Falcons fall 7-5, to meet Spartans in winner-take-all Sunday finale

FRESNO- Leading 5-2 in the 7th, Air Force saw the momentum quickly shift towards the tournament's top seed, as San Jose State's five runs in the frame was enough to propel the Spartans past the Falcons by a score of 7-5.

The loss guarantees Air Force a rematch with San Jose State in a winner-take-all ballgame on Sunday, May 15.

Sam Kulasingam continues to be as dependable as any player in the country, as the junior finished 4-5. He closed his first plate appearance with a double, tying him with Mike Thiessen for the most doubles in a single season (28) in program history. Thiessen, who set the record in 2000, is the current offensive coordinator the Falcons football team.

Kulasingam is now 8-10 with three extra-base hits since the Mountain West Championship began, having reached base in 13 of his 15 plate appearances in Fresno.

Not go unmentioned, Kulasingam has now reached base in 54-consecutive games.

Now with 6 RBI in three tournament games, Jay Thomason finished 2-4, driving in a run with a base-hit in the 7th. Blake Covin followed his four-hit performance a night ago with two more knocks, including a two-run double in the 2nd to give Air Force an early lead.

Walker Zapp also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 4th.

A day short of exactly a year ago, Dylan Rogers tossed 7.1 innings in the Tournament Final, picking up a career-high eight strikeouts to guide Air Force to its first-ever conference championship.

On Saturday, Rogers worked as more of an opener, overseeing the game's first 4.0 innings. He allowed five hits, as his two runs surrendered were unearned.

Ben Weber entered the game in the 5th, and kept the Spartans at bay without much issue, including a perfect 6th. In the 7th however, the game turned.

Weber surrendered consecutive singles before Duke Benge was called from the bullpen. After a forcing a flyout to the opening batter, Benge saw an RBI double, sacrifice fly and run-scoring wild pitch tie the game.

The Spartans then connected on back-to-back homers to put San Jose State in front 7-5.

Air Force did bring the tying run to the plate in the 9th, though Trayden Tamiya flew out to right to end the ballgame.

The Falcons will aim to secure their second-consecutive Mountain West Championship tomorrow, with first-pitch scheduled for 2:00 pm MT.

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