Air Force Academy
11-12, 3-3
Nevada
14-12, 5-6
Falcons Even Series at Nevada with 8-2 Win
3/30/2019 8:49:00 PM | Baseball
Senior Matt Hargreaves tossed another gem
Hargreaves earned the second win of his season, as he moves to 2-0. The righty went 7.0, only allowing two runs on nine hits, with no walks and five strikeouts. He holds a stellar 1.26 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched this season. In relief, junior Shawn Kelley went the final two, and was nearly perfect only allowing one base runner while striking out three.
On offense, Air Force pounded out 10 hits, led by a two-hit, three-RBI game from senior Colby Brown. Freshman Alexander Pup also had a pair of knocks, while sophomore Christian Gambale tallied a two-RBI game to tie his career-high.
Following scoreless first two innings, Air Force broke the ice in the third with RBI base hits from both junior Tommy Gillman and Brown to make it 2-0 early on.
Air Force then opened up an eight run lead in the top of the fourth, as they scored six runs, all coming with two outs. With runners on the corners, the first run scored on a wild pitch after a walk. After a hit by pitch and pitching change, Gambale blooped a single down the line in right to score a pair, and make it 5-0. Brown followed with a double in the gap to score two more. The final RBI hit came from senior Rob Dau on a single, making it 8-0 Falcons in the fourth.
Hargreaves continued to carve in the fourth and fifth, keeping the shutout in tact into the sixth inning. The Wolf Pack struck back with back-to-back homers to begin the sixth to break the shutout, but Hargreaves limited the damage to keep it 8-2 into the seventh.
The veteran Hargreaves bounced back in the seventh with a 1-2-3 frame, ending his outing on a high note. In relief, Kelley picked up where Hargreaves left off with another three-up, three-down inning to maintain the six run advantage into the final frame. There, Kelley kept cruising, allowing a walk, but striking out the side to seal the series tying victory.
Air Force and Nevada will be back in action tomorrow, March 31, for the rubber match. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. MT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hargreaves, Matt (2-0)
L: SHARTS, O. (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Ready, Nic 1 ; Brown, Colby 1 ; Blatchford, Cole 1
RBI: Gillman, Tommy 1 ; Gambale, Christian 2 ; Brown, Colby 3 ; Dau, Rob 1
SH: Blatchford, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gillman, Tommy 2 ; Ready, Nic 1 ; Gambale, Christian 1 ; Brown, Colby 1 ; Pup, Alexander 1 ; Wiss, Drew 2
SB: Pup, Alexander 1
CS: Gillman, Tommy 1
HBP: Ready, Nic 1 ; Gambale, Christian 1 ; Wiss, Drew 2
Batting:
2B: ZAMORA, J. 1 ; VALENZUELA 1
HR: SHRUM, D. 1 ; HATTEN, W. 1
RBI: SHRUM, D. 1 ; HATTEN, W. 1
SH: BOSETTI, T. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SHRUM, D. 1 ; HATTEN, W. 1
SB: McLAUGHLIN 2
HBP: HATTEN, W. 1
