Thomason's historic day guides Falcons to series sweep over Spartans

COLORADO SPRINGS- What became a weekend of splendor for Air Force saw further grandeur sprinkled on the Falcons, as Jay Thomason's historic performance in the series finale was vital to Air Force's 24-12 win over San Jose State to secure the series sweep.

Just one day after head coach Mike Kazlausky became the all-time winningest coach in program history, Thomason proceeded to reach base in all seven of his plate appearances, knocking a career-high six hits with two home runs and a single game Mountain West program record 10 RBI. Thomason becomes the first player since Sam Kulasingam to record 13 total bases in a conference game, matching his teammate's mark set a season ago against Nevada. The lefty slugger surpasses Nic Ready for the most RBI in a Mountain West matchup, a milestone held since 2018. Thomason's six hits also match Adam Groesbeck's total set in 2017 for the most hits in a Mountain West game in program history.

Sunday marks Thomason's fifth-career multi-homer game, as the Auburn native extended his conference-leading home run total to 17, surpassing his previous career-best of 16 set a season ago. Thomason's 33 career home runs sees him in a timeshare with Karl Bolt for ninth-most in Air Force history.

Thomason wasn't the only Falcon to produce career-bests, as Jake Greiving, Aaron Reyes, and Matt Thompson also reset their own personal benchmarks.

Jake Greiving tied his career-high in hits, going 4-5 with a career-best five RBI. The Air Force cleanup hitter launched his third home run of the spring as well. Reyes was 4-6 with a triple and a double while driving home a career-high six RBI, as his hit total also becomes a new personal milestone. Thompson produced four hits in six at-bats, the most by the senior in a single game in his Air Force career. Thompson eventually launched his second long ball of the spring in the 5th.

Sam Kulasingam extended his on-base streak to 41 games as part of a 2-3 day. Kulasingam managed a pair of base-hits while also walking three times and receiving a hit-by-pitch.

Eight of nine Falcon starters recorded at least one hit, while Air Force's 24 runs and an equal number of hits become new season-highs. The trio of Thomason, Greiving, and Reyes accounted for 21 of the Falcons 24 RBI.

In what developed into a slugfest, Dylan Rogers was let off the hook after lasting just 2.1 innings. The sophomore was tagged for 11 hits and seven runs before Seungmin Shim entered in the 3rd. The southpaw wasn't at his sharpest, picking up just four outs while allowing four walks and two runs, as well as a hit-by-pitch.

Duke Benge earned his third win of 2023 after working out of a bases-loaded threat in 4th. Benge was solid out of the bullpen, scattering three runs and five hits over the final 4.1 innings of the ballgame, picking up five strikeouts.

The Falcons secured their first series sweep over the Spartans since 2021, as Air Force is now 12-2 in their 14 games against San Jose State. With the win, the Falcons 14 conference victories stand as the most among the seven Mountain West programs.

Next, the Falcons will host Northern Colorado for a single game on Wednesday, May 3. First-pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm MT.

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