Falcons beat Lobos in extras in chaotic conference opener

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- Air Force, in its first game of Mountain West play, took down New Mexico in a wild affair, beating the Lobos 9-7 in 10 innings.

Sam Kulasingam extended his hitting streak to nine-consecutive games as a result of his 2-5 day. The junior drove home a run with a RBI single as part of a two-run Falcons 10th. Chase Spencer was also 2-5 with a run batted in, as he singled home a run in the 3rd.

Trayden Tamiya brought home the first two Air Force runs, as the New Mexico centerfielder lost a fly ball in the night sky. Tamiya was credited with a double, finishing the game with a pair of hits.

Jay Thomason connected on his team-leading sixth home run of the spring, a no-doubter that hooked around the right field foul pole. His two-run home run gave Air Force a 7-5 lead in the 9th. Thomason's six home runs currently lead the Mountain West Conference.

In his fourth start of the spring, Doyle Gehring battled for all 100 pitches. The junior lasted a season-high 6.0 innings, striking out nine batters to go with seven hits, four earned runs and two walks.

Sawyer Hawks entered in the 7th and allowed a pair of home runs, including a game-tying two-run shot in the bottom of the 9th. He was tagged for three runs on six hits over 2.1 innings.

Duke Benge was called upon to limit the damage in the 9th, doing so and more. The senior escaped the 9th and tossed a scoreless 10th en route to picking up his first win of the season.

With the game tied 5-5 in the top of the 9th, Thomason's two-run blast saw the Falcons take a late lead, though the Lobos answered with a two-run homer of their own, forcing the game into extra-innings.

Opening the 10th, Aerik Joe, Landon Boyd, and Blake Covin all singled to load the bases with nobody out. Matt Thompson rolled into a double play, but Joe came home to score as the Falcons retook an 8-7 lead. Kulasingam then brought home Boyd with a base-hit to cushion the visiting lead.

Benge allowed a one-out single in the final half inning, but induced a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to see the Falcons to victory.

Air Force and New Mexico resume their weekend series tomorrow at 6:00 pm MT.

Footer

The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the u.s air force of non-u.s. government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the u.s. air force may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for department of defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.