Air Force falls 14-12 in Game Two to Fresno State

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- A six-run Bulldogs 3rd catapulted the visitors in front, a lead that was never relinquished in Air Force's 14-12 loss on Saturday.

Jay Thomason managed a team high four hits in five at-bats, driving in a run and scoring twice. Thomason's OPS now sits at 1.146 in 37 games, and has at least three hits over his last three games.

Sam Kulasingam extended his on-base streak to 25-consecutive games after a 3-6 day. Kulasingam, who managed a double and a RBI as well, has now reached base in 36 of 38 games in 2022. Paul Skenes was 2-6 with a team-high 3 RBI, as the sophomore rocketed his 7th home run of the season as part of a five-run Falcons 2nd inning.

Blake Covin, Jake Greiving, and Braydon Altorfer each recorded two hits as well. Gabriel Garcia was 0-4 with a pair of walks, snapping his 19-game hitting streak.

Starter Jake Sansing was credited with the loss after exiting in the 3rd. Sansing lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing nine runs on nine hits, three walks, four strikeouts and a hit batter. Stevan Fairburn Jr. was the lone Air Force pitcher to now allow a run, as the senior entered in the 8th and tossed 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts.

Fresno State jumped out to an initial 2-0 lead after a two-run home run in the 1st, but Air Force wasted no-time in getting its own offense going. Run-scoring doubles from Greiving, Altorfer, and Trayden Tamiya, as well as a RBI single by Thomason were all part of a five-run opening inning from the Falcons.

Leading 5-2 going into the 2nd, Air Force saw Fresno State add another run with a RBI double, but Skenes' two-run shot in the Falcons half of the inning put the home side up 7-3 after three innings.

However, the Bulldogs struck for six runs in the 3rd and three more in the 4th, putting Air Force down 12-7 heading into the bottom of the 5th. In the home half of the 5th, Covin trimmed the lead with a RBI single, while Greiving saw a pop up caught by the second baseman turn into a sac fly, softening the deficit to 12-9.

The scoring stalled until the 8th when Fresno State tacked on two more runs, as Air Force trailed 14-9 with just six outs to work with. A Kulasingam RBI double in the 8th trimmed the lead to 14-10 going into the final inning.

After Fairburn worked a 1-2-3 9th, the Falcons opened the final frame with three-consecutive batters reaching base. With the bases loaded, RBI ground outs from Tamiya and Aerik Joe cut the lead to 14-12. With Kulasingam up and representing the tying run with Altorfer at third, the Air Force first baseman rolled over a ground ball to first base to end the ballgame.

Game Three between Air Force and Fresno State will take place Sunday, April 24, with first-pitch scheduled for 10:30 am MT.

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