Falcons Drop Doubleheader to Manhattan and Stetson

DELAND, Fla. – The Air Force Academy baseball team dropped both legs of a doubleheader Saturday, Feb. 15, at Melching Field on the campus of Stetson University. The Falcons (1-2) fell to Manhattan in the opener, 6-1, and then dropped the night cap to the host Hatters, 4-1.

Game One: Manhattan 6, Air Force 1

In game one, AF couldn't quite get the offense going, tallying four hits. Junior Cole Blatchford notched a double, while sophomore Blake Covin had the RBI base hit. Fellow sophomore Alexander Pup also had a 1-for-3 day with two walks. The Falcons had a bevy of opportunities to score runs, as they left 10 runners on base.

On the mound, senior Josh Leaser went three innings in relief, only allowing one earned run, while classmate Shawn Kelley tossed a clean inning on six pitches.

The first two innings went by in a flash with only one hit between the two teams. Manhattan broke the ice in the bottom of the third with a two-out RBI single, making it 1-0 after three. AF didn't register its first hit until the top of the fifth, when Blatchford ripped a double down the line. One batter later, Covin singled him in for his first hit as a Falcon to tie it up at the midway point.

Manhattan answered back immediately with three runs, one unearned, in the bottom of the fifth to leap ahead, 4-1, with four innings to play. After a scoreless sixth, MC plated another unearned run in the bottom of the seventh, to extend the lead to 5-1 with two more turns at the plate. Manhattan got some more insurance in the bottom of the eighth with a two out run to put the deficit at five with one more chance at the dish, but AF was unable to push across any more runs to seal the five run defeat.

Game Two: Stetson 4, Air Force 1

The offense strung together five hits in game two, spread out among five players. Senior Tommy Gillman got the lone RBI on an infield single, while freshman Ryan Stohr and sophomore Braydon Altorfer both tallied doubles.

On the mound, freshman Jason Shuger had a stellar AF debut, as he went the final 3.2 innings in relief, only allowing two hits and no runs while striking out three.

Stetson was the first to score, as a pair of doubles in the top of the first resulted in a run, making it 1-0 after one. Starting pitcher sophomore Stevan Fairburn Jr. then settled in, retiring 11 straight batters to take the game into the fifth inning. There, Stetson got the offense back, as they struck for three more runs to jump ahead, 4-0, with four innings to play.

Air Force got its first hit in the top of the seventh, as Stohr doubled off the wall in left. The Falcons then went on to load the bases with two outs, but a strikeout looking ended the threat. In the top of the eighth, back-to-back hits got runners to second and third with one out. One batter later, Gillman got an infield single to drive in a run and make it 4-1 into the ninth. In the ninth, AF got a base hit with one out, but could not do anything else to seal the game.

The Falcons return to the diamond tomorrow, Feb. 16, for the final game down in DeLand against Stetson. First pitch against the Hatters is set for 11 a.m. MT.

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