Falcons battle Sooners, come up short in 8-6 loss

NORMAN, Okla.- The Falcons and the Sooners created quite the atmosphere at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Monday. Even so, a Sooners two-out, two-run double in the 8th inning sealed the Falcons fate, as Air Force lost the final game of its opening weekend by a score of 8-6.

Chris Stallings and Jake Greiving managed two hits each, with Stallings wrapping his first-career home run around the left field foul pole to give the Falcons a lead in the 5th. Greiving and Stallings tallied a team-high two runs scored.

Jay Thomason hit his second home run of the season in the 3rd, a two-run blast clocked at 107 mph to trim a then-Sooners lead to 4-3.

Trayden Tamiya plated the first Air Force run in the 2nd, doubling down the left field line.

Eight of the Falcons nine players in today's lineup managed at least one hit.

Kyle Moats threw a career-high 5.0 innings in an intimidating environment, though he kept Air Force in the game the entirety of his outing. The junior was charged with six runs on nine hits, while surrendering four walks with two strikeouts.

Duke Benge made what was already his third appearance of the season, posting two shutout innings.

Zach Peters was credited with the loss, though pitched much better than the box score would interpret. The sophomore allowed three hits and two runs with two strikeouts in his lone inning.

A back-and-forth ballgame, Oklahoma struck first, as a two-run double in the opening inning saw the Sooners go up 2-0. Tamiya's double in the next half inning cut into the Oklahoma lead, though the home team added two more runs in their half of the 2nd to regain a two-run advantage.

After a Greiving double, Thomason's long ball in the 3rd put Air Force right back in the game, cutting the Oklahoma lead to 4-3.

In the 4th, Air Force created an early scoring opportunity, though the Falcons fell victim to one of college baseball's new pace-of-play rules. With Aerik Joe and Tamiya in scoring position with two outs, Sam Kulasingam stepped to the plate. In an 0-2 count, Kulasingam was called out, as he was not ready in the batter's box within the designated time. He was handed a strike, ending the inning.

Head coach Mike Kazlausky was eventually ejected following the umpire's ruling.

The Falcons exploded in the 5th, as a Chase Spencer two-bagger down the left field line tied the game at 4-4. Spencer was eventually brought home by Stallings, as his two-run homer gave Air Force its first lead of the day at 6-4.

Though the Sooners were the only side to score over the next three innings, the Falcons managed only one hit beyond the 5th inning.

Next, Air Force will travel to Kinston, North Carolina to face-off with Navy at the Freedom Classic, starting Friday, February 24.

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