Falcons Claim Victory in Series Finale at Fresno State, 12-6

FRESNO, Calif. – The Air Force Academy baseball team claimed victory in the series finale against Fresno State, 12-6, Sunday afternoon, April 11, at Bob Bennett Stadium. The Falcons equaled their highest hit total on the season with 17 knocks to get back in the win column.

Six Falcons had multi-hit days, led by three-hit games from freshman Paul Skenes and senior Christian Gambale. Skenes scored three runs, while Gambale drove in three. Junior Alexander Pup also had three RBIs on a bases clearing double, while classmate Cayden Zimmerman tallied two hits and two RBIs.

On the mound, junior Rob Martin earned his second win of the season after tossing two innings in relief. Skenes pitched 2.2 stellar frames, only allowing one hit while striking out three. Junior Zach Argo also tossed a scoreless ninth.

After a scoreless first, AF got on the board in the second inning on a two-RBI single from Zimmerman to make it 2-0 early on. Junior starting pitcher Stevan Fairburn Jr. made easy work of the Bulldogs in the first three, striking out four to keep it a shutout into the fourth.

In the top of the fourth, Zimmerman reached on a two out error, and eventually came around to score on an infield single from Covin to put the Falcons ahead 3-0. Fresno State got the bats going in the bottom of the fourth, as they plated five, two of them unearned, to leap ahead 5-3 into the fifth.

AF kept the offensive momentum going in the top of the fifth, as three singles resulted in an RBI single from junior Braydon Altorfer, followed by an RBI single from junior Gabriel Garcia to tie the game at 5-5. Later on, with two outs and the bases loaded, Pup ripped a bases-clearing double to give the Falcons the lead back, 8-5, and cap a five-run frame.

Fresno State got one back in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI ground out, but AF was able to strand a pair of runners to keep an 8-6 lead with four innings to play. The Falcons got the run back in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Gambale to put Air Force back ahead by three. In the bottom of the sixth, Skenes entered from the pen with the bases loaded and one out and got a ground out and strikeout looking to maintain the 9-6 lead with three innings to go.

The Falcons kept it up offensively in the top of the seventh getting three more runs on a wild pitch and a two-RBI single from Gambale to make it a six-run game into the stretch. From there, Skenes tossed a pair more scoreless innings, and Argo finished off the game in the ninth to seal the 12-6 victory.

Air Force will return to the diamond this midweek with two games against the Kansas Jayhawks, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 13 and 14. First pitches in Lawrence are set for 2 p.m. MT and noon MT.

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