Skenes, Altorfer power Falcons past Rebels in 5-2 win

SAN DIEGO, Calif.- Led by battery mates Paul Skenes and Braydon Altorfer, #4 seed Air Force took down top-seed UNLV in the Falcons opening game of the Mountain West Tournament, beating the Rebels 5-2.

Skenes, who named the Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year on Thursday, was outstanding in his first postseason start for Air Force, tossing seven scoreless innings while striking out 10 to tie his career-high. The sophomore allowed just two hits with three of his four walks taking place in the bottom of the 4th, where Skenes stranded the bases-loaded jam.

Skenes has been massively important for Air Force all season, but especially towards the latter end of the schedule, posting a 0.90 ERA over his last three starts. WIth 10 wins this season, Skenes is now only the second pitcher in Air Force history to win 10 games in a single season, joining Dave Lyons (1994).

Altorfer drove in four of Air Force's five runs as part of a 2-4 evening. The senior backstop launched his 12th home run of the spring in the 4th, a no-doubter to left field to give the Falcons a 4-0 lead at that juncture. Altorfer also drove in a run in the 1st with a RBI groundout before singling to left field in the 5th to plate Blake Covin.

Sam Kulasingam, the Mountain West Player of the Year, was 2-4 with a walk. Following his single in the 9th, Kulasingam becomes the first hitter in Air Force history to record 100 hits in a single season. Now with 164 total bases in 2022, Kulasingam becomes the all-time leader in the statistic in program history.

Jake Greiving was 2-4 out of the cleanup spot, and drove in Air Force's first run of the game with a double in the 1st. Altorfer's RBI grounder to shortstop one batter later padded the lead to 2-0 before Skenes took the mound.

Altorfer's home run in the top of the 4th extended the Falcons lead to 4-0.

The big righty started off strong, retiring nine of the first 10 batters he faced before running into a bit of trouble in the 4th. After beginning the inning with a pair of outs, Skenes awarded free passes to the next three batters, loading the bases with two outs. With the tying run at the plate, Skenes induced a ground out to shortstop Aerik Joe to keep the Rebels off the board.

After retiring the side in order in the 5th, Skenes again worked his way out of a potential run-scoring situation in the 6th, scattering an error. In his final inning, Skenes worked around a leadoff single before ending the inning with his 10th strikout.

Rob Martin entered in the 8th, and shook off a full-count hit-by-pitch to the leadoff hitter to retire the next three batters. After allowing the first two batters in the 9th to reach base, Martin was replaced by Zach Argo.

The senior reliever inherited runners on first and second, and saw an error allow the first Rebel run to score. Now 5-1, Argo picked up a strikeout and foul out before allowing a walk to load the bases.

After the walk, the Rebels squeaked a single through the left side to adjust the score to 5-2. With the bases still loaded and the winning run at the plate, Argo was able to force a fly out to Cayden Zimmerman to wrap up the ballgame.

Following Thursday's win, the Falcons slide into the winner's bracket of the tournament, and are scheduled to face #3 San Jose State on Friday, May 27 with first-pitch slated for 7:00 pm MT.

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