Sunday, March 17
USAFA
12 p.m.
Air Force Academy
9-5
6
vs
0
Northern Colorado
2-13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Northern Colorado
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
Air Force
0
0
0
1
1
2
2
0
X
6
9
2
Photo by: Josh Armstrong
Baseball Blanks Northern Colorado, 6-0
3/17/2019 5:19:00 PM | Baseball
It was the third shutout this season for the Falcons
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy baseball team picked up its third shutout victory of the season with a 6-0 blanking of Northern Colorado Sunday afternoon, March 17, at Falcon Field. Five Air Force pitchers combined for the shutout of the Bears for the Falcons' third straight win.
With the weekend series against Mountain West Conference foe Fresno State canceled, Air Force's weekend starters all got some work today. Senior Jake Gilbert earned the second start of his career, and went the first three innings, only allowing one hit while striking out two. Senior Tyler Mortenson earned the win after going the next two, also only surrendering one hit and striking out two.
Following Mortenson, senior Matt Hargreaves went the next 1.1, while sophomore Luke Chilcutt finished off the seventh with 0.2 scoreless. Finally, senior Ethan Nichols closed out the game, going the final two, and going six-up, six-down with two strikeouts.
Air Force's (9-5) offense took a little while to get going, as they were held without a hit over the first four innings, but they finished strong with nine hits over the final five frames, including five for extra bases. Freshman Alexander Pup led the way with two hits, including a triple, as well as two RBIs. Senior Nic Ready had two hits, a double and a triple, to go along with an RBI, while senior Colby Brown also had two hits, including an RBI double.
The first three innings breezed by with only UNC (2-13) collecting a lone hit. Air Force got some base traffic on in the fourth, as a hit by pitch and two base error put runners on second and third with one out. A balk from Northern Colorado's pitcher drove home one run, making it 1-0 early on.
In the fifth, Pup led off with a single up the middle for Air Force's first hit. One batter later, Ready tripled off the wall in left centerfield, scoring the runner and making it 2-0.
Air Force doubled the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Pup drove in a pair on a triple off the base of the wall in left field. It was the first triple of his Air Force career, and made the tally 4-0 with three to play.
Two more runs crossed the plate in the seventh, the first on an RBI sacrifice bunt from senior Gabe Martinez, while the other was driven in by Brown on an RBI double. Nichols then entered in the top of the eighth, and mowed down Bear hitters, retiring six straight, including two on a double play, to wrap up the shutout win.
Air Force will return to the diamond this midweek with two games against Nebraska in Lincoln. The Falcons will play the Cornhuskers Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19-20. Both games are set for 12:35 p.m. MT start times.
With the weekend series against Mountain West Conference foe Fresno State canceled, Air Force's weekend starters all got some work today. Senior Jake Gilbert earned the second start of his career, and went the first three innings, only allowing one hit while striking out two. Senior Tyler Mortenson earned the win after going the next two, also only surrendering one hit and striking out two.
Following Mortenson, senior Matt Hargreaves went the next 1.1, while sophomore Luke Chilcutt finished off the seventh with 0.2 scoreless. Finally, senior Ethan Nichols closed out the game, going the final two, and going six-up, six-down with two strikeouts.
Air Force's (9-5) offense took a little while to get going, as they were held without a hit over the first four innings, but they finished strong with nine hits over the final five frames, including five for extra bases. Freshman Alexander Pup led the way with two hits, including a triple, as well as two RBIs. Senior Nic Ready had two hits, a double and a triple, to go along with an RBI, while senior Colby Brown also had two hits, including an RBI double.
The first three innings breezed by with only UNC (2-13) collecting a lone hit. Air Force got some base traffic on in the fourth, as a hit by pitch and two base error put runners on second and third with one out. A balk from Northern Colorado's pitcher drove home one run, making it 1-0 early on.
In the fifth, Pup led off with a single up the middle for Air Force's first hit. One batter later, Ready tripled off the wall in left centerfield, scoring the runner and making it 2-0.
Air Force doubled the lead in the bottom of the sixth, as Pup drove in a pair on a triple off the base of the wall in left field. It was the first triple of his Air Force career, and made the tally 4-0 with three to play.
Two more runs crossed the plate in the seventh, the first on an RBI sacrifice bunt from senior Gabe Martinez, while the other was driven in by Brown on an RBI double. Nichols then entered in the top of the eighth, and mowed down Bear hitters, retiring six straight, including two on a double play, to wrap up the shutout win.
Air Force will return to the diamond this midweek with two games against Nebraska in Lincoln. The Falcons will play the Cornhuskers Tuesday and Wednesday, March 19-20. Both games are set for 12:35 p.m. MT start times.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mortenson, Tyler (1-2)
L: Connor ANDERSON (0-5)
Batting:
2B: Jack PAULEY 1 ; Jake GITTER 1
Batting:
2B: Ready, Nic 1 ; Brown, Colby 1 ; Dau, Rob 1
3B: Ready, Nic 1 ; Pup, Alexander 1
RBI: Ready, Nic 1 ; Martinez, Gabe 1 ; Brown, Colby 1 ; Pup, Alexander 2
SH: Martinez, Gabe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gambale, Christian 1 ; Ready, Nic 1 ; Easley, Ashton 1 ; Wiss, Drew 1 ; Brown, Colby 1 ; Gillman, Tommy 1
SB: Easley, Ashton 2
HBP: Wiss, Drew 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballIF
/ Baseball
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