Air Force Baseball Opens 2010 At Cal State Bakersfield
2/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Air Force (14-37) vs. Cal State Bakersfield (13-37)
Schedule
Friday, Feb. 19 - 2 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 20 - 11 a.m. (Doubleheader)
Sunday, Feb. 21 - 2 p.m.
- Series at Hardt Field - Bakersfield, Calif.
Live Stats:
gorunners.com
Radio:
None
The Coaches:
AF: Mike Hutcheon (Wayne State (Neb.), 1984) is 65-245 in his 7th year at Air Force and 304-385 in his 16th year as a head coach.
Cal State Bakersfield: Bill Kernen (Redlands, 1970) is 13-37 in his second year at CSUB and 253-191-3 in his ninth year overall.
Series:
First-ever meeting
Last Time Out:
Air Force: Ended 2009 losing all three games vs. New Mexico.
Cal State Bakersfield: Went 1-2 at Pacific to end 2009.
2010 Falcons
- The Falcons return six starters and 14 letterwinners.
- Air Force welcomes 17 newcomers, including 10 pitchers to the team.
- Seniors Matt Alexander, K.J. Randhawa and Alex Truesdale are the team captains.
- Alexander is the top returning hitter with a .383 average, 15 homers and 65 RBIs in 2009.
- Truesdale is the top returning pitcher with a 2-9 record and 7.04 ERA in 70.1 innings last year.
2009 Season
The 2009 Air Force baseball team finished the season with an 14-37 overall record and 3-18 Mountain West Conference mark for a seventh place finish.
In Season Openers
- Air Force is 31-22 all-time in season openers.
- Last year, the Falcons blanked Navy, 2-0, in its season-opener on Feb. 20 in Millington, Tenn.
- The Falcons are 4-1 over the last five years in season-openers.
Scouting Cal State Bakersfield
- CSUB went 13-37 in the first year of the program in 2009.
- The Roadrunners are led offensively by sophomore infielder/RHP Martin Medina, who batted .285 with eight homers and 40 RBIs last year. CSUB's top returning pitcher is senior right-hander Mickey Jannis. Jannis posted a 5.76 ERA in 75 innings, striking out 61.
- CSUB batted .268 as a team, had a staff ERA of 7.63 and fielded .946 in 2009.
All New Falcon Field
Falcon Field, home of Air Force baseball, underwent several upgrades in time for the 2010 season. The entire playing surface, except for a dirt mound is now comprised of synthetic FieldTurf. Falcon Field formerly had a grass outfield and dirt around the bases and home plate of the synthetic turf infield.
Listed below are the new upgrades to Falcon Field
- New all-weather synthetic FieldTurf.
- New fencing suffrounding entire field.
- New padding behind home plate.
- New hitters eye.
- New benches in the home dugout.
- New protective fencing in front of both dugouts.
Alexander Named Preseason All-American
Air Force senior designated hitter/first baseman Matt Alexander was named to the Ping! Baseball 2010 Preseason All-American Team. Alexander, who batted .383 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs as a junior, was named third-team All-American as a designated hitter.
One of the top hitters in the Mountain West Conference as a junior, Alexander led the conference in RBIs and was second in home runs and slugging percentage (.710). In 2009, Alexander was a First Team Pro-Line NCBWA All-American and one of 16 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to the nation's top collegiate player (one of two players from the MWC, joining Howser Trophy winner Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State). Alexander, a native of Oak Park, Calif., also garnered 2009 Third Team Ping! Baseball All-American honors.
Entering 2009, Alexander is Air Force's top returner in terms of career hits (184), batting average (.323), homers (25), RBIs (147) and games played (152).
Carley & Gentry Earn Baseball America Preseason Honors
Senior first baseman Addison Gentry was named to the preseason All-Mountain West Conference team and freshman right-hander Sean Carley was named fifth-best newcomer to the MWC.
Gentry, a three-year starter at first base, batted .347 with nine homers and 40 RBIs as a junior in 2009. His team-leading 33 walks last year ranked in the conference top ten and is also tenth all-time in a season at Air Force. The left-hander is batting .300 for his career with 155 hits in 149 games.
Carley, who stands at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds, comes to the Academy after a stellar prep career at Melbourne Central Catholic High School in his hometown of Melbourne, Fla. As a senior, Carley posted a 7-1 record with a 1.14 earned run average, striking out 61 batters in 55 innings pitched. He earned all-state and conference pitching MVP honors as a senior. As a junior, Carley went 4-1 and had an 0.81 ERA, to go with 77 strikeouts in 44 innings.
Plenty of Experience Returning For Falcons
Air Force returns six seniors and six starters to the field in 2009. The six seniors are the most at the Academy since 2003. Four starters are three-year starters (Alexander, Ausbun, Gentry, Randhawa) and junior Nathan Carter is a two-year starter. Senior RHP Alex Truesdale is a fourth-year starter on the mound and senior RHP Michael Ruvolo is Air Force's most experienced reliever with 85 career appearances.
17 Freshmen Join Falcons
On the flip side of all that experience, Air Force also welcomes 17 freshmen, four of which are slated to start. The 2010 class features nine pitchers, including two left-handers. Six members of the freshman class also hail from Florida.
California, Florida and Texas Well Represented
The Air Force baseball staff has done a solid effort at recruiting the talent hot-beds of California, Florida and Texas as 20 of the 31 players on the roster are from those three states. Seven players hail from both California and Texas and six freshmen from Florida join the Falcons in 2010.
Ruvolo Moving Up Most Games Pitched List
Junior right-hander Michael Ruvolo is well on his way towards becoming the most durable reliever in Air Force history. Through three-years, Ruvolo has made 85 pitching appearances, ranking second all-time. He needs six more appearances to overtake all-time leader Steve Carson, with 90 career appearances. Ruvolo led the MWC this season with 27 appearances. He is also eight games shy of passing the Mountain West Conference record of 92.
Truesdale Anchors Pitching Staff
Senior right-hander Alex Truesdale enters 2010 as Air Force's most reliable pitcher. Truesdale has led Air Force in innings pitched each of his first three years and has led the team in strikeouts and ERA the last two years. Truesdale has logged 35 career starts and struck out 145 in 247 career innings. He was the team MVP as a sophomore in 2008.
Tall Pitching
Air Force features five pitchers that stand 6-foot-3 or taller, including four that are at least 6-foot-4. Freshman left-hander Kincaid Koehler is Air Force's tallest player at 6-foot-5.
Pitcher Height/Weight
Fr. LHP Kincaid Koehler 6-5/210
So. RHP Evan Abrecht 6-4/190
Fr. RHP Sean Carley 6-4/230
So. LHP Michael Ceci 6-4/195
Fr. RHP Jack Hourin 6-3/170
2010 Preseason Accolades
Sr. DH Matt Alexander
- Ping!Baseball Preseason All-American, 3rd Team
- Preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team
Sr. 1B Addison Gentry
- Baseball America Preseason All-MWC
- Preseason All-Mountain West Conference Team
Fr. RHP Sean Carley
- Baseball America Fifth Best MWC Newcomer
Team Highlights of 2009
- .291 batting average is highest team total since 2003.
- 57 team homers are the most since 2003 and second-highest total in the past 13 years.
- .955 fielding percentage is the third-best total in school history.
- 85 fielding errors were the second-fewest since 1994 and third-fewest since 1984.
- Played 12 errorless games.
- Six players with 5+ homers, the most since the 1994 team.
- 8.34 team ERA tied with the 2008 team for lowest ERA since 2002.
- 153 team walks issued was fewest since 1983 team.
- Nine saves was most since the 1998 team had 10 saves and the fifth-best total in school history.
- 42 hit batters were fewest by pitching staff since 1998 team.
- Defeated BYU in Provo for first time since 2002.
- Air Force blanks Navy and Charleston Southern, 2-0, for its first two wins of the year.
- Air Force had eight pitchers with 15+ appearances, tying the 2002 team for the most in school history.
- 57 Walks in MWC play was the fewest allowed in school history in conference play.
- School record .957 fielding percentage in MWC play.
- 35 fielding errors in MWC play were the fewest in school history, shattering previous mark of 40.
Individual Highlights of 2009
- Matt Alexander led MWC (regular season) with 15 homers and 65 RBIs.
- Alexander's 15 homers, 65 RBIs, and .383 average is best totals at Air Force since 2003.
- Alexander's 82 hits is fourth most in school history and most since Lance Massey had 82 hits in 1995.
- Alexander tied a school record with four doubles in a game vs. Colorado Christian on March 4.
- Nathan Carter and Addison Gentry both drew 33 walks, ranking 10th all-time at Air Force.
- Carter led the team with five triples and 15 stolen bases.
- Alex Truesdale did not allow a run until his fourth start of the season.
Including a couple innings worked in 2008, Truesdale did not allow a run in 20.2 consecutive innings.
- Truesdale led the team with 70.2 innings pitched, marking his third-consecutive season with 70+ innings pitched.
- Truesdale also led the team with 51 strikeouts and a 7.04 ERA.
- Jake Petro and Aaron Kurcz tied for the team-lead with three wins.
- Kurcz led the team with seven saves, the fifth-most in a season and most saves since 1998. It is also the most saves by an Air Force freshman. The seven saves also ranked 4th in the MWC.
- Michael Ruvolo led the MWC (regular season) with 27 appearances, which is the fourth-most in a season at Air Force.
Honors/Awards
- Matt Alexander was one of 16 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to the nations' top collegiate baseball player. (One of two players from MWC)
- Matt Alexander named to First Team Pro-Line Athletic NCBWA All-America Team. First, first-team All-American in school history.
- Matt Alexander named to Third Team Ping!Baseball All-America Team.
- Matt Alexander Collegiate Baseball News Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week - April 6
- Matt Alexander MWC Player of the Week, AirForceFalcons.com Athlete of the Week - April 6
- Matt Alexander College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup - April 7
Up Next
Air Force travels to Savannah, Ga., to play a four-game neutral-site series with Navy next weekend, Feb. 26-28. The series will be played at Grayson Stadium.
