Gehring punches out 13 Spartans, guides Falcons to MW Championship Game

SAN DIEGO, Calif.- Sophomore Doyle Gehring notched a career-best 13 strikeouts to just four hits over 7.1 innings, as #4 Air Force bested #3 San Jose State 7-3 to advance to the Mountain West Championship.

Gehring didn't allow a run over his 7.1 innings, as his 13 strikeouts becomes a season-high for any Falcons pitcher in 2022. His 13 strikeouts is the most by a Falcons pitcher since Cam White, who punched out 14 Jackrabbits against South Dakota State in 2014. Gehring becomes one of only nine pitchers in program history to record at least 13 strikeouts in a single game.

Jay Thomason had a game-high three hits in five at-bats, including a solo blast over the right field fence to leadoff the 4th. The sophomore also drove in a run in the 5th with a RBI single. Now with 16 home runs, Thomason becomes one of only eight Falcons to hit at least 16 home runs in a single season.

Gabriel Garcia was 2-5, as the senior lined his 14th home run of the spring in the 5th. Cayden Zimmerman entered as a defensive replacement in the 7th and clubbed his second home run of the season in the 9th. Blake Covin and Trayden Tamiya each managed RBI base hits as well.

Speaking of Covin, the junior produced the first run of the game in the 3rd, dropping down a picturesque bunt with runners at the corners to score Aerik Joe, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Following solo home runs by Thomason and Garcia, Air Force led 3-0 after five innings.

The Falcons continued to tack on, as Tamiya's RBI single, a run-scoring wild pitch, and Zimmerman's home run saw the Falcons lead 7-0 going into the final inning. After Ryan Stohr relieved Gehring after 7.1 innings, the junior picked up a strikeout and a fly out to send Air Force into the 9th with a seven-run lead.

After a single and three walks, Stohr was relieved by CJ Dornak, who was handed a bases-loaded situation with one out. Dornak saw a tough-luck single score a run, but the senior buckled down, creating a fly out and a pop-up to end the ballgame.

With the win, Air Force advances into the Mountain West Championship for the first time since 2000. The Falcons will have to await the result of Saturday's afternoon ballgame to determine their evening opponent, as #2 Nevada and #3 San Jose State will square off in an elimination game at 2:30 pm MT. Air Force will play the winner of the that game at 7:00 pm MT.

A win on Saturday, May 28 would qualify the Falcons for a NCAA Regional appearance for the first time since 1969.

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