Friday, May 28
USAFA
12 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
9
vs
7
Fresno State
Photo by: Eric Strom
Falcons Clinch Best Conference Record in Program History in DH Sweep of Fresno State
5/28/2021 9:02:00 PM | Baseball
AF has locked up its first winning season since 2017
USAFA, Colo. – The Air Force Academy baseball team swept a doubleheader from Fresno State, 9-7 and 13-6, Friday evening, May 28, at Falcon Field. With the pair of victories, AF clinched both its first winning season since 2017, as well as its best conference winning percentage season in program history.
Junior Braydon Altorfer had a monster pair of games on offense, as he tallied eight hits, including five doubles and two home runs, to go along with nine RBIs. In game one, Altorfer hit the game-winning two-run home run in the eighth inning, while in game two, he had five hits, including four doubles and a grand slam, as part of a six-RBI game. It was the first four double game for a Falcon since Adam Groesbeck vs. UNLV, April 7, 2017.
Game One: Air Force 9, Fresno State 7
The hero in game one was Altorfer, as his two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth was the difference. He finished with three hits, including a double, as well as three RBIs and three runs.
Overall on offense, AF tallied 15 hits, with all but one player in the lineup registering a knock. Junior Cayden Zimmerman registered a career-high four knocks, all singles, as well as an RBI. Senior Tommy Gillman added a double, with a pair of RBIs as well.
On the mound, senior Luke Chilcutt earned his first win of the season and sixth of his career after tossing two scoreless innings late in the game. He only allowed one hit while striking out three. Freshman Paul Skenes came in for the ninth and tossed a 1-2-3 frame for his 11th save of the season, which ties the single-season record set by Keith Umlauf in 1995.
The Bulldogs leapt ahead early with a two-run home run in the first and three-run jack in the second to take a 5-0 lead early on. AF had a prime opportunity to plate a run in the bottom of the second, with the bases loaded and one out, but on a fly out to right, the runner on third was thrown out at home to keep it 5-0 into the third.
After a scoreless third, AF got the bats going in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double from Altorfer, sac fly from Gillman, and an RBI single from junior Alexander Pup to close the gap to 5-3 into the fifth. In the top half of the fifth, FS got a pair back on a two-out knock to make it 7-3 with four innings to play.
AF got one back in the bottom of the sixth on another sac fly, this one from senior Cole Blatchford, but nothing else was doing to keep it 7-4 into the seventh. Chilcutt entered and tossed a scoreless top half of the seventh, and AF got a pair more in the bottom half. Both runs were plated with two outs, the first run on an RBI double from Gillman, followed by an RBI single from Zimmerman to make it a one-run game with two innings to go.
Chilcutt tossed another scoreless frame in the top of the eighth and AF rallied in the bottom half with the three decisive runs. Junior Gabriel Garcia tied the game with an RBI single up the middle to make it 7-7. Two batters later, with a man on and two outs, Altorfer launched a two-run homer to deep left center to make it 9-7 into the ninth.
In the ninth, Skenes entered, and needed just five pitches to get three ground outs to lock up his 11th save and complete the come from behind victory.
Game Two: Air Force 13, Fresno State 6
In game two, AF tallied 15 more hits, led by the huge game from Altorfer. Behind him, freshman Sam Kulasingam had a two-hit, three-RBI game, while Gillman tallied a pair of knocks to get him over the 100-hit milestone as a Falcon.
On the mound, junior Rob Martin earned his fourth win after tossing the first five frames, and only allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five. In relief, sophomore Jake Sansing had the best outing of his AF career thus far, as he tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, only allowing two hits while striking out two. Senior Ben Hauser tossed the final frame, and did not allow a run with a K.
Game two started as a defensive dual, as both teams combined for just four hits over the first four frames. Martin went the first four without allowing a run, while striking out five Fresno batters.
The Bulldogs broke the ice in the top of the fifth with a pair of runs to make it 2-0 into the midway point. AF was able to respond right away though with a huge eight run bottom of the fifth.
The Falcons loaded up the bases with no outs, but two outs were recorded to make the rally look in doubt. However, an error allowed a runner to score and preserve the inning and AF took full advantage.
Skenes, the next batter, singled in a pair to get the Falcons the lead. After a walk, Kulasingam notched an infield single to make it 4-2, and then that was followed by a grand slam from Altorfer to blow the game open, 8-2, with four innings to play.
Fresno State did not relent in the top of the sixth, as they got four runs back to keep it a two-run game, 8-6, into the seventh. After a scoreless seventh, AF added five runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth on a two-RBI single from Kulasingam, two-RBI double from Altorfer, and an RBI single from Gillman to make it 13-6 into the last of the ninth. In the ninth, Hauser came on from the pen and worked around a couple baserunners to preserve the seven run victory.
The Falcons return to the diamond tomorrow for the regular season finale and Senior Day. First pitch from Falcon Field is set for 11 a.m. MT, with the senior ceremony taking place at 10:30 a.m. MT.
Junior Braydon Altorfer had a monster pair of games on offense, as he tallied eight hits, including five doubles and two home runs, to go along with nine RBIs. In game one, Altorfer hit the game-winning two-run home run in the eighth inning, while in game two, he had five hits, including four doubles and a grand slam, as part of a six-RBI game. It was the first four double game for a Falcon since Adam Groesbeck vs. UNLV, April 7, 2017.
Game One: Air Force 9, Fresno State 7
The hero in game one was Altorfer, as his two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth was the difference. He finished with three hits, including a double, as well as three RBIs and three runs.
Overall on offense, AF tallied 15 hits, with all but one player in the lineup registering a knock. Junior Cayden Zimmerman registered a career-high four knocks, all singles, as well as an RBI. Senior Tommy Gillman added a double, with a pair of RBIs as well.
On the mound, senior Luke Chilcutt earned his first win of the season and sixth of his career after tossing two scoreless innings late in the game. He only allowed one hit while striking out three. Freshman Paul Skenes came in for the ninth and tossed a 1-2-3 frame for his 11th save of the season, which ties the single-season record set by Keith Umlauf in 1995.
The Bulldogs leapt ahead early with a two-run home run in the first and three-run jack in the second to take a 5-0 lead early on. AF had a prime opportunity to plate a run in the bottom of the second, with the bases loaded and one out, but on a fly out to right, the runner on third was thrown out at home to keep it 5-0 into the third.
After a scoreless third, AF got the bats going in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double from Altorfer, sac fly from Gillman, and an RBI single from junior Alexander Pup to close the gap to 5-3 into the fifth. In the top half of the fifth, FS got a pair back on a two-out knock to make it 7-3 with four innings to play.
AF got one back in the bottom of the sixth on another sac fly, this one from senior Cole Blatchford, but nothing else was doing to keep it 7-4 into the seventh. Chilcutt entered and tossed a scoreless top half of the seventh, and AF got a pair more in the bottom half. Both runs were plated with two outs, the first run on an RBI double from Gillman, followed by an RBI single from Zimmerman to make it a one-run game with two innings to go.
Chilcutt tossed another scoreless frame in the top of the eighth and AF rallied in the bottom half with the three decisive runs. Junior Gabriel Garcia tied the game with an RBI single up the middle to make it 7-7. Two batters later, with a man on and two outs, Altorfer launched a two-run homer to deep left center to make it 9-7 into the ninth.
In the ninth, Skenes entered, and needed just five pitches to get three ground outs to lock up his 11th save and complete the come from behind victory.
Game Two: Air Force 13, Fresno State 6
In game two, AF tallied 15 more hits, led by the huge game from Altorfer. Behind him, freshman Sam Kulasingam had a two-hit, three-RBI game, while Gillman tallied a pair of knocks to get him over the 100-hit milestone as a Falcon.
On the mound, junior Rob Martin earned his fourth win after tossing the first five frames, and only allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five. In relief, sophomore Jake Sansing had the best outing of his AF career thus far, as he tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, only allowing two hits while striking out two. Senior Ben Hauser tossed the final frame, and did not allow a run with a K.
Game two started as a defensive dual, as both teams combined for just four hits over the first four frames. Martin went the first four without allowing a run, while striking out five Fresno batters.
The Bulldogs broke the ice in the top of the fifth with a pair of runs to make it 2-0 into the midway point. AF was able to respond right away though with a huge eight run bottom of the fifth.
The Falcons loaded up the bases with no outs, but two outs were recorded to make the rally look in doubt. However, an error allowed a runner to score and preserve the inning and AF took full advantage.
Skenes, the next batter, singled in a pair to get the Falcons the lead. After a walk, Kulasingam notched an infield single to make it 4-2, and then that was followed by a grand slam from Altorfer to blow the game open, 8-2, with four innings to play.
Fresno State did not relent in the top of the sixth, as they got four runs back to keep it a two-run game, 8-6, into the seventh. After a scoreless seventh, AF added five runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth on a two-RBI single from Kulasingam, two-RBI double from Altorfer, and an RBI single from Gillman to make it 13-6 into the last of the ninth. In the ninth, Hauser came on from the pen and worked around a couple baserunners to preserve the seven run victory.
The Falcons return to the diamond tomorrow for the regular season finale and Senior Day. First pitch from Falcon Field is set for 11 a.m. MT, with the senior ceremony taking place at 10:30 a.m. MT.
Players Mentioned
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IF/OF
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