Falcons to face top-seed Rebels to open MW Tournament

Schedule
ROUND ONE: vs. #1 UNLV, Thursday, May 26, 7 pm MT

Broadcast Information
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball

MW Tournament History
-Air Force enters the MW tournament for the first time since 2016 as the #4 seed.
-The Falcons are making their 12th MW championship.
-Air Force owns a 6-21 mark in the Conference postseason tournament.
-The Falcons took down UNLV 15-7 in the opening round of the tournmanent in 2016.
-Air Force and UNLV split the 2022 season series 3-3, with both teams sweeping their respective home series earlier this season.

Pitching Probables

RHP Paul Skenes (9-2, 2.65 ERA) vs. TBD

Air Force Projected Batting Order
1. 1B, So. Sam Kulasingam (S) (.412/.480/.681/11 HR/58 RBI)
2. CF, Jr. Blake Covin (L) (.280/.374/.395/4 HR/34 RBI)
3. RF, Sr. Gabriel Garcia (R) (.354/.430/.637/13 HR/61 RBI)
4. DH, So. Jake Greiving (L) (.321/.396/.545/8 HR/43 RBI)
5. C, Sr. Braydon Altorfer (R) (.282/.382/.520/10 HR/39 RBI)
6. 3B, So. Jay Thomason (L) (.335/.410/.610/14 HR/46 RBI)
7. 2B, Jr. Trayden Tamiya (R) (.263/.327/.400/4 HR/35 RBI)
8. SS, So. Aerik Joe (R) (.275/.367/.344/1 HR/23 RBI)
9. LF Cayden Zimmerman (R) (.205/.326/.359/1 HR/7 RBI

Last Series vs. New Mexico

GAME ONE
-The Falcons scored in eight of nine innings while producing 29 hits in Thursday's 25-6 win.
-Sam Kulasingam finished 4-7 with 4 RBI, falling a double short of the cycle. Kulasingam slugged his 10th home run of the season to close a six-run 5th for Air Force. The sophomore also drove in a run with a triple an inning later.
-Kulasingam now has 95 hits this season, tying Bradley Haslam (2016) for the most hits in a single season in program history. His 156 total bases is 4th-most all-time, as Mark Frankenberg's 162 total bases in 1988 remains the program record.
-Gabriel Garcia also had four hits, including a home run and a double. Garcia lined his 12th home run of the season in the 1st to give the Falcons an initial 1-0 lead. Jay Thomason left the yard in the 5th as part of a 3-4 day. His 15th home run of the season was a three-run blast, as his no-doubter extended the Air Force lead to 11-1.
-Blake Covin launched the fourth Falcons dinger of the evening in the 6th, his third homer of the spring. The Air Force center fielder managed a season-high 4 RBI to go with his three hits.
-Air Force's 78 home runs this season stands as a new program record.
-Cayden Zimmerman, Trayden Tamiya and Aerik Joe each had three hits as well, as all 13 players to record an at-bat produced a hit for the Falcons. The Falcons 29 hits on Thursday becomes the fourth-most hits in a single game in program history, and the most ever in a Mountain West Conference matchup. Air Force's 25 runs scored is also a program record in regards to Mountain West play.
-Thursday's victory is the largest winning margin (19 runs) in a conference game for Air Force since joining the Mountain West.
-Paul Skenes won his ninth game of the spring, allowing just one run over five innings. Skenes surrendered a solo home run in the 1st, but allowed just three hits over his next four scoreless innings. With Air Force leading 18-1 entering the bottom of the 6th, Skenes was relieved by Duke Benge, who tossed a scoreless inning.
-Skenes' nine wins ties him for second-most wins in a single season in program history.

GAME TWO
-Holding a 12-6 lead entering the final inning, Air Force saw New Mexico score seven times in the 9th resulting in Friday's 13-12 loss.
-Sam Kulasingam needed just one hit to surpass Bradley Haslam as the record-holder for total hits in a single season, and the sophomore did so in the 4th, launching a solo home run to encompass his 1-6 day. Now with 96 hits this season, Kulasingam will have the chance to pad his place in the record books for as long as Air Force's schedule may last.
-Gabriel Garcia led all Falcons in hits on Friday, going 4-5 with a RBI. His lone run batted in came via a solo home run in the 9th to give the Falcons a 12-6 lead. Garcia also doubled while scoring four runs.
-Paul Skenes managed a pair of home runs as part of a 3-5 night, driving in a team-high four runs. Friday marks Skenes' third multi-homer game of the spring.
-Jay Thomason remains a tough out, as the Air Force third baseman ended his evening 3-5 with a double, while Jake Greiving drove in three runs as part of a 2-3 night at the plate.
-Starter Doyle Gehring didn't have his best command, lasting just 1.2 innings while surrendering seven hits and five runs. Rob Martin entered in the 2nd and was brilliant for much of his 6.2 innings in relief. Martin didn't allow a run until the 8th, a solo home run to cut the Falcons advantage to 11-6.

GAME THREE
-Last night's crushing 13-12 loss could have taken all of the steam out of the Falcons engine. For most dugouts, the lingering effect of the kind of defeat Air Force suffered the night before would certainly have taken its toll. But these Falcons put Friday night in the rearview mirror. Now, they're staring at San Diego through the windshield.
-Freshman Dylan Rogers gave Air Force eight scoreless innings while the lineup took care of its usual business in today's 10-0 win, securing a berth in next week's Mountain West Tournament.
-"After such a disappointing and heartbreaking loss last night and with our backs against the wall, we needed strong pitching performance," said head coach Mike Kazlausky. "And we sure did get one from Dylan Rogers."
-Rogers was spectacular en route to picking up his first collegiate win. The C4C didn't allow a run over a career-high eight innings, striking out five. Rogers' eight innings of work is tied for the longest start by a Falcons pitcher this season.
-"He was unbelievable," said Coach Kaz. "And with all the pressure on him to deliver, he did just that."
-Rogers' battery mate, Paul Skenes, was a force at the plate. The sophomore finished 4-6 with three doubles, scoring twice. Braydon Altorfer started the scoring for the Falcons with a solo home run in the 2nd, a prelude to his 3-6 afternoon.
-Trayden Tamiya maintained his power stroke, slugging three extra-base hits. The Falcons second baseman managed two doubles and a triple with 3 RBI. Jay Thomason and Aerik Joe were both 2-4 with a RBI each.
-Following Rogers eight scoreless innings, Ryan Stohr entered in the 9th and retired all three batters he faced.

Skenes, Rogers grab final MW weekly awards
-Following the final regular season series at New Mexico, Paul Skenes was named the Mountain West Player of the Week, while Dylan Rogers was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week.
-Skenes batted .636 with seven hits, including four doubles and two home runs, four RBIs and five runs scored.
-Posted a 1.545 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage.
-Recorded a multi-hit effort in two games.
-Rogers pitched a career-high eight scoreless innings in a 10-0 win at New Mexico, helping Air Force clinch the final spot in the MW championship.
-He struck out five batters and allowed seven hits.

The Boys are Mashing
-With a team .316 batting average, Air Force ranks 8th among 293 Division I programs.
-With 628 hits in 2022, the Falcons rank 5th nationally in the category.
-Air Force's 469 runs scored is 14th among Division I programs.
-With 84 home runs, the Falcons are 25th in Division I in the category, and have set a new team record for home runs in a single season.
-The Falcons lead the country in doubles per game, averaging 2.56.

Friday Night Might
-After transitioning from the bullpen to the Friday starting slot, Paul Skenes has stayed true to form.
-Skenes' owns a 9.8 K/9 to lead the Falcons.
-Skenes' 82 total strikeouts is 3rd in the MW.
-The sophomore's .226 opponent BA leads the conference.
-Skenes leads all Air Force pitchers with 74.2 IP.
-Righties are hitting only .214 off of Skenes, with lefties owning a .247 BA.
-Skenes' 1.30 GO/FO rate is 3rd among AF pitchers.
-Skenes' 2.65 ERA is 2nd among MW starters.
-Air Force is 11-2 in game started by Skenes.

Oh...He Hits Too
-Skenes has managed a .406 BA (28-69) over his last 17 games.
-Of his 28 hits, 16 are extra-base hits (8 HR's, 6 2B's).
-Has reached base in his last 17 of his last 18 games.
-His 1.095 OPS is 4th-highest in the MW.

Sammy K, Hitting Machine
-Kulasingam's .412 average leads qualifying hitters on Air Force, as do his 98 hits.
-Became the all-time single season leader in hits in program history on May 20, breaking Bradley Haslman's record of 96 hits set in 2016.
-He leads all players in the MW in batting average (.412).
-His batting average ranks him 3rd among all DI hitters.
-Kulasingam's 98 hits is tied for most in Division I with UNLV's Rylan Charles.
-He is one of only 14 players in the country with at least 23 doubles.
-The sophomore has reached base in 51 of 54 games in 2022.
-Kulasingam's 1.161 OPS is 2nd in the MW.
-Kulasingam leads AF in total bases (162), and is currently tied for most total bases in a single season with Mark Frankenberg (1988).
-Kulasingam is hitting .394 vs. righties and .456 vs. lefties.
-Kulasingam is hitting .441 with two outs, and .435 with runners in scoring position.
-Kulasingam leads the Falcons with 28 multi-hit games.
-The sophomore leads Air Force with 17 multi-RBI games as well.
-Owns the longest hit streak (19) and on-base streak (31) among Falcons this season.
-Is one of only four players to start all 54 games for Air Force.

A Prototypical Three-Hole Guy
-In Gabe Garcia's first nine games, the senior hit just .167 (5-30) with one XBH.
-Over Garcia's last 45 games, he has exploded, hitting .388 (75-193) with 35 XBH's.
-That stretch includes 18 multi-hit games.
-Garcia is in the top-ten among MW players in hits (80, 8th), OPS (1.067, 9th), RBI (61, 4th), 2B's (19, 6th), and HR's (13, 6th).
-Garcia has driven in 60 of his 61 RBI over the last 45 games, leading the team in RBI.
-Garcia is 2nd on AF in total bases (144).
-Has produced 20 multi-hit games.
-Is one of only four players to start all 54 games for Air Force.

He Goes by "BOMB-ason" Now
-Jay Thomason enters Thursday tied for 2nd in the Mountain West in home runs (15).
-As a result, Thomason is 7th in the MW in slugging (.638) and 10th in the conference in OPS (1.067).
-With 46 RBI, Thomason is 3rd among Falcons in the category.
-Thomason is second behind Kulasingam for the team lead with 20 multi-hit games.

He Makes Pitchers Greive
-Sophomore Jake Greiving has boosted the Air Force lineup in his 50 games..
-Greiving's .537 SLG% is 5th among Falcon hitters.
-His 94 total bases is 5th-most on the team.
-Greiving's .421 OBP is 4th among qualified AF hitters.
-His .320 BA is 4th among AF hitters.

Alt and Catch Fire
-After owning a .211 batting average as of April 14, Braydon Altorfer has found a jolt over the past 21 games.
-Altorfer's batting average has been elevated to .285, going 32-84 (.381) in the last 18 games.
-In his last 84 at-bats, Altorfer has managed 12 doubles and 7 home runs with 25 RBI.

Falcons to face top-seed Rebels to open MW Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Braydon Altorfer

Duke Benge

Blake Covin

Gabriel Garcia

Doyle Gehring

Jake Greiving

Aerik Joe

Sam Kulasingam

Rob Martin

Dylan Rogers

Paul Skenes

Ryan Stohr

Trayden Tamiya

Jay Thomason

Cayden Zimmerman

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