Saturday, May 18
USAFA
12 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
26-26, 0
8
vs
2
San Jose State
20-34, 0
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8
9
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H
E
San Jose State
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0
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9
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Air Force
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10
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Photo by: Josh Armstrong
Falcons Defeat SJSU, 8-2, on Senior Day
5/18/2019 4:18:00 PM | Baseball
The class of 2019 finished with a senior class record 107 wins
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy baseball concluded the 2019 season on a high note, defeating San Jose State, 8-2, Saturday afternoon, May 18, on Senior Day. With the win, the 2019 senior class finished with 107 wins over the last four seasons, making them the winningest senior class in program history.
The Falcons used another late inning rally to get the series win, scoring seven runs in the final two times at bat. The offense totaled 10 hits on the day, led by a four RBI day from senior Drew Wiss, including a clutch three RBI double to give AF the lead in the seventh. Fellow senior Gabe Martinez had a three hit day, along with two runs scored, while senior Daniel Jones had two hits, including an RBI double that tied the game.
On the mound, senior Matt Hargreaves earned his third win of the season and 14th of his career after tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just three hits and striking out one. Senior Ethan Nichols took a no decision after going the first 4.1, striking out two.
The final two innings belonged to senior Jake Gilbert, and he was dominant, allowing just three hits, and striking out two. He finishes the season with a 2.55 ERA, which is the eighth-best single season ERA in program history.
After a scoreless first, AF struck first in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from freshman Alexander Pup. The Falcons had two runners cut down at the plate, however, to keep it 1-0. Nichols was able to keep the SJSU bats at bay until the fifth, when the Spartans battled back.
In the top of the fifth, the Spartans used four walks and a single to plate a pair of runs and take their first lead, 2-1, at the midway point. After a scoreless sixth, Air Force's fortunes changed in a wild seventh inning.
Martinez led off with a single, and Jones followed with a double down the left field line to score him and tie the game at 2-2. Then the game went into a 25 minute weather delay, allowing both teams to regroup. SJSU came out with their closer after the delay, but AF was ready as a walk and single loaded up the bags with no outs.
That's when Wiss delivered the big blow, as he doubled off the top of the wall in left center, and scored all three runners, to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead. Later in the frame, Wiss came around to score on a wild pitch to add some insurance and make it 6-2 into the eighth.
Gilbert then entered and stranded runners on the corners in a scoreless frame to take it to the bottom of the eighth. There, AF got some insurance with an RBI groundout from senior Colby Brown and an RBI walk from Wiss to get the lead up to 8-2 into the ninth. In the ninth, Gilbert worked around a single, and struck out the final batter he faced to lock down the win.
The Falcons conclude the season with a 26-26 record, as well as a 12-14 record in MW play. It is the third time in the last four seasons the Falcons have finished .500 or above, as well as the fourth season in a row with 12 conference wins.
The Falcons used another late inning rally to get the series win, scoring seven runs in the final two times at bat. The offense totaled 10 hits on the day, led by a four RBI day from senior Drew Wiss, including a clutch three RBI double to give AF the lead in the seventh. Fellow senior Gabe Martinez had a three hit day, along with two runs scored, while senior Daniel Jones had two hits, including an RBI double that tied the game.
On the mound, senior Matt Hargreaves earned his third win of the season and 14th of his career after tossing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just three hits and striking out one. Senior Ethan Nichols took a no decision after going the first 4.1, striking out two.
The final two innings belonged to senior Jake Gilbert, and he was dominant, allowing just three hits, and striking out two. He finishes the season with a 2.55 ERA, which is the eighth-best single season ERA in program history.
After a scoreless first, AF struck first in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from freshman Alexander Pup. The Falcons had two runners cut down at the plate, however, to keep it 1-0. Nichols was able to keep the SJSU bats at bay until the fifth, when the Spartans battled back.
In the top of the fifth, the Spartans used four walks and a single to plate a pair of runs and take their first lead, 2-1, at the midway point. After a scoreless sixth, Air Force's fortunes changed in a wild seventh inning.
Martinez led off with a single, and Jones followed with a double down the left field line to score him and tie the game at 2-2. Then the game went into a 25 minute weather delay, allowing both teams to regroup. SJSU came out with their closer after the delay, but AF was ready as a walk and single loaded up the bags with no outs.
That's when Wiss delivered the big blow, as he doubled off the top of the wall in left center, and scored all three runners, to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead. Later in the frame, Wiss came around to score on a wild pitch to add some insurance and make it 6-2 into the eighth.
Gilbert then entered and stranded runners on the corners in a scoreless frame to take it to the bottom of the eighth. There, AF got some insurance with an RBI groundout from senior Colby Brown and an RBI walk from Wiss to get the lead up to 8-2 into the ninth. In the ninth, Gilbert worked around a single, and struck out the final batter he faced to lock down the win.
The Falcons conclude the season with a 26-26 record, as well as a 12-14 record in MW play. It is the third time in the last four seasons the Falcons have finished .500 or above, as well as the fourth season in a row with 12 conference wins.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hargreaves, Matt (3-4)
L: WATLAND, Justin (0-2)
Batting:
2B: BERRY, Blake 1
RBI: PLESCHNER, Aaron 1 ; BELLUOMINI, Ryan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CANTU, Santiago 1 ; KNECHT, Nick 1
CS: KNECHT, Nick 1
Batting:
2B: Wiss, Drew 1 ; Dau, Rob 1 ; Martinez, Gabe 1 ; Jones, Daniel 1
RBI: Wiss, Drew 4 ; Jones, Daniel 1 ; Pup, Alexander 1 ; Brown, Colby 1
SH: Pup, Alexander 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wiss, Drew 1 ; Dau, Rob 1 ; Martinez, Gabe 2 ; Jones, Daniel 2 ; Pup, Alexander 1 ; Brown, Colby 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
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