Baseball Drops Both Ends of Doubleheader at Navy

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Air Force Academy baseball team dropped a pair of close games to the Naval Academy, 5-4 and 3-1, Saturday, Feb. 22 at Max Bishop Stadium. In both games, AF was either tied or ahead in the seventh inning or later, before rallies from the Midshipmen.

Game One: Navy 5, Air Force 4

Air Force got the bats going in game one, tallying eight hits to Navy's nine. Sophomore Alexander Pup led the way with three hits, including an RBI double. Fellow sophomore Blake Covin added two knocks, including a triple and two runs scored, while sophomore Braydon Altorfer tallied an RBI single to go with two walks. On the mound, senior Josh Leaser was solid in 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, only allowing one hit and striking out two.

The Midshipmen struck first in the bottom of the first with two runs to jump ahead early, 2-0. AF answered back in the top of the third as Altorfer singled in Covin after he led off with a triple to cut the deficit in half.

Air Force then kept it a one run game into the bottom of the fifth before Navy struck for a pair of two out runs to up their lead to 4-1 heading into the sixth. In the top of the sixth, AF loaded the bases up with one out, but all they could get was a sac fly from junior Christian Gambale to put the score at 4-2.

Then in the top of the seventh, AF capitalized on a Navy error to score its first run, and then Pup doubled in a second for his third hit of the day. Unfortunately the leading run was cut down at the plate to keep it a 4-4 game into the stretch. Navy then responded with an RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh to re-take a one run lead with two to play.

The Falcons had a golden opportunity in the top of the eighth as runners got to the corners with no outs, but three straight outs ended the threat. Then in the top of the ninth, a pair of two out walks put the tying run in scoring position, but a strikeout ended the game.

Game Two: Navy 3, Air Force 1

Game two was a pitchers dual until the late innings, as Navy rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth to escape with the victory.

Sophomore Stevan Fairburn Jr. got the start for AF and was nearly flawless as he tossed seven shutout innings with just five hits allowed and five strikeouts. It tied his career-best length for an outing and was one strikeout away from tying his career-high.

The Falcons out-hit Navy in game two, 7-6, led by a two-hit day from senior Tommy Gillman, which included a double. Air Force's lone RBI came on an RBI double from junior Cole Blatchford.

The first six innings was a true pitchers dual as both teams tallied just three hits each, and both teams combined for 14 strikeouts. Fairburn had five of those himself though six shutout frames.

Navy went to the bullpen to start the seventh and AF jumped on the reliever as Gambale ripped a one out double, and one batter later, Blatchford drove him in with a double of his own to break the ice and put AF up 1-0 into the stretch. Fairburn returned for the bottom of the seventh and worked around a leadoff double to maintain the shutout and send it to the eighth.

The Falcons went to the pen in the eighth and this time Navy capitalized tagging AF for three runs to take a 3-1 lead into the ninth. AF got a one out hit there, but could not plate any more runs to seal the tough defeat.

AF and Navy return for the series finale tomorrow, Feb. 23, at Max Bishop Stadium. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. MT.

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