolt, a steady presence in the 3 or 4 slot in the batting lineup the last four years, is steadily climbing the record charts at Air Force. Bolt is amongst the Air Force all-time top 10 in several categories, including career games played (4th - 197), home runs (7th- 33), times hit by pitch (5th - 34), hits (4th - 228) and walks (5th - 91).
Pair Of Freshmen Hot At The Plate
Freshmen K.J. Randhawa and Shea Hall have been the hottest hitters for the Falcons in the last few weeks. Hall has seen his batting average jump .139 points from a low of .167 to a high of .306 in just seven games. Hall batted .700 against Utah Valley State and Nortern Colorado and followed that up by batting .600 against Utah. Hall is 13-for-20 (.650) in his last six games. After struggling to hit .200 for much of the season, Randhawa has also come on strong for the Falcons late in the season, leading the team with a .410 average in MWC play. Randhawa has seen his average jump 82 points over the last two months from a low of .188 to his current .270 season average.
Ten Doubleheaders In 2007
Air Force has played ten doubleheaders in 2007. The Falcons are 4-16 in the twinbill games so far in 2007. The Falcons played seven doubleheaders in 2006.
Most Stolen Bases Since 2002
Air Force has stolen 76 bases so far in 2007, the most since swiping 98 in 2002. The Falcons are averaging 1.55 stolen bases per game which ranks second in the MWC only to BYU. The Falcons have stolen 76 bases in 112 attempts, good for an 67.9 percent success rate. Against TCU alone, the Falcons have stolen 15 bases in 17 attempts. The team's season high is seven stolen bases in a game done against Kansas Wesleyan. Junior Chay Derbigny leads the team with 16 stolen bases. Freshman Daniel Walker has seven swipes in conference play.
Ruvolo Nearing Appearance Record
Freshman Michael Ruvolo leads the Falcons the Mountain West Conference with 32 pitching appearances. Ruvolo has appeared in 15 of the 20 MWC games for the Falcons. The freshman right-hander from Lake Arrowhead, Calif., has appeared in 65.3 percent of the team's games. He is currently on pace to appear in 34 games for the Falcons, which would break the all-time single season mark for pitching appearances at the Academy which stands at 33 games. His 32 appearances and 15 conference appearances are both MWC freshman records.
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 49 games this season, the Falcons have started five-or-more freshmen 33 times and started six, nine times. Against Akron, the Falcons went with seven freshmen in the starting lineup. Freshmen Matt Alexander (CF) has played in all 49 games for the Falcons and is second on the team with with 48 hits and 34 RBI. Ben Ausbun (3B) has started 38 games at third and K.J. Randhawa (SS) has 42 starts, 40 at short. Alex Truesdale (RHP) leads the team with 73.0 innings pitched and is third on the team with 33 strikeouts. Addison Gentry has started 37 games and is third on the team with 10 doubles. Daniel Walker has started 24 games and has seven stolen bases and Shea Hall has started 20 games and has nine stolen bases.
Hitting/Offense Notes
• Air Force batted .317 against Utah. The Falcons have amassed 10 or more hits in a eight consecutive games, a season-long.
• Shea Hall was the top hitter for the Falcons, batting .600 (6-for-10) last week.
• Matt Alexander had four RBI with just two hits last weekend.
• Jason Griggs scored four runs over the weekend, including three runs in game two vs. Utah.
• Addison Gentry had two sacrifice flies in the series. Air Force had two in two-consecutive games, both season high's.
• Griggs (.455), Tyler McBride (.375) and Geno Salazar (.364) also had strong weekends vs. Utah.
• Karl Bolt extended his hitting streak to nine games with base hits in all three Utah games.
• K.J. Randhawa's season-long 11-game hitting streak came to an end in the Utah series.
Pitching Notes
• Air Force had a 11.33 ERA against Utah.
• Juan Perez had a solid relief outing for the Falcons, pitching four shutout innings and striking out three.
• Mitch Brown, David Miller and Michael Ruvolo all made two relief outings in the series.
• Alex Truesdale led all AFA starters with 5.1 innings logged vs. Utah. Brown led all pitchers with 6.1 innings pitched.
• Joe Peterson did not allow a run in his one relief appearance.
Defensive Notes
• The Falcons fielded .966 last weekend, committing four errors in 117 chances.
• First baseman Karl Bolt ranks second in the MWC with 428 fielding chances and third with 400 putouts.
• K.J. Randhawa ranks third (142) and Geno Salazar ranks seventh (129) in assists in the MWC.
Additional Notes
• The Falcons scored 10 runs in the first inning against Colorado Christian on April 17, the first time it has scored double-digit runs in an inning since scoring 11 against Harvard on March 6, 2004.
• It's 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.
• 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 Last Week
In game one of the series, Utah hit five home runs en route to a 20-3 win over Air Force.
The Utes pounded out 21 hits in the game, including 12 for extra bases. The 2-3-4 hitters in the Utah lineup, consisting of Corey Shimada, Jay Brossman and Dustin Hennis, combined to go 9-for-14 with three homers and 12 RBI.
The Falcons had 10 hits in the game, their sixth consecutive game with 10 or more hits. Tyler McBride and Jason Griggs led the way with both going 2-for-3. Matt Alexander also drove in two with a double. K.J. Randhawa extended his hitting-streak to 11 games with a single in the third inning.
Utah starter Stephen Fife (6-2) earned the win with seven innings of seven-hit ball. Fife allowed one run while striking out seven.
Air Force starter Casey Allen (0-2) was roughed up for six runs in 1.2 innings of work. Mitch Brown, Billy Wargula and Juan Perez saw action in relief. Perez had a standout day on the mound for the Falcons, tossing four innings of scoreless relief, striking out three in the process.
Utah put up a run in the first, then batted around in the second while scoring six runs. The Utes and Falcons traded runs in the third inning, before Utah scored nine runs in the fourth to go ahead 17-1.
The Utes scored three runs in the sixth and Air Force scored two in the eighth.
In game two of the series, Air Force lost to Utah, 9-6.
Utah out-hit Air Force 15-12 on the day. Leadoff hitter Nate Burnham led the way for the Utes, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. Corey Shimada also homered for Utah.
Shea Hall was the top hitter for the Falcons, going 3-for-3 with a run and RBI. Jason Griggs went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Geno Salazar was 2-for-5 with a run and RBI.
Utah starter Eric King (6-2) picked up the win, going 5.1 innings and striking out five. King allowed four runs off six hits. Ute reliever Brett Bruneel picked up his fifth save of the season.
Air Force starter Alex Truesdale (0-8) took the loss, allowing six runs, four earned, in 5.1 innings. Truesdale allowed nine hits and through out three. Michael Ruvolo, Joe Peterson and David Miller also pitched in relief for the Falcons.
Utah jumped ahead 3-0 with two runs in the second and one in the third. The Falcons rallied back to tie the game with two runs in the bottom of the inning and one in the fourth.
Utah took the lead for good with a run in the fifth, three in the sixth and two in the seventh. Air Force scored a run in the sixth to make it a 9-4 game.
The Falcons pushed across two runs in the eighth to pull to within 9-6. Air Force had a chance to increase the damage, but K.J. Randhawa was narrowly thrown out on a grounder with the bases loaded.
A season-high 324 fans watched the ballgame which featured several pregame festivities as part of senior weekend. Prior to the game, the Falcons honored several former Falcons as part of honoring 51 years of Air Force baseball. In addition The Wings of Blue, Air Force's parachute jumping team conducted a parachute jumping showcase, which included today's game ball beign flown in.
Former Falcons in attendace included (grad year): Col. (Ret.) Mike Quinlan (1961), Flip Keck (1969), Lt. Col. (Ret.) Ted Roth (1974), Lt. Col. (Ret.) Rich Haynie (1975), Lt. Col. (Ret.) Larry Bryant (1975), Col. Deacon Winters (1980), Lt. Col. Jim Dahlmann (1982), Maj. (Ret.) Kevin Ewing (1983), Tom Coleman (1985), Maj. Mike Kazlausky (1991), Mike Saks (1994) and former coach, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Dan Litwhiler.
In game three, the Falcons lost a heartbreaker, as Corey Shimada's three-run home run in the ninth inning lifter Utah to an 8-6 win.
With one out in the ninth and two on and staking an 6-5 lead , Air Force brought in David Miller to close out the game replacing senior Mitch Brown. Brown had held the Utes scoreless through four innings pitched
Shimada drilled the first pitch he saw, over the fence in right field, to put Utah ahead. Brown (2-10) was charged with the loss.
Utah reliever Geoff Wolfgramm (2-1) picked up the win in relief and closer Brett Buneel pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save of the season. Colorado Springs native and Air Academy grad Chad Cullers pitched seven innings in relief of starter Lucas Trinnaman, allowing two runs off six hits.
Trinnaman was chased from the game after giving up four runs and retiring just one batter in the first.
Air Force starter Jake Petro went 4.1 innings, allowing five runs off nine hits while striking out three. Mike Ruvolo appeared in his 32nd game on the mound for the Falcons, leaving him one game shy of tying the Falcon single-season record for pitching appearances.
The Falcons put up four runs in the first after Utah put up two to go ahead 4-2. The Utes rallied with runs in the second and third to tie up the game. The Falcons responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to go back ahead 6-4. Utah added a run in the fifth to make 6-5.
Air Force had 10 hits in the game. K.J. Randhawa, Karl Bolt and Shea Hall had two hits each for the Falcons. Addison Gentry drove in two runs despite not racking up a hit.
Utah had 13 hits in the game. Jay Brossman led the way, going 4-for-5 with three runs, a homer and two RBI.
Four Falcon seniors--Karl Bolt, Mitch Brown, Joe Peterson and Geno Salazar--suited up for their final home game as Falcons.
Season Standing Notes
• Petro Named MWC Pitcher Of The Week - For his effort against Hawaii Hilo, sophomore right-hander Jake Petro was named Mountain West Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week on April 2. This is the second career weekly award for Petro.
Petro, a San Antonio, Texas, product, tallied his third win of the season with complete game shutout in Air Force's 7-0 victory at Hawai'i-Hilo last Saturday. The win snapped the Falcons' 13-game losing streak. In seven innings of work, he scattered four hits while striking out three batters. Petro allowed just one base runner to get past second base in the game. The shutout was the first for Air Force in 58 games, dating back to the 2006 season. He also tossed three scoreless innings in relief in the first game of the series. On the week, Petro hurled 10.0 innings of scoreless ball, striking out six, walking three and giving up just seven hits.
• 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.
• 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 one win away from 500 wins all-time at Falcon Field. Air Force is 499-388 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.
