Friday, May 3
Albuquerque, NM
6 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
New Mexico
Photo by: Eric Strom
Air Force Heads to New Mexico for Final Road Conference Series
5/2/2019 3:19:00 PM | Baseball
The Falcons are looking to keep pace in the MW Conference standings
Air Force (20-24, 9-13 MW) at New Mexico (20-24-1, 8-12-1 MW)
Albuquerque, N.M. | Santa Ana Star Field
SCHEDULE
Friday, May 3 - 6 p.m. MT
Saturday, May 4 - 2 p.m. MT
Sunday, May 5 - 12 p.m. MT
Falcons Face New Mexico in Final MW Road Series
The Air Force Academy baseball team hits the road for the final Mountain West Conference road weekend series this season, being played at New Mexico, Friday-Sunday, May 3-5. First pitch against the Lobos are set for 6, 2, and noon MT, respectively.
Following Along At Home
- All three games can be followed via live stats on Sidearm, as well as via a live stream on the MW Network. All games can also be tracked live on Twitter, @AF_Baseball.
Last Time Out
- The Falcons split a midweek series with the Kansas Jayhawks, winning the opener, 3-2, before falling in the finale, 11-6.
- Freshman Stevan Fairburn Jr. was brilliant in the opener, firing 7.0 scoreless innings with six Ks to earn his second win of the season
- In the finale, AF led into the seventh inning before KU scored seven runs in the final three frames to escape with the win
Ready the Record Books
- Coming into the season, senior Nic Ready was poised to break many school records, and he has a few to his name already
- His first record broken was Friday, March 29 at Nevada. With a solo home run to tie the game in the eighth inning, Ready recorded the 196th RBI of his AF career, to surpass the previous record of 195 held by Vern Mullis ('94) and Tyler Jones ('17).
- The second came against Utah Valley, April 9. With seven total bases in the contest, Ready achieved 487 career total bases to pass Mike Theissen, who had 486 from 1998-2001
- The third was in the home series versus Nevada, as he tallied the 871st official at bat of his career to break the record his former teammate Tyler Zabojnik had set just last season
- The next records Ready has his eye on are the Academy record in hits, doubles, and home runs, as well as the MW Conference record in RBIs.
Don't Run on Dau
- Senior captain catcher Rob Dau has always had a knack for throwing out would-be base stealers, as he has been top-five in the conference in that category all three seasons, including leading the league as a sophomore in 2017. This season, he has thrown out 20 and picked-off 13 to lead the league in both categories.
Offensive Explosion Against the Pack
- In the three game series against Nevada, AF put together by far its best weekend at the dish
- The Falcons scored 42 runs off of 48 hits, including nine doubles, a triple, and 12 home runs
- AF raised its team batting average from .265 to .276 in the three game span
- In the series finale, the Falcons totaled 20 hits for a new single game season high
- They also hit five home runs in the finale, which was the first five homer game for the team since hitting seven against SDSU back on May 13, 2017
Individual Achievements Versus Nevada
- Individually, Air Force had many big time accomplishments as well
- Senior Colby Brown batted an astonishing .727 (8-11) with three doubles and six RBIs
- Sophomore Christian Gambale had a home run in each of the three games. Prior to that he had just one career HR
- Senior Gabe Martinez hit three homers on the weekend, including his second two homer game this season
- Senior Nic Ready had five hits, three of them home runs, and tallied seven RBIs
Twice is Nice
- Nic Ready has 16 doubles to lead the team this season. He ranks third in the conference and 38th in the nation.
- His 73 career doubles is fourth most in program history. He is just five away from breaking the record of 77 set by Garrett Custons in 2013.
Run, Falcons, Run
- The Falcons have been active on the base paths this season, having stolen 65 bags
- The 65 steals ranks second in the conference and 56th in the country.
- Junior Ashton Easley has 26 swipes to lead the conference, and rank 16th in the nation.
- His 26 steals also rank tied for the sixth most in a single season in Air Force program history
- Against Northern Colorado, March 12, Air Force stole 10 bags, the most in a single game for AF since May 4, 1979.
Active Career Leader
- With such a successful career to this point, it shouldn't come as much surprise that senior Nic Ready is among the NCAA active career leaders in multiple categories. The Texas is the active career leader in doubles (73), while ranking second among active players in total bases (520), tied for second in RBIs (216), and sixth in HRs (46).
On the Horizon
- The Falcons play their final road game of 2019 when they head up the road to face Northern Colorado, Tuesday, May 7. First pitch against the Bears is set for 3 p.m.
Albuquerque, N.M. | Santa Ana Star Field
SCHEDULE
Friday, May 3 - 6 p.m. MT
Saturday, May 4 - 2 p.m. MT
Sunday, May 5 - 12 p.m. MT
Falcons Face New Mexico in Final MW Road Series
The Air Force Academy baseball team hits the road for the final Mountain West Conference road weekend series this season, being played at New Mexico, Friday-Sunday, May 3-5. First pitch against the Lobos are set for 6, 2, and noon MT, respectively.
Following Along At Home
- All three games can be followed via live stats on Sidearm, as well as via a live stream on the MW Network. All games can also be tracked live on Twitter, @AF_Baseball.
Last Time Out
- The Falcons split a midweek series with the Kansas Jayhawks, winning the opener, 3-2, before falling in the finale, 11-6.
- Freshman Stevan Fairburn Jr. was brilliant in the opener, firing 7.0 scoreless innings with six Ks to earn his second win of the season
- In the finale, AF led into the seventh inning before KU scored seven runs in the final three frames to escape with the win
Ready the Record Books
- Coming into the season, senior Nic Ready was poised to break many school records, and he has a few to his name already
- His first record broken was Friday, March 29 at Nevada. With a solo home run to tie the game in the eighth inning, Ready recorded the 196th RBI of his AF career, to surpass the previous record of 195 held by Vern Mullis ('94) and Tyler Jones ('17).
- The second came against Utah Valley, April 9. With seven total bases in the contest, Ready achieved 487 career total bases to pass Mike Theissen, who had 486 from 1998-2001
- The third was in the home series versus Nevada, as he tallied the 871st official at bat of his career to break the record his former teammate Tyler Zabojnik had set just last season
- The next records Ready has his eye on are the Academy record in hits, doubles, and home runs, as well as the MW Conference record in RBIs.
Don't Run on Dau
- Senior captain catcher Rob Dau has always had a knack for throwing out would-be base stealers, as he has been top-five in the conference in that category all three seasons, including leading the league as a sophomore in 2017. This season, he has thrown out 20 and picked-off 13 to lead the league in both categories.
Offensive Explosion Against the Pack
- In the three game series against Nevada, AF put together by far its best weekend at the dish
- The Falcons scored 42 runs off of 48 hits, including nine doubles, a triple, and 12 home runs
- AF raised its team batting average from .265 to .276 in the three game span
- In the series finale, the Falcons totaled 20 hits for a new single game season high
- They also hit five home runs in the finale, which was the first five homer game for the team since hitting seven against SDSU back on May 13, 2017
Individual Achievements Versus Nevada
- Individually, Air Force had many big time accomplishments as well
- Senior Colby Brown batted an astonishing .727 (8-11) with three doubles and six RBIs
- Sophomore Christian Gambale had a home run in each of the three games. Prior to that he had just one career HR
- Senior Gabe Martinez hit three homers on the weekend, including his second two homer game this season
- Senior Nic Ready had five hits, three of them home runs, and tallied seven RBIs
Twice is Nice
- Nic Ready has 16 doubles to lead the team this season. He ranks third in the conference and 38th in the nation.
- His 73 career doubles is fourth most in program history. He is just five away from breaking the record of 77 set by Garrett Custons in 2013.
Run, Falcons, Run
- The Falcons have been active on the base paths this season, having stolen 65 bags
- The 65 steals ranks second in the conference and 56th in the country.
- Junior Ashton Easley has 26 swipes to lead the conference, and rank 16th in the nation.
- His 26 steals also rank tied for the sixth most in a single season in Air Force program history
- Against Northern Colorado, March 12, Air Force stole 10 bags, the most in a single game for AF since May 4, 1979.
Active Career Leader
- With such a successful career to this point, it shouldn't come as much surprise that senior Nic Ready is among the NCAA active career leaders in multiple categories. The Texas is the active career leader in doubles (73), while ranking second among active players in total bases (520), tied for second in RBIs (216), and sixth in HRs (46).
On the Horizon
- The Falcons play their final road game of 2019 when they head up the road to face Northern Colorado, Tuesday, May 7. First pitch against the Bears is set for 3 p.m.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballFalcons win on senior day over New Mexico
Sunday, May 11
Lobos top Falcons to even series
Saturday, May 10
Falcons big 8th inning leads to win over Lobos
Friday, May 09
Falcons fall in series finale to Nevada
Sunday, April 27
