Monday, February 18
Baton Rouge, LA
1 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
2-2
13
vs
0
Southern University
3-1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Southern
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
3
Air Force
2
0
0
2
0
9
0
0
X
13
13
1
Falcons Fly By Southern University, 13-0
2/18/2019 4:41:00 PM | Baseball
It was Air Force's second shut out in just four games
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Air Force Academy baseball team dominated in all three phases of the game in a commanding 13-0 win over Southern University, Monday, Feb. 18, at Alex Box Stadium. It is was the second shutout for the Falcons (2-2) this President's Day weekend, matching its shutout total from all of last season.
Four pitchers combined to lead the shutout effort, starting with senior Steven Plaskett, who earned the first start of his Falcon career. He went the first 3.1 innings, only allowing three hits and striking out two. First up in relief, freshman Nathan Price went the next 3.2 to earn the win in his AF debut. The rookie also struck out two.
After Price, junior Shawn Kelley pitched a scoreless eighth inning, only yielding a lone hit. Finally in the ninth, freshman Brayden Dragoo struck out a pair in a clean final frame, marking the third freshman this weekend to pitch a scoreless inning in their collegiate debut.
Not to be outdone, the offense used 13 hits to score its 13 runs. Senior infielder Nic Ready led the charge, finishing 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, and five driven in. A trio of Falcons had two-hit days, including seniors Gabe Martinez and Colby Brown, who each had two RBIs as well. Sophomore Christian Gambale had the other two-hit day, his second in as many days.
The Falcons jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with some slugging. Senior Drew Wiss was hit by pitch to lead off, and Ready followed with an RBI triple to dead center. The next batter, Martinez, then doubled in Ready, making it 2-0 after one.
Plaskett cruised through the first three innings, only allowing a handful of base runners, as he was aided by two pickoffs from senior catcher Rob Dau. In the fourth, he ran into some trouble, leaving with the bases loaded and one out. In relief, Price, in his debut, struck out a batter, and then got a fly out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ready delivered again with a two-RBI double to double the Air Force lead, 4-0 after four innings. Meanwhile on the mound, Price tossed scoreless fifth and sixth innings to keep the shutout in tact into the bottom of the sixth.
Air Force broke the game in the bottom half of the sixth, striking for nine runs. The inning started with the bases loaded on a trio of singles. Wiss got the scoring started with a bases loaded walk. Ready then smacked his second double of the day, driving in two more to up his RBI total to five. Then Martinez drove in his second run of the day with an RBI single, leading to a SU pitching change.
After a pop out, senior Daniel Jones drove in a run with an RBI single. Then, junior Ashton Easley followed with an RBI single of his own to make it 10-0. Brown kept the line moving with a two run single, his second hit of the day. The final run came on a Gambale RBI single, capping off the nine-run frame, and making it 13-0 with three to play.
From there, the Falcon offense went cold, but the pitching staff kept the shutout intact. Price fired his third scoreless inning in the seventh, taking it to the stretch. In the eighth, Kelley made his season debut, and stranded a runner in a clean frame. In the ninth, Dragoo, in his Air Force debut, had a pair of runners reach on an error and HBP, but a harmless fly out to center ended the game, sealing the second shutout of the young season for the Falcons.
The Falcons will return to the diamond next weekend, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 22-24, for the Freedom Classic against the Naval Academy in Kinston, N.C. The three game set against the Midshipmen at historic Grainger Stadium will begin with a 4 p.m. MT first pitch on Friday.
Four pitchers combined to lead the shutout effort, starting with senior Steven Plaskett, who earned the first start of his Falcon career. He went the first 3.1 innings, only allowing three hits and striking out two. First up in relief, freshman Nathan Price went the next 3.2 to earn the win in his AF debut. The rookie also struck out two.
After Price, junior Shawn Kelley pitched a scoreless eighth inning, only yielding a lone hit. Finally in the ninth, freshman Brayden Dragoo struck out a pair in a clean final frame, marking the third freshman this weekend to pitch a scoreless inning in their collegiate debut.
Not to be outdone, the offense used 13 hits to score its 13 runs. Senior infielder Nic Ready led the charge, finishing 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple, and five driven in. A trio of Falcons had two-hit days, including seniors Gabe Martinez and Colby Brown, who each had two RBIs as well. Sophomore Christian Gambale had the other two-hit day, his second in as many days.
The Falcons jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with some slugging. Senior Drew Wiss was hit by pitch to lead off, and Ready followed with an RBI triple to dead center. The next batter, Martinez, then doubled in Ready, making it 2-0 after one.
Plaskett cruised through the first three innings, only allowing a handful of base runners, as he was aided by two pickoffs from senior catcher Rob Dau. In the fourth, he ran into some trouble, leaving with the bases loaded and one out. In relief, Price, in his debut, struck out a batter, and then got a fly out to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ready delivered again with a two-RBI double to double the Air Force lead, 4-0 after four innings. Meanwhile on the mound, Price tossed scoreless fifth and sixth innings to keep the shutout in tact into the bottom of the sixth.
Air Force broke the game in the bottom half of the sixth, striking for nine runs. The inning started with the bases loaded on a trio of singles. Wiss got the scoring started with a bases loaded walk. Ready then smacked his second double of the day, driving in two more to up his RBI total to five. Then Martinez drove in his second run of the day with an RBI single, leading to a SU pitching change.
After a pop out, senior Daniel Jones drove in a run with an RBI single. Then, junior Ashton Easley followed with an RBI single of his own to make it 10-0. Brown kept the line moving with a two run single, his second hit of the day. The final run came on a Gambale RBI single, capping off the nine-run frame, and making it 13-0 with three to play.
From there, the Falcon offense went cold, but the pitching staff kept the shutout intact. Price fired his third scoreless inning in the seventh, taking it to the stretch. In the eighth, Kelley made his season debut, and stranded a runner in a clean frame. In the ninth, Dragoo, in his Air Force debut, had a pair of runners reach on an error and HBP, but a harmless fly out to center ended the game, sealing the second shutout of the young season for the Falcons.
The Falcons will return to the diamond next weekend, Friday-Sunday, Feb. 22-24, for the Freedom Classic against the Naval Academy in Kinston, N.C. The three game set against the Midshipmen at historic Grainger Stadium will begin with a 4 p.m. MT first pitch on Friday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Price, Nathan (1-0)
L: J. Snyder (0-1)
Base Running:
HBP: J. Johnson 1 ; H. David 1 ; J. Williams 1
PO: J. Johnson 1 ; A. Wheatley 1
Batting:
2B: Ready, Nic 2 ; Martinez, Gabe 1
3B: Ready, Nic 1
RBI: Wiss, Drew 1 ; Ready, Nic 5 ; Martinez, Gabe 2 ; Jones, Daniel 1 ; Easley, Ashton 1 ; Brown, Colby 2 ; Gambale, Christian 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wiss, Drew 3 ; Ready, Nic 2 ; Martinez, Gabe 1 ; Jones, Daniel 1 ; Easley, Ashton 1 ; Brown, Colby 2 ; Pup, Alexander 1 ; Gillman, Tommy 1 ; Gambale, Christian 1
SB: Ready, Nic 1 ; Dau, Rob 1
HBP: Wiss, Drew 1 ; Gillman, Tommy 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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