Saturday, March 12
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Photo by: Eric Strom
Air Force works counts, beats Minnesota 15-6
3/12/2022 5:22:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.- Air Force drew 13 walks against Minnesota pitching, as the constant traffic on the bases guided the Falcons to a 15-6 win.
Air Force scored in each of the first three innings, though a massive eight-run 5th put the game out of reach.
"Our cadets came out and ready to play in all facets of the game," said head coach Mike Kazlausky. "We capitalized on Minnesota's mistakes."
Blake Covin, Sam Kulasingam, and Braydon Altorfer each managed two hits and combined to drive in nine of Air Force's 15 runs. Kulasingam has at least one hit in all 12 games this season, while Covin, who also walked four times in six plate appearances, is hitting .500 in his last 16 at-bats.
Rob Martin, picking up his first win of 2022, was pulled after seeing his team give him a 14-1 lead going into the bottom of the 5th. The senior was solid through four innings, allowing ust one run on three hits and four strikeouts.
A Minnesota grand slam in the 5th cut the Air Force lead to 14-5 going into the 6th, but the bullpen trio of Kyle Moats, Jason Shuger, and Jimmy Hebenstreit allowed just one run over the final three innings. Moats bridged the 6th and 7th, retiring all six batters he faced including three strikeouts.
Air Force opened the scoring in the 1st, as Kulasingam scored on a wild pitch. A three-run 2nd inning started with a Kulasingam RBI single, before Jake Greiving drove in two with loud double into the right-center gap.
Covin's 3rd inning line drive single over the shortstop scored two more runs, as the Falcons were quickly out to a 6-0 advantage.
Minnesota answered with a RBI double in the 4th, but the Falcons countered the next half inning.
Aerik Joe started the 5th getting hit with the first pitch of the frame. Trayden Tamiya was walked, while another Jason Booker was on the receiving end of another plunking. Suddenly, Air Force had loaded the bases with no outs. The next two batters, Covin and Kulasingam, each produced run-scoring walks, giving the Falcons a 8-1 lead.
After Greiving popped up for the first out of the inning, Gabriel Garcia banged a double off the right field wall to score Covin and Booker, boosting the Air Force lead to 10-1.
After a pitching change, Altorfer greeted the new Gopher pitcher with a hard single up the middle, driving home two more. After Jay Thomason lined out to left field, Joe, pinch-hitter Chase Spencer, Booker, and Covin all reached, with Booker and Covin walking home two additional runs.
Air Force led 14-1 going into the bottom of the 5th.
After a Minnesota grand slam in their half of the 5th, the score remained 14-5 into the 8th. Altorfer's second hit of the day came with the bases loaded, as the senior beat out a bases loaded infield single to put the Falcons up 15-5.
The Gophers pushed across a run in the bottom of the 9th, though it was far little too late.
With a series win already in tow, the Falcons will go for the series sweep on Sunday, March 13. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 am MT.
Air Force scored in each of the first three innings, though a massive eight-run 5th put the game out of reach.
"Our cadets came out and ready to play in all facets of the game," said head coach Mike Kazlausky. "We capitalized on Minnesota's mistakes."
Blake Covin, Sam Kulasingam, and Braydon Altorfer each managed two hits and combined to drive in nine of Air Force's 15 runs. Kulasingam has at least one hit in all 12 games this season, while Covin, who also walked four times in six plate appearances, is hitting .500 in his last 16 at-bats.
Rob Martin, picking up his first win of 2022, was pulled after seeing his team give him a 14-1 lead going into the bottom of the 5th. The senior was solid through four innings, allowing ust one run on three hits and four strikeouts.
A Minnesota grand slam in the 5th cut the Air Force lead to 14-5 going into the 6th, but the bullpen trio of Kyle Moats, Jason Shuger, and Jimmy Hebenstreit allowed just one run over the final three innings. Moats bridged the 6th and 7th, retiring all six batters he faced including three strikeouts.
Air Force opened the scoring in the 1st, as Kulasingam scored on a wild pitch. A three-run 2nd inning started with a Kulasingam RBI single, before Jake Greiving drove in two with loud double into the right-center gap.
Covin's 3rd inning line drive single over the shortstop scored two more runs, as the Falcons were quickly out to a 6-0 advantage.
Minnesota answered with a RBI double in the 4th, but the Falcons countered the next half inning.
Aerik Joe started the 5th getting hit with the first pitch of the frame. Trayden Tamiya was walked, while another Jason Booker was on the receiving end of another plunking. Suddenly, Air Force had loaded the bases with no outs. The next two batters, Covin and Kulasingam, each produced run-scoring walks, giving the Falcons a 8-1 lead.
After Greiving popped up for the first out of the inning, Gabriel Garcia banged a double off the right field wall to score Covin and Booker, boosting the Air Force lead to 10-1.
After a pitching change, Altorfer greeted the new Gopher pitcher with a hard single up the middle, driving home two more. After Jay Thomason lined out to left field, Joe, pinch-hitter Chase Spencer, Booker, and Covin all reached, with Booker and Covin walking home two additional runs.
Air Force led 14-1 going into the bottom of the 5th.
After a Minnesota grand slam in their half of the 5th, the score remained 14-5 into the 8th. Altorfer's second hit of the day came with the bases loaded, as the senior beat out a bases loaded infield single to put the Falcons up 15-5.
The Gophers pushed across a run in the bottom of the 9th, though it was far little too late.
With a series win already in tow, the Falcons will go for the series sweep on Sunday, March 13. First pitch is scheduled for 11:00 am MT.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Martin, Rob (1-0)
L: Massey, J.P. (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Greiving, Jake 1 ; Garcia, Gabriel 1
RBI: Covin, Blake 4 ; Kulasingam, Sam 2 ; Greiving, Jake 2 ; Garcia, Gabriel 2 ; Altorfer, Braydon 3 ; Booker, Jason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Covin, Blake 3 ; Kulasingam, Sam 2 ; Garcia, Gabriel 1 ; Altorfer, Braydon 1 ; Thomason, Jay 1 ; Joe, Aerik 4 ; Tamiya, Trayden 1 ; Booker, Jason 2
SB: Covin, Blake 1 ; Kulasingam, Sam 1 ; Thomason, Jay 1 ; Joe, Aerik 1
HBP: Garcia, Gabriel 1 ; Thomason, Jay 1 ; Joe, Aerik 2 ; Booker, Jason 1
Batting:
2B: Sweeny, Ronald 1
HR: Kelly, Jack 1
RBI: Kelly, Jack 4 ; Sweeny, Ronald 1 ; Berghammer, Noah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bateman, Brett 1 ; Stanke, Chase 1 ; Kelly, Jack 2 ; Stahl, Drew 1 ; Perry, Jake 1
SB: Stahl, Drew 1
HBP: Wilhite, Andrew 1 ; Kelly, Jack 1 ; Sweeny, Ronald 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
3
H
2
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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OF
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IF
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LHP
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RHP
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IF/RHP
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