Falcons remain steadfast, beat Rebels 10-9

LAS VEGAS- Holding an eight-run lead, Air Force saw UNLV trim the deficit to a single run, but Sawyer Hawks earned his eighth save of the spring to guide Air Force to a 10-9 win.

The Falcons were the aggressors on Thursday, scoring nine of the game's first 10 runs.

After sacrifice flies from Jake Greiving and Trayden Tamiya in the 1st, the former created Air Force's first big splash.

In the 3rd, Greiving lined his sixth homer of the spring, a two-run shot, to put Air Force up 4-1. The Falcons closed the 3rd with five runs, punctuated by an Aerik Joe RBI single. Joe has now reached base in 28-consecutive games, as he and Chase Spencer were the only Falcons with multiple hits.

Spencer, who was responsible for three stolen bases on Thursday, finished 2-5 with a double.

In the 5th, Matt Thompson lifted his second sacrifice fly of the evening to increase the Falcons lead to 8-1. An inning later, Jay Thomason launched a solo homer into right-center, peaking the Falcons advantage to 9-1.

Thomason is now one of only six players in program history to slug 19 home runs, as he now sits two home runs shy of Mark Frankenberg's single season program record of 21 home runs set in 1988.

Sam Kulasingam finished 1-3 with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 49-consecutive games.

Air Force created four sacrifice flies in total, while the Falcons six stolen bases are a season-high.

Jake Sansing picked up his sixth win of the spring, cruising for much of the game until running into trouble in the 6th. Having allowed just one run through his first five innings, the Rebels struck for four runs in the 6th to force Sansing out of the game.

Sansing's line closed at 5.2 IP, allowing five runs on 10 hits with a strikeout and two walks.

Ryan Stohr managed to put an end to the Rebels explosive 6th, but the senior was responsible for three runs in the 7th. Duke Benge allowed a couple of hits and a walk before striking out the final out of the inning, but UNLV exited the 7th trailing only a run.

The Rebels put quite a scare in the visiting dugout in the 8th, as Sawyer Hawks entered from the bullpen. Hawks walked the first batter he faced, a baserunner that eventually wound up on third after consecutive wild pitches.

Hawks managed to pick up a strikeout and induce a lineout to Thomason to pick up two outs, but a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases. Even so, a fastball on the outside corner saw Hawks nab his second strikeout of the inning to keep the Falcons in front.

In the final inning, the big right-hander performed to much less theater, striking out two of the three batters he faced to secure the win. Hawks' eight saves this season tie him for third-most in a single season in program history.

With the victory, Air Force continues to hold a half-game lead atop the Mountain West standings with two games remaining. The Falcons and Rebels will resume the series on Friday, May 19, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 pm MT.

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Team Stats

Aerik Joe

Chase Spencer

Sam Kulasingam

Jay Thomason

Players Mentioned

Duke Benge

Jake Greiving

Sawyer Hawks

Aerik Joe

Sam Kulasingam

Jake Sansing

Chase Spencer

Ryan Stohr

Trayden Tamiya

Jay Thomason

Matt Thompson

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