Falcons Play Five Road Games This Week
4/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 26, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Air Force (9-30, 1-9) vs. Creighton (18-15)/UNLV (21-18, 5-7)
Schedule
at Creighton
Tuesday, April 27 (Doubleheader) - 1 p.m.
at UNLV
Friday, April 30 - 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 1 - 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 2 - 1 p.m.
- Creighton series at CU Sports Complex - Omaha, Neb.
- UNLV series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium - Las Vegas, Nev.
Internet Radio/Live Stats:
- Livestats only for Creighton games at gocreighton.com
- Livestats for all three UNLV games at UNLVrebels.com
- Internet radio available for Friday game at UNLVrebels.com
The Coaches:
AF: Mike Hutcheon (Wayne State (Neb.), 1984) is 74-275 in his 7th year at Air Force and 313-415 in his 16th year as a head coach.
CU: Ed Servais (Wisconsin-La Crosse, 1981) is 245-139 in his seventh year at CU and is 427-139-1 in his 17th year overall.
UNLV: Buddy Gouldsmith (Sacramento St., 1992) is 194-206 in his seventh year at UNLV.
Series:
vs. CU: CU leads 18-4
vs. UNLV: UNLV leads 68-19
Last Meeting:
vs. CU:Creighton swept doubleheader at Rosenblatt Stadium April 15, 2009.
vs. UNLV: Falcons went 1-2 vs. Rebels at Falcon Field April 24-26, 2009.
Last Time Out:
Air Force: Lost both games of Sunday doubleheader vs. New Mexico. Friday and Saturday snowed out.
CU: Went 1-2 at Missouri State last weekend.
UNLV: Swept in three game series at #11 TCU last weekend.
Falcons Play Five Road Games This Week
The Air Force baseball team hits the road for five games this week. The Falcons travel to Creighton for a doubleheader Tuesday, April 27 and then on to Las Vegas for a three-game set at UNLV, April 30-May 2. Live stats will be available for all five games with internet radio available for the Friday UNLV game.
2010 Falcons
- The Falcons return six starters and 12 letterwinners.
- Air Force welcomes 17 newcomers, including 10 pitchers to the team.
- Senior first baseman Matt Alexander leads the team in hitting, batting .344 with six homers and 33 RBIs.
- Senior right-hander Alex Truesdale leads the Falcon pitching staff with a 2-5 record, 9.47 ERA to go with 45 strikeouts in 57.0 innings pitched.
- The Falcons are batting .306 as a team and fielding .960. The pitching staff has a 10.86 ERA.
Hutcheon Announces Resignation
Air Force baseball head coach Mike Hutcheon is resigning effective at the end of this season, according to an announcement from Director of Athletics Dr. Hans Mueh. Hutcheon, who is currently in his seventh season as head coach at Air Force, will be reassigned within the department for the remainder of his contract which has two years remaining after this season.
Kazlausky Named Interim Head Coach for 2011
Maj. Mike Kazlausky has been named interim head baseball coach at the Air Force Academy for the 2011 season, according to an announcement from Director of Athletics Dr. Hans Mueh. Kazlausky, who is currently an Air Officer Commander (AOC) for cadet squadron 12 at the Academy, will assume his duties at the end of the current baseball season.
Kazlausky, otherwise known as "Coach Kaz" is a 1991 Academy graduate and has logged six years as an assistant coach at the Academy.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton enters the week with a 18-15 record. The Jays are led offensively by junior outfielder Trever Adams, who is batting .358 with four homers and 34 RBIs. Freshman LHP Ty Blach leads the team with a 4.09 ERA in 50 innings pitched. Creighton is batting .279, fielding .980 and has a team ERA of 4.68.
Series History vs. Creighton
- Creighton leads the series 18-4.
- The two teams first met on May 16, 1970, with the Falcons winning 2-1 at Creighton.
- Creighton has was nine in a row in the series.
- Air Force's last win vs. Creighton was in 1998.
Air Force-Creighton Connections
- Air Force baseball head coach Mike Hutcheon is a 1984 graduate of Wayne State College, located in Wayne, Neb. Hutcheon was a four-year starter at shortstop from 1981-84 and was two-time All-Central States Intercollegiate League Conference.
- Creighton has two players on its roster from Colorado:
Fr. LHP - Ty Blach - Centennial/Regis Jesuit HS
So. C - Scott Thornburg - Lakewood/Mullen HS
Scouting UNLV
UNLV enters the weekend with a 21-18 record. The Rebels are led offensivly by juinor catcher Drew Beuerlein, who is batting .377 with seven homers and 41 RBIs. UNLV's top pitcher is enior RHP Matt Hutchison, who is 4-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 54.2 innings pitched. UNLV is batting .305, fielding .962 and has a team ERA of 6.55.
Series History vs. UNLV
- Air Force and UNLV have played each other 87 times.
- The Rebels lead the series 68-19.
- The two teams first met on March 14, 1970, where the Falcons defeated the Rebels, 2-1.
Air Force-UNLV Connections
- UNLV freshman infielder Duncan Satherlie is a Centennial native and addended Cherry Creek High School.
Recapping New Mexico Series
Air Force lost both games of its doublheader Sunday vs. New Mexico, dropping game one, 14-2 and game two, 6-0.
- The Falcons batted .188 in the series, fielded .989 and had a 10.00 ERA.
- Blair Roberts was AFA's leading hitter, going 3-for-8 for a .375 average.
- Nathan Carter had the lone extra base hit of the series with a triple.
- Kincaid Koehler was Air Force's top pitcher, allowing just one run in 4.1 innings pitched.
Second All-Time in Sac Bunts
Air Force's 31 sacrifice bunts so far this year is second all-time in school history. The 1979 team leads with 39 sac bunts. The Falcons currently rank third in the MWC in sac bunts.
Truesdale Surpasses 300 Innings Pitched
Senior righthander Alex Truesdale surpassed the 300 innings pitched mark with his start at Georgia State. With 304 career innings pitched, Truesdale ranks third all-time at Air Force and is second all-time in the MWC.
Custons Has Monster Game vs. Colorado Christian
Freshman outfielder/catcher Garrett Custons had one of the biggest offensive games in Air Force history on March 30 vs. Colorado Christian. Custons went 6-for-7 with two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs.
The six hits are second most in a game in Air Force history and third most in Mountain West Conference history. The nine RBIs are third most in school history and fourth all-time in MWC record book. His fourteen total bases are the second most in AFA history and fourth in MWC history.
Best Fielding Percentage In School History
Air Force's .960 fielding percentage is currently the best in school history. The Falcons previous best was .957 in 2008 and 1979. The Falcons fielded .955 in 2009.
Home/Road Splits
Air Force has put up significantly better offensive numbers in its 14 home games this year, compared to its 23 games away from Falcon Field. The Falcons are batting 85 points highter at home and slugging 206 points higher. Conversley, Air Force's pitching staff ERA is 1.72 points lower on the road.
Fast Falcons
Air Force features one of the fastest teams in the nation in terms of triples and stolen bases. The Falcons lead the Mountain West in triples and are second in stolen bases. The Falcons are averaging 0.62 triples per game, ranking second in the nation. Junior Nathan Carter leads the conference with seven triples and freshman Garrett Custons is second in the conference with 14 stolen bases.
Category/Total/Avg./MWC Rank
Triples/24/0.62/1
Stolen Bases/50/1.28/2
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-4/1
- Freshmen with 13+ starts-5
- Freshmen to start on mound/games-22/39
Percentage of starts by class
Seniors 39.0
Juniors 10.8
Sophomores 9.7
Freshmen 40.5
Percentage of pitching starts by class
Seniors 28.2
Juniors -
Sophomores 15.4
Freshmen 56.4
Carter Sets New Triples Mark
Junior outfielder Nathan Carter leads the Mountain West Conference with eight triples. Carter now has a school-record 23 career triples, surpassing the previous AFA mark of 20 by Vern Mullis. 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).
Truesdale fans 12 vs. Hawai'i
Senior right-hander Alex Truesdale stuck out a career-high 12 batters vs. Hawai'i. He became the first Falcon to reach double-figures in strikeouts since Mitch Brown struck out 11 in 2006 and the first with 12 since Michael Tufte did so in 2001.
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 has four road games next week. The Falcons play Northern Colorado on Tuesday, May 4 (May 11 game moved up a week). Air Force then travels to San Diego State for a three-game set, May 7-9.
