Sunday, March 5
Charleston, SC
11:00 am MT
Air Force Academy
6
at
7
Charleston Southern University
In thriller, Falcons lose 7-6 in extras
3/5/2023 3:57:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C.- Air Force managed to come back from two runs down in the 9th inning, as well as take the lead in extra-innings, but the Falcons were unable to keep the Buccaneers at bay in Sunday's 7-6 loss.
Jay Thomason was the lone Falcon with multiple hits, including a game-tying, two-run double with two outs in the 9th. Thomason reached base in four of six plate appearances after getting plunked in his first two trips to the plate.
Freshmen T.J. Oster and Jack Bello provided clutch RBI hits in their only at-bats. Oster drove home Thomason in the 9th to give Air Force a 5-4 lead, while Bello came off the bench in the 10th, sending a run-scoring base-hit to send the Falcons in front 6-5 in the 10th.
Aerik Joe was 1-3 with two walks, as his RBI single in the 6th tied the game at 2-2.
Trayden Tamiya was 0-4, but managed an RBI groundout in the 2nd to score the first Air Force run of the afternoon.
The Falcons struck out a season-high 16 times on Sunday, and are now hitless in 17 at-bats with the bases-loaded. Air Force left 14 men on base, a season-high as well.
Seungmin Shim was solid yet again, allowing just one earned run over his 5.0 innings of work. The junior forced Charleston Southern into a lot of soft contact, as 12 of his 15 outs were ground ball outs.
Sawyer Hawks wasn't as crisp as he was on Friday when he tossed two shutout innings against the Buccaneers. Hawks pitched 2.0 innings, allowing two hits and two walks with two punchouts. The sophomore surrendered a solo home run to break the tie in the 7th.
Zach Peters was credited with the loss after pitching the final 2.1 innings for the Falcons. Peters was tagged for six hits, allowing three earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts.
Down 4-2 entering the top half of the 9th, Matt Thompson led off the inning with a single into right-center. The next batter, Jake Greiving, rolled a grounder that appeared to be a routine double-play ball, but the Charleston Southern shortstop mishandled it, allowing Greiving to reach.
After a strikeout, Thomason poked a double into the left-center gap, as both Thompson and pinch-runner Ben Niednagel flew around the bases to tie the game at 4-4. Oster came up huge in a pinch-hitting spot, dropping a single into left field to give Air Force a 5-4 advantage.
Air Force nearly had the win sealed in the bottom half of the inning. Peters retired the first two batters faced in the inning before allowing a two-out double. Following the double, Peters forced a grounder to shortstop Aerik Joe, though the ball rolled under his glove, allowing the tying run to score.
Bello's two-out RBI single in the 10th saw Air Force retake a 6-5 lead, though the Buccaneers rallied to score twice in the bottom half to walk-off the visiting Falcons.
Air Force concludes the weekend in Charleston against Michigan State on Monday, March 6. First-pitch at Shipyard Park is scheduled for 10:00 am MT.
Jay Thomason was the lone Falcon with multiple hits, including a game-tying, two-run double with two outs in the 9th. Thomason reached base in four of six plate appearances after getting plunked in his first two trips to the plate.
Freshmen T.J. Oster and Jack Bello provided clutch RBI hits in their only at-bats. Oster drove home Thomason in the 9th to give Air Force a 5-4 lead, while Bello came off the bench in the 10th, sending a run-scoring base-hit to send the Falcons in front 6-5 in the 10th.
Aerik Joe was 1-3 with two walks, as his RBI single in the 6th tied the game at 2-2.
Trayden Tamiya was 0-4, but managed an RBI groundout in the 2nd to score the first Air Force run of the afternoon.
The Falcons struck out a season-high 16 times on Sunday, and are now hitless in 17 at-bats with the bases-loaded. Air Force left 14 men on base, a season-high as well.
Seungmin Shim was solid yet again, allowing just one earned run over his 5.0 innings of work. The junior forced Charleston Southern into a lot of soft contact, as 12 of his 15 outs were ground ball outs.
Sawyer Hawks wasn't as crisp as he was on Friday when he tossed two shutout innings against the Buccaneers. Hawks pitched 2.0 innings, allowing two hits and two walks with two punchouts. The sophomore surrendered a solo home run to break the tie in the 7th.
Zach Peters was credited with the loss after pitching the final 2.1 innings for the Falcons. Peters was tagged for six hits, allowing three earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts.
Down 4-2 entering the top half of the 9th, Matt Thompson led off the inning with a single into right-center. The next batter, Jake Greiving, rolled a grounder that appeared to be a routine double-play ball, but the Charleston Southern shortstop mishandled it, allowing Greiving to reach.
After a strikeout, Thomason poked a double into the left-center gap, as both Thompson and pinch-runner Ben Niednagel flew around the bases to tie the game at 4-4. Oster came up huge in a pinch-hitting spot, dropping a single into left field to give Air Force a 5-4 advantage.
Air Force nearly had the win sealed in the bottom half of the inning. Peters retired the first two batters faced in the inning before allowing a two-out double. Following the double, Peters forced a grounder to shortstop Aerik Joe, though the ball rolled under his glove, allowing the tying run to score.
Bello's two-out RBI single in the 10th saw Air Force retake a 6-5 lead, though the Buccaneers rallied to score twice in the bottom half to walk-off the visiting Falcons.
Air Force concludes the weekend in Charleston against Michigan State on Monday, March 6. First-pitch at Shipyard Park is scheduled for 10:00 am MT.
Players Mentioned
LHP/1B
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OF
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IF
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IF
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IF/RHP
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LHP
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IF
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IF
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IF/OF
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