Falcons Play Navy In Three-Game Series In Savannah
2/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 25, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Air Force (0-4) vs. Navy (4-0)
Schedule
Friday, Feb. 26 - 1 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 27 - 5 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 28 - 12 p.m.
- Neutral-site series at Grayson Stadium - Savannah, Ga.
Live Stats:
goairforcefalcons.com & navysports.com
The Coaches:
AF: Mike Hutcheon (Wayne State (Neb.), 1984) is 65-249 in his 7th year at Air Force and 304-389 in his 16th year as a head coach.
Navy: Paul Kostacopolous (Providence, 1987) is 91-67-1 in his fourth year at Navy and 595-399-2 in his 20th year overall.
Series:
Tied 11-11
Last Meeting:
Air Force won 2-0 on Feb. 20, 2009 in Millington, Tenn.
Last Time Out:
Air Force: Was swept in a four game series to open 2010 at Cat State Bakersfield last weekend.
Navy: Went 3-0 to open the season at the the Eagle Baseball Classic in Durham, N.C. and defeated Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday.
Falcons Play Navy In Savannah
The Air Force baseball team travels to Savannah, Ga., for a three-game neutral-site series with service academy rival Navy from Fri.-Sun., Feb. 26-28. All three games will be played at Grayson Stadium.
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.
Series History vs. Navy
- Air Force has played Navy 22 times, with the series split at 11-11. Navy had won the last six games in the series until Air Force won 2-0 in last years' season-opener.
- The two teams first met on March 3, 1990, where the Falcons swept a doubleheader, 9-1, 3-0, at the Service Academies Spring Classic.
- Air Force is 27-17 against service academy schools, going 16-6 all-time against Army.
AF vs. Navy Year-by-YearYear Score1990 AF, 9-11990 AF, 3-01991 AF, 6-01991 Navy, 3-11992 AF, 6-5 (9 inn. of 7 inn. start)1993 AF, 8-71994 Navy, 5-61995 Navy, 3-71996 AF, 4-31998 Navy, 2-11999 AF, 3-22000 Navy, 5-02001 AF, 42 (10 inn.)2002 AF, 11-92004 AF, 7-02005 Navy, 3-52006 Navy, 11-62007 Navy, 7-12007 Navy, 7-52008 Navy, 6-52008 Navy, 16-52009 Air Force, 2-0
Air Force-Navy Connections
- Air Force sophomore Nathan Carter and Navy's Kendall Bolt were teammates on the NorCal summer U-18 baseball team in Northern California during high school. Former Falcon, Karl Bolt, elder brother of Kendall, was also a member of the NorCal team. Prominent alumni of the NorCal team include MLB star's Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell and Troy Tulowitzki.
Air Force vs. Patriot League
- The Falcons are 27-19 all-time in games against Patriot League schools.
Scouting Navy
- Navy is off to its best start since 1981 at 4-0.
- The Midshipmen are coming off a 20-26-1 season in 2009.
- Navy's three starting pitchers allowed just one run in 16.2 innings last weekend.
- The Midshipmen are led offensively by senior outfielder Michael Speciale, who is batting .400 with 12 RBIs. Junior left-hander Sam Long was Navy's opening day starter and is coming off a 3-3 season with 5.60 ERA as a sophomore.
- Navy is batting .331 as a team and fielding .931. The pitching staff has a 3.00 ERA.
Last Meeting vs. Navy
The Air Force baseball team opened the 2009 defeating Navy ,2-0, at the Service Academies Spring Classic at USA Stadium. Junior Alex Truesdale and freshman Aaron Kurcz combined to toss a three-hit shutout, blanking the Midshipmen 2-0. The win snapped a six game losing streak to Navy and its first win over the Mids since 2004. Truesdale (1-0) pitched 7.2 innings, scattering three singles while striking out five. Kurcz pitched a scoreless inning and a third to pick up the save in his collegiate debut. It was Truesdale's eighth-consecutive start, dating back to 2008, where he had worked into the eighth inning. Navy starting pitcher Wes Olson (0-1) also pitched well, allowing two runs off five hits in 5.2 innings, striking out three. Drew Carlson also pitched well in relief of Olson pitching 2.2 innings out shutout ball for the Mids. Air Force had six hits in the game, all singles. Junior first baseman Addison Gentry led the way, going 3-for-4 with a run scored. Junior shortstop K.J. Randhawa scored the other run for the Falcons. Air Force took a 1-0 lead in the second inning as Daniel Walker had a timely two-out single to score Gentry, who led the inning off with a single. The Falcons tacked on the second run in the sixth inning, as freshman Jack Lupo came through with a two-out RBI-single that scored Randhawa, who led off the inning with a single. Navy's biggest scoring threat came in the eighth, when two batters reached base with two outs. Air Force then brought in Kurcz, who stuck out the Mids' Jonathan Wright to get out of the jam.
Recapping Cal State Bakersfield Series
Air Force opened the 2010 season on a rough note, getting swept in a four-game series at Cal State Bakersfield.
- The Falcons batted .256 as a team.
- Pitching staff ERA was 10.12.
- The team fielded .958.
- Junior center fielder Nathan Carter led the Falcons, batting .467 with a homer and triple.
- Freshman reliever Kincaid Koehler did not allow an earned run in two relief outings for the Falcons.
- Air Force started four freshmen in all four games.
- Two freshmen started on the mound.
- Of the 20 pitching appearances, 12 were by freshmen.
- Freshman left-hander Ben Bertelson led Air Force with three relief appearances. - The Falcons swiped six bases in eight attempts.
MWC Leaders
Two Air Force players lead the Mountain West Conference in statistical categories.
- Freshman lefthander Ben Bertelson leads the league with three pitching apprearances.
- Senior second baseman K.J. Randhawa leads the league with 18 assists and 1.000 fielding percentage.
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).
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. After making two appearances to start 2010, he needs four 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 six 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
- Best Pure Hitter (One of top 3) in MWC as voted by conference coaches at Collegebaseballinsider.com
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
Up Next
Air Force hosts Colorado Christian in its home-opener on Tuesday, March 2. Prior to first-pitch, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place to inaugurate the newly renovated Falcon Field. Air Force superintendent of cadets Lt. Gen. Mike Gould and athletic director Dr. Hans Mueh will be on hand for the ceremony.
