Falcons Fall to Aztecs in Final Day of Series

USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy baseball team dropped the final two games of the three-game series against San Diego State Sunday afternoon, May 23, at Falcon Field. AF finished off the suspended game from yesterday, falling 13-10, before dropping the series finale, 20-13.

Game Two: San Diego State 13, Air Force 10 (Suspended Game from May 22)

AF slugged the ball all over the yard in the split-day game. AF tallied 14 hits, with 10 of them for extra bases, including a season-high nine doubles. Freshman Paul Skenes tallied a four-hit game, including three doubles and three RBIs. Fellow freshman Sam Kulasingam added three doubles of his own, as well as two RBIs, while senior Cole Blatchford had a three-hit game, with a double and two runs scored.

SDSU kept the offensive momentum into game two, as they struck for five in the top of the first. AF responded with three runs in the bottom of the first on RBI singles from Skenes and senior Tommy Gillman, as well as a wild pitch, to make it 5-3 after one. Skenes notched an RBI double in the bottom of the second to cut the deficit to one into the third.

After entering in the second, junior relief pitcher Rob Martin tossed scoreless innings in the third, fourth, and fifth to keep it a one-run game into the midway point. AF capitalized on the pitching effort on a two-out RBI double from Kulasingam in the bottom of the fifth to make it five-all with four innings to play.

The Aztecs answered right back with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, but AF got one back right away on Skenes' second RBI double of the game to keep it tight, 7-6, with three frames left.

SDSU continued to plate runs in the top of the seventh, striking for four more to make it an 11-6 tally into the stretch. In the bottom of the seventh, Kulasingam notched his second RBI double to make it 11-7 into the eighth. That is when the game was suspended due to darkness.

Picking back up in the top of the eighth, the frame went scoreless before SDSU added a pair more runs in the top of the ninth. AF answered back with three runs of their own on a freshman Jay Thomason pinch hit RBI double and a two-run pinch hit HR from Zimmerman to make it 13-10, but it was too little too late in the three-run defeat.

Game Three: San Diego State 20, Air Force 13

In the finale, the two teams combined for 33 runs on 39 hits. AF finished with 16 as a team, including nine for extras bases. Skenes once again led the charge, finishing with five hits, including two doubles, a home run, and four RBIs. He upped his batting average to .418 on the season.

Blatchford added three hits, including a double, and three RBIs, while Thomason came off the bench and added a pair of doubles with three RBIs as well. Finally, junior Gabriel Garcia had a three-hit game with a pair of runs driven in.

SDSU leapt ahead in the top of the first with a pair of runs. AF got one back in the bottom of the first on an RBI double from Skenes, but they left the bases loaded to keep it a 2-1 game. The Aztecs kept it up in the second, striking for five more to open up a 7-1 advantage into the third.

After a scoreless third, SDSU plated two in the fourth and four in the fifth to up their lead to 13-1 into the midway point. AF responded with a four spot of their own in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run single from Blatchford and a two-run HR from Skenes to narrow the deficit to 13-5 with four innings to play.

AF continued to plate runs in the bottom of the sixth with a three-spot, all with two outs. Thomason got it started with a pinch hit double, which was followed by an RBI double from Blatchford. After that, Skenes tallied an RBI single for his fourth hit, and Garcia knocked him in with a sun-aided double to make it 13-8 into the seventh.

The Aztecs continued to plate runs as well in the top of the seventh with three more to get their lead back to eight, 16-8. AF kept up the pressure with a five run seventh on a bases clearing double from Thomason, a Garcia RBI single, and a Kulasingam bases loaded walk to make it a three-run game, 16-13, with two trips left at the plate.

SDSU scored a trio of runs in the top of the eighth on a home run to maintain their steady lead, 19-13, into the ninth after a 1-2-3 frame for AF in the bottom of the eighth. The Aztecs tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth to make it 20-13 into the last of the ninth. Despite Skenes notching his fifth hit, nothing else was doing to end the game.

The Falcons will return to Falcon Field Friday-Saturday, May 28-29, for the final three games of the 2021 regular season against Fresno State.

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