Offense rallies late, Falcons win opener over Lobos

COLORADO SPRINGS- The Falcons put an end to their four-game losing streak on Friday, as Jake Sansing went 7.0 strong innings to guide Air Force to a 9-6 win.

Sansing allowed a two-run home run in the 1st, but tossed six-consecutive shutout innings the rest of the way. Sansing, who allowed just five hits with five strikeouts, has completed 23.0 IP over his last three starts, accumulating a lowly 2.35 ERA since moving into the weekend rotation.

Jay Thomason opened the scoring for Air Force in the 4th, launching his 14th home run of the spring. Thomason's 14 home runs remains tops in the Mountain West. Thomason finished 3-5, falling short of a triple for the cycle.

Chris Stallings pinch-hit for Matt Thompson in the 6th, and with the bases-loaded, the junior lined a double off of the right field wall to give Air Force its first lead of the afternoon. Stallings finished 2-2 with a career-high 4 RBI after also poking a two-run single in the 7th.

Trayden Tamiya was a perfect 4-4, collecting 2 RBI with a double as part of a four-run Air Force 7th inning. Friday marks just the second four-hit day of Tamiya's Air Force tenure.

Jake Greiving was 1-4 with a RBI, while Landon Boyd finished 1-2, proving a RBI with a sac fly.

Sam Kulasingam maintained his on-base streak which now sits at 36-consecutive games. Kulasingam was 2-5 with a triple, while Aerik Joe extended his on-base streak to 15 games after a 2-3 day.

Trailing 2-0 entering the bottom of the 4th, the Falcons reeled off nine unanswered runs, as Air Force scored four runs in both the 6th and 7th innings.

Duke Benge entered in the 8th, working a clean frame before running into some trouble in the final inning. After allowing four of the first six batters in the 9th to reach, Coach Kaz called upon Sawyer Hawks to close the ballgame. Hawks needed just one pitch to record his fourth save of the season, forcing a fly out to finalize the win.

With the weather for Saturday in question, Air Force is tentatively scheduled to continue the series with New Mexico on Saturday, April 22. First-pitch would take place at 12:00 pm MT if the game remains a go.

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