Martin shines out of the 'pen, Falcons claim series with 8-4 win

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- The Falcons slugged two home runs on Saturday while Rob Martin piggybacked a solid start from Doyle Gehring, as Air Force took Game Two by a score of 8-4.

Braydon Altorfer and Sam Kulasingam each knocked home runs, with Trayden Tamiya coming a long ball short of a cycle as part of a 3-4 day.

Kulasingam was 2-3, as his solo blast in the 5th broke a 3-3 tie. Kulasingam now has 88 hits on the season, needing just eight hits to break Bradley Haslam's all-time record of 95 hits in a single season. Altorfer's two-run homer in the 8th gave the Falcons a pair of insurance runs, extending the Air Force advantage to 8-4 going into the final inning.

Tamiya led all players with a game-high three hits, driving in a run and scoring a run as well.

Doyle Gehring gave Air Force a strong performance through 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on five hits, three walks and four strikeouts. After seeing a two-run home run leave the yard in the 1st, Gehring allowed just one run over his next 3.2 innings, with all four of strikeouts taking place after the opening frame.

On Senior Weekend, Rob Martin delivered one of his finest outings out of the bullpen. Martin, who entered in the 5th, allowed just one run over the game's concluding 4.1 innings, giving up two hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts.

The C1C saw a run cross in the 6th, but Martin retired the Spartans in order in the 7th and 8th, while working around a one-out triple in the 9th secure the Air Force victory.

San Jose State kick-started the scoring in the 1st when Charles McAdoo lifted a two-run home run, though Air Force wasn't far behind. In the 2nd, Paul Skenes led off the inning with a double, and advanced to third one pitch later as the result of a wild pitch. Jake Greiving managed a productive out, sending a ground ball towards second base to score Skenes, cutting the lead to 2-1.

In the 3rd, Tamiya lined a triple into the left-center field gap, and was brought home by Aerik Joe who singled into left field one batter later. After Kulasingam was hit by a pitch, Blake Covin laid down a perfect sac bunt to put Joe and Kulasingam into scoring position. Gabriel Garcia brought home Joe with a 5-3 ground out to put Air Force on top 3-2.

The Spartans tied the score in the 5th, as a leadoff double would eventually come around to score. However, Kulasingam's solo home run in the bottom half of the inning saw the Falcons immediately retake a 4-3 lead.

In the 6th, Martin saw a walk and double lead to the tying run scoring after a ground out, but the Falcons again wasted no time in their counter. After Skenes and Greiving singled to open the 6th, Air Force quickly opened the inning with runners on the corners. One batter later, a passed ball ushered Skenes home to tie the ballgame.

Later in the inning, with two outs, Tamiya ripped a double down the left field line to bring home Greiving and extend the Falcons lead to 6-4.

In the 8th, Greiving led off the inning with a walk, bringing up Altorfer. The senior backstop swatted a 1-2 slider over the left field fence to double the Air Force lead to 8-4.

The final inning saw Martin allow a one-out triple, but the senior induced a strikeout and a ground out to end the ballgame.

Following Fresno State's 9-8 loss on Friday night, Air Force is now a half game ahead of the Bulldogs for the final seed of the Mountain West Tournament.

On Sunday, May 15, Air Force will honor its eight-man senior class roughly 20 minutes prior to a 12 pm MT first-pitch.

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