Friday, May 28
USAFA
12 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
vs
Fresno State
Photo by: Eric Strom
Falcons Conclude 2021 Regular Season Against Fresno State
5/27/2021 3:54:00 PM | Baseball
Air Force is looking to clinch its best season in Mountain West history
Air Force Falcons (24-21, 16-15 MW) vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (19-23, 15-16 MW)
May 28-29 | Falcon Field
Falcons Conclude 2021 Regular Season vs. Fresno St.
The Air Force Academy baseball team wraps up the 2021 regular season with three games against Fresno State, Friday-Saturday, May 28-29, at Falcon Field. The DH on Friday will begin at noon MT, while the finale on Saturday has a 11 a.m. MT start time. The Senior Day ceremony on Saturday will begin at 10:30 a.m. MT.
Following Along At Home
All games will have a live stream on the MW Network, as well as live stats on AirForceStats.com. As always, fans can follow along on Twitter, @AF_Baseball.
Thank You Seniors!
Saturday marks the final home contest for the seven-man AF baseball senior class. The group of 2nd Lt. Cole Blatchford, 2nd Lt. John Byrnes, 2nd Lt. Luke Chilcutt, 2nd Lt. Christian Gambale, Tommy Gillman, 2nd Lt. Ben Hauser, and 2nd Lt. Joe Martinez III will be honored for their accomplishments both on and off the field in a pre-game ceremony.
Last Series In Review
The Falcons were swept in a three-game series against San Diego State at Falcon Field. The whole weekend was a slugfest, with scores of 17-3, 13-10, and 20-13.
Doubles Machines
Down the stretch of the season, AF has been smacking doubles left and right, especially in the last two games, with eight and a season-high nine in the final two games against SDSU. As such, AF is now third in the nation in total doubles with 117, and second in the country in doubles/game with 2.60.
Home Sweet Home
With AF at home for 16 of the final 19 games, it should come as no surprise that the AF bats have begun heating up in the friendly confines of Falcon Field. Since starting the home stretch on April 24, AF has raised its team batting average from .272 to .298. The Falcons have double-digit hits in nine of the 13 home games thus far, and the fewest hits they've had is seven.
Skenes the Super Freshman
Freshman Paul Skenes has simply been one of the best freshmen in both the MW and NCAA this season. While he ranks in the top-10 in the MW in nine offensive categories, the rookie also ranks in the top-30 in the nation in seven offensive categories, batting average (8th), doubles (8th), doubles/game (10th), hits (20th), hits/game (10th), slugging (19th), and total bases (26th). He is also 12th in the nation in saves with 10, which leads the MW.
Skenes has been extremely versatile for the Falcons this season, as he has made starts at catcher (17), first base (2), and DH (26). He has also made his 16 pitching appearances in games in which he started in the batting lineup. For his efforts, Skenes has been named to the Baseball America 2021 Freshman of the Year watchlist.
Historic Freshman Campaign for Skenes
When the season concludes, Paul Skenes will go down with one of the finest freshman seasons in Academy history. Skenes already owns the Freshman AF record in saves with 10, and is currently in the hunt for freshman records in home runs, hits, total bases, and doubles, while he will also be in the top-5 in batting average, slugging percentage, RBIs, and runs scored.
All-Time Success in the MW in 2021
This season, AF has made history since its first season of Mountain West Conference play back in 2000.
- AF has six-game and eight-game winning streaks over all MW opponents, the longest winning streaks over MW opponents in program history
- AF has swept three MW series for the first time in program history
- AF had tallied double-digit wins in MW play for the seventh-straight season
- AF has set the program record for conference wins in a season (previous 14 - 2002)
- If AF finishes .500 or above in MW play, would mark the best MW winning percentage ever (.482, 2002). Best conference winning percentage ever is .500 twice (1982, 1989) while in the WAC
- The highest AF has finished in the MW standings was fourth in 2002
Saving the Best for Last
AF has had some late inning magic in 2021, with two walk off wins and five wins where the winning run was scored in the ninth inning or later. In fact, AF has out-scored its opponents by a 33-15 margin in the ninth inning or later.
Senior Job Assignments
Each year, the upcoming graduating class at the Air Force Academy receives their Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) which tells them what job they have been assigned to do when they graduate. The Class of 2021 have the following AFSCs
Cole Blatchford - Pilot Training
John Byrnes - Logistics
Luke Chilcutt - Operations Research Analyst
Christian Gambale - Pilot Training
Ben Hauser - Special Warfare, Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)
Joe Martinez III - Pilot Training
May 28-29 | Falcon Field
Falcons Conclude 2021 Regular Season vs. Fresno St.
The Air Force Academy baseball team wraps up the 2021 regular season with three games against Fresno State, Friday-Saturday, May 28-29, at Falcon Field. The DH on Friday will begin at noon MT, while the finale on Saturday has a 11 a.m. MT start time. The Senior Day ceremony on Saturday will begin at 10:30 a.m. MT.
Following Along At Home
All games will have a live stream on the MW Network, as well as live stats on AirForceStats.com. As always, fans can follow along on Twitter, @AF_Baseball.
Thank You Seniors!
Saturday marks the final home contest for the seven-man AF baseball senior class. The group of 2nd Lt. Cole Blatchford, 2nd Lt. John Byrnes, 2nd Lt. Luke Chilcutt, 2nd Lt. Christian Gambale, Tommy Gillman, 2nd Lt. Ben Hauser, and 2nd Lt. Joe Martinez III will be honored for their accomplishments both on and off the field in a pre-game ceremony.
Last Series In Review
The Falcons were swept in a three-game series against San Diego State at Falcon Field. The whole weekend was a slugfest, with scores of 17-3, 13-10, and 20-13.
Doubles Machines
Down the stretch of the season, AF has been smacking doubles left and right, especially in the last two games, with eight and a season-high nine in the final two games against SDSU. As such, AF is now third in the nation in total doubles with 117, and second in the country in doubles/game with 2.60.
Home Sweet Home
With AF at home for 16 of the final 19 games, it should come as no surprise that the AF bats have begun heating up in the friendly confines of Falcon Field. Since starting the home stretch on April 24, AF has raised its team batting average from .272 to .298. The Falcons have double-digit hits in nine of the 13 home games thus far, and the fewest hits they've had is seven.
Skenes the Super Freshman
Freshman Paul Skenes has simply been one of the best freshmen in both the MW and NCAA this season. While he ranks in the top-10 in the MW in nine offensive categories, the rookie also ranks in the top-30 in the nation in seven offensive categories, batting average (8th), doubles (8th), doubles/game (10th), hits (20th), hits/game (10th), slugging (19th), and total bases (26th). He is also 12th in the nation in saves with 10, which leads the MW.
Skenes has been extremely versatile for the Falcons this season, as he has made starts at catcher (17), first base (2), and DH (26). He has also made his 16 pitching appearances in games in which he started in the batting lineup. For his efforts, Skenes has been named to the Baseball America 2021 Freshman of the Year watchlist.
Historic Freshman Campaign for Skenes
When the season concludes, Paul Skenes will go down with one of the finest freshman seasons in Academy history. Skenes already owns the Freshman AF record in saves with 10, and is currently in the hunt for freshman records in home runs, hits, total bases, and doubles, while he will also be in the top-5 in batting average, slugging percentage, RBIs, and runs scored.
All-Time Success in the MW in 2021
This season, AF has made history since its first season of Mountain West Conference play back in 2000.
- AF has six-game and eight-game winning streaks over all MW opponents, the longest winning streaks over MW opponents in program history
- AF has swept three MW series for the first time in program history
- AF had tallied double-digit wins in MW play for the seventh-straight season
- AF has set the program record for conference wins in a season (previous 14 - 2002)
- If AF finishes .500 or above in MW play, would mark the best MW winning percentage ever (.482, 2002). Best conference winning percentage ever is .500 twice (1982, 1989) while in the WAC
- The highest AF has finished in the MW standings was fourth in 2002
Saving the Best for Last
AF has had some late inning magic in 2021, with two walk off wins and five wins where the winning run was scored in the ninth inning or later. In fact, AF has out-scored its opponents by a 33-15 margin in the ninth inning or later.
Senior Job Assignments
Each year, the upcoming graduating class at the Air Force Academy receives their Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) which tells them what job they have been assigned to do when they graduate. The Class of 2021 have the following AFSCs
Cole Blatchford - Pilot Training
John Byrnes - Logistics
Luke Chilcutt - Operations Research Analyst
Christian Gambale - Pilot Training
Ben Hauser - Special Warfare, Tactical Air Control Party (TACP)
Joe Martinez III - Pilot Training
Players Mentioned
IF/OF
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RHP
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RHP
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IF/OF
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IF/OF
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RHP
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LHP
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C/RHP
/ 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
