Air Force falls in series finale at Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.- After carrying a 6-4 lead, a three-run Minnesota 7th proved to be the difference in Air Force's 7-6 loss on Sunday.

Blake Covin, Braydon Altorfer, Aerik Joe, and Trayden Tamiya each had two hits, as Altorfer clubbed his fourth home run of the season in 4th. Gabriel Garcia was 1-2, as his first home run of 2022, a solo blast, opened the scoring in the 2nd.

Ryan Stohr made his third start of the season, but lasted just 2.2 innings after walking four of the 10 batters he faced. Kyle Moats, who entered in the 6th, was hit with the loss after allowing three runs in 0.2 innings of work.

After Garcia and Altorfer solo home runs, Air Force led 2-0 going into the bottom of the 4th. Minnesota tallied four runs between the 4th and 5th to retake a 4-2 lead, as Minnesota's Jack Kelly cranked a two-run homer to break the 2-2 score.

Air Force rallied in the 7th, as Joe's run-scoring infield single and a two-run double from Covin gave Air Force a 5-4 lead. Covin scored later in the inning on a wild pitch, as the Falcons owned a 6-4 lead going into bottom half of the inning.

However, Moats allowed a leadoff base hit to start the 7th, with the runner coming around to score two batters later following a RBI single. After an infield single and a throwing error put runners on second and third with one out, Doyle Gehring entered in an attempt to maintain the lead. The Gophers then retook the lead after a wild pitch and an error brought home two runs.

In the top of the 9th, a Tamiya double and an infield hit from pinch-hitter Matt Thompson put runners on first and second with one out. With the tying run in scoring position, Covin and Sam Kulasingam struck out to end the ballgame.

Still, after winning the first two games of the three-game series, the Falcons grabbed their first series win of the season.

Next, Air Force travels to Norman to play Oklahoma for a two-game midweek series starting on Tuesday, March 15. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 pm MT.

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