Falcons beat Army, Ball State on busy Saturday

CHARLESTON, S.C.- After a season-opening loss to Iowa on Friday, Air Force rebounded to triumph in both games at Shipyard Park this afternoon, first defeating Ball State 9-0 before closing out rival Army in a 4-3 nail-biter.

Seungmin Shim effectively attacked the strike zone for the Falcons in his start against the Cardinals, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing only two hits. He threw just 71 pitches to record 18 outs.

Freshman Chase Spencer provided all of the offense for Air Force in its win over Army, as his 6th inning grand slam helped to stave off the Black Knights.

GAME ONE (Air Force 9, Ball State 0)
Seungmin Shim earned his first-career win in his collegiate debut, as the Falcons cruised to a 9-0 win over Ball State.

Shim retired the side in order in three of his six innings, and didn't allow a baserunner to cross second base. Sawyer Hawks provided three clean innings of relief, striking out four and scattering a pair of hits in his first Air Force appearance.

Braydon Altorfer provided early offense for the Falcons, driving in Sam Kulasingam in the 1st inning with a sacrifice fly. Matt Thompson and Paul Skenes home runs in the 2nd added further cushion, as the Falcons led 5-0 after two innings. Thompson's solo shot was the first home run of his career, while Skenes' three-run blast became his second in two games.

Jay Thomason reignited the scoring in the 5th, as his RBI double drove in Gabriel Garcia. Air Force grabbed two more runs in the 7th after a Ball State error allowed both Thompson and Thomason to score.

Skenes picked up his fourth RBI of the day in the 8th, a double down the left field line to drive in Kulasingam.

Chase Spencer added a pair of hits as well, the first and second of his Air Force career.

The win becomes the first-ever over Ball State, with Saturday marking the only meeting between the two schools.

GAME TWO (Air Force 4, Army 3)
Air Force managed only five hits, but freshman Chase Spencer's 6th inning grand slam proved to be just enough for the Falcons, who sang second after beating Army 4-3.

Rob Martin didn't allow an earned run over his first four innings of the 2022 season in spite of four walks. Even so, the senior struck out eight of the 18 batters he faced while allowing only a 1st inning single.

The Air Force offense was limited to three singles through five innings before the tide turned. Kulasingam drew a leadoff walk to start the 6th before a hit by pitch and a walk loaded the bases for Air Force.

Spencer, with two outs in a 1-1 count, hit his first career home run over the right-center field fence, a grand slam to give Air Force its first lead of the evening at 4-1. The Black Knights countered in their half of the inning to trim the lead to 4-2.

After Army sprayed a pair of singles and dropped a sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position, Doyle Gehring closed the lid on a potential Army rally in the 7th. Gehring saw a run score following a groundout, but he put a halt to any more damage with an inning-ending strikeout.

Gehring worked out of his own jam in the 8th, retiring the side after the first two Army batters reached base. A one-out single in the 9th was all Army could muster in its final gasp, as Gehring closed the door with a game-ending strikeout to cap a 2.2-inning save.

Next, Air Force closes the Swig & Swine Classic with a Sunday afternoon matchup with Richmond tomorrow at 11:00 am MT.

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