Falcons Play Four Games At Hawai'i
3/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 18, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Air Force (5-12) vs. Hawai'i (7-9)
Schedule - All times Hawai'i Standard (HST) = 4 hour difference with Mtn. Standard
Friday, March 19 - 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, March 20 - 6:35 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 - 1:05 p.m.
Monday, March 22- 6:35 p.m.
- All games at Les Murakami Stadium - Honolulu, Hawai'i
Internet Radio/Video/Live Stats:
- Live stats available at hawaiiathletics.com
- Live audio streaming on espn1420am.com
- Live video available (with fee) at uhstreaming.oceanic.com
The Coaches:
AF: Mike Hutcheon (Wayne State (Neb.), 1984) is 70-257 in his 7th year at Air Force and 309-397 in his 16th year as a head coach.
Hawai'i: Mike Trapasso (Oklahoma St. 1987) is 252-225 is in his ninth year at UH.
Series:
Hawai'i leads 21-6
Last Meeting:
Hawai'i swept two games vs. Air Force on March 27-28, 2003, at the UH Tourney.
Last Time Out:
Air Force: Defeated the Colorado School of Mines 12-10 on Tuesday.
Hawi'i: Went 1-3 hosting USC last week.
Falcons Play Four Games At Hawai'i
The Air Force baseball team begins its spring break with a four game series at Hawai'i, Fri.-Mon., March 19-22. Live stats and internet radio will be available for all four games. Sunday and Monday's games will be televised and can be viewed online.
2010 Falcons
- The Falcons return six starters and 14 letterwinners.
- Air Force welcomes 17 newcomers, including 10 pitchers to the team.
- Freshman C/OF Alex Bast leads the Falcon hitters, batting .378 with eight RBIs.
- Senior right-hander Alex Truesdale leads the Falcon pitching staff with a 1-2 record, 7.96 ERA to go with 19 strikeouts in 26.0 innings pitched.
- The Falcons are batting .314 as a team and fielding .961. The pitching staff has a 9.85 ERA.
Scouting Hawai'i
- Hawai'i is 6-7 on the season.
- The `Bows are led offensively by sophomore infielder Kolten Wong, who is batting 357 with 10 runs and six stolen bases. Junior right-hander Josh Slaats leads the pitching staff with a 1-0 record and 0.52 ERA in 17.1 innings pitched.
- UH is batting .242 as a team and fielding .974. The pitching staff has a 4.56 ERA.
Series History vs. Hawai'i
- Air Force is 6-21 all time against Hawai'i.
- The two team s first played on April 22, 198, with the `Bows sweeping a doubleheader.
- Air Force was a member of the WAC in baseball from 1981 to 1999.
- The last time Air Force and Hawai'i played was in 2003.
Air Force-Hawai'i Game-By-Game
4/22/88 UH, 2-11 A4/22/88 UH, 1-8 A4/23/88 UH, 0-7 A4/23/88 UH, 1-8 A4/7/89 AF, 9-2 H4/7/89 AF, 18-17 H4/8/89 UH, 7-14 H4/8/89 AF, 10-7 H4/27/90 UH, 0-9 A4/28/90 AF, 6-5 A4/28/90 UH, 1-9 A4/29/90 UH, 4-9 A4/7/91 UH, 0-3 H4/8/91 UH, 13-14 H4/8/91 UH, 11-12 H4/24/92 UH, 2-8 A4/25/92 UH, 2-20 A4/25/92 UH, 2-7 A4/26/92 UH, 2-10 A4/3/98 AF, 12-5 H4/4/98 AF, 19-17 H4/5/98 UH, 7-21 H4/6/99 UH, 13-15 H4/7/99 UH, 5-8 H4/8/99 UH, 11-34 H3/27/03 UH, 11-4 A3/28/03 UH, 7-8 A
Air Force vs. Western Athletic Conference
- The Falcons are 17-44 all-time in games against current WAC schools.
- Air Force was a member of the WAC from 1981-1999.
- The last WAC opponent Air Force played was New Mexico in 2004, prior to two games last weekend vs. San Jose State.
Last Time In Hawai'i
- Air Force played at Hawaii-Hilo in 2007, going 1-4 in a five game set.
Opponent Connections
- Hawai'i senior infielder Josh Chevalier is a Colorado Springs native and attended Air Academy High School, which is located on the Air Force Academy grounds.
Recapping The Colorado School Of Mines Game
The Air Force baseball team rallied to down the Colorado School of Mines 12-10 Tuesday afternoon at Falcon Field. With a full count and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, and trailing 9-8, Garrett Custons hit a bases loaded double off the fence in left--into the wind--to clear the bases and give the Falcons an 11-9 lead. The win salvaged a near-loss for the Falcons after CSM erased an 8-1 lead with an eight-run eighth inning that featured six runs with two outs. Air Force racked up 15 hits in the game with Custons and fellow freshman Alex Bast collecting three hits each. Air Force's 1-2-3 hitters, Custons, K.J. Randhawa and Addison Gentry combined for nine RBIs. Custons, Gentry and Randhawa drove in three runs each. Evan Abrecht (1-3) picked up the win for the Falcons, pitching the final 1.1 innings. Air Force used nine pitchers in the game, seven of which were freshmen and two were sophomores. Andrew Loyd started for the Falcons, striking out three in a scoreless first inning. The Falcons swiped seven bases in the game, with Custons and Nathan Carter stealing a pair each. Air Force jumped ahead early with four runs in the second. After CSM scored a run in the third, the Falcons added a run in the fourth and three in the fifth to lead 8-1.
Experienced But Inexperienced Team
In many ways, the Air Force baseball team is very experienced. But in many ways, they are very inexperienced. The Falcons return several four-year starters but also welcome a large freshman class.
- Four-year starters/top pitchers - 4/2
- Freshmen with 8+ starts - 5
- Freshmen to start on mound/games - 4/9
Percentage of starts by class
Seniors 41.2
Juniors 11.1
Sophomores 1.3
Freshmen 46.4
Percentage of pitching starts by class
Seniors 29.4
Juniors -
Sophomores 17.7
Freshmen 52.9
Ruvolo Becomes All-Time Appearances Leader
Senior Michael Ruvolo became Air Force's all-time appearances leader when he pitched in his 91st career game vs. San Jose State on March 14. Ruvolo surpassed Steve Carson, who pitched in 90 games from 1989-92. Ruvolo is two games shy of passing the Mountain West Conference record of 92.
Carter Second All-Time In Triples
Junior outfielder Nathan Carter needs one more triple to tie the Air Force record of 20, held by Vern Mullis. Carter currently leads the MWC with four triples. As a freshman, Carter led the nation with 10 triples.
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.
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 38 career starts and struck out 161 in 264 career innings. He was the team MVP as a sophomore in 2008.
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 opens Mountain West Conference play hosting 4th ranked TCU March 26-28.
