Friday, April 19
USAFA, CO
3:00 pm MT
Air Force Academy
vs
University of New Mexico
Photo by: Dylan Smith
Air Force back in MW play against New Mexico
4/18/2024 5:10:00 PM | Baseball
Schedule
Fri: vs. New Mexico, 3:00 pm MT
Sat: vs. New Mexico, 1:00 pm MT
Sun: vs. New Mexico, 12:00 pm MT
Broadcast Information
Watch: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball
Series History
-Since 1957, Air Force is 58-152 in 210 meetings against New Mexico.
-A season ago, the teams posted an identical 3-3 record in six games over two series.
-As well, Air Force is 6-6 against New Mexico in the past 12 ballgames.
Pitching Probables
Fri: LHP Seungmin Shim (3-2, 2.78 ERA) vs. RHP Dayne Pengelly (3-3, 9.53 ERA)
Sat: RHP Dylan Rogers (4-3, 6.21 ERA) vs. RHP Brett Russell (2-0, 9.00 ERA)
Sun: RHP Ben Weber (2-2, 5.65 ERA) vs. TBA
Projected Lineup (2024 OPS)
1. R/R, Chase Spencer, CF (.814 OPS)
2. S/R, Sam Kulasingam, 3B (.766 OPS)
3. L/R, Jay Thomason, 2B (1.141 OPS)
4. R/R, Charlie Jones, 1B (1.015 OPS)
5. L/R, Jake Greiving, RF (.959 OPS)
6. R/R, Zach Peters, LF (.823 OPS)
7. R/R, Aerik Joe, SS (.647 OPS)
8. L/L, Tripp Garrish, DH (.625 OPS)
9. R/R, Walker Zapp, C (.734 OPS)
Falcons Defend Home Turf
-Over the weekend of April 12-14, Air Force claimed two of three games from #15 Dallas Baptist.
-The series win was Air Force's first over a ranked opponent since sweeping #20 UNLV back in 2014.
Thomason Earns MW Player of the Week
On Monday, the Mountain West announced Air Force infielder Jay Thomason as the conference's Player of the Week, an honor well-deserved after a raucous four-game stretch produced by the Falcons leading hitter.
Jay Thomason helped Air Force to a 3-1 record in four games at Erdle Field this week, including a series win against #15 Dallas Baptist over the weekend. Thomason finished the week 9-14 (.643) with 4 HR's, 1 3B, 2 2B's and 14 RBIs. In a 23-6 win against Northern Colorado on April 9, Thomason hit for the cycle, highlighted by a grand slam, as the cycle was completed with a triple in his final plate appearance. The senior slugger produced a walk-off three-run home run on Saturday, April 13, his second home run of the day, to defeat #15 Dallas Baptist 7-5 in the final inning. He closed the weekend 2-4 with a double, another three-run home run, and a total of 4 RBIs to help the Falcons take the rubber game 10-6 to secure the series win over the 15th-ranked team in Division 1.
Thomason now owns 48 career home runs, as he sits just two shy of tying Nic Ready for the program record in homers (50). Currently, Thomason leads all Air Force hitters in batting average (.358), home runs (11), total bases (94), RBIs (31), hits (49), slugging percentage (.686) and on-base percentage (.455).
The left-handed power bat becomes the third different player this spring to earn a weekly award from the Mountain West, as Chase Spencer was named Player of the Week alongside Seungmin Shim being named Pitcher of the Week on March 18 following Air Force's three-game sweep of San Diego State. The award is Thomason's second-career weekly accolade, as he was named Mountain West Player of the Week on May 1, 2023.
Horns Out
-Jake Greiving has been as consistent a force for the Falcons as any player so far in 2024.
-Greiving is second on Air Force in batting average (.333), hits (46), home runs (6), total bases (77), slugging percentage (.558), on-base percentage (.401) and RBIs (30).
-Greiving also leads all Falcons in doubles (13).
-He also currently leads the team with eight multi-RBI games.
Here Comes the Chuckster
-Sophomore Charlie Jones has returned from injury to make an immediate splash.
-In his first 19 games, Jones is 26-69 (.377), reaching base in each of those 19 games.
-His on-base streak also includes a current 16-game hitting streak.
-Jones recorded his first-career three-hit game on March 20, going 3-4 with a home run.
-Though not qualified, Jones' .377 average would lead Air Force hitters.
He's Getting Going
-Sam Kulasingam, the reigning two-time MW Player of the Year, is beginning to overcome his initial troubles at the plate.
-Hitting just .200 over his first 13 games, Kulasingam is 28-84 (.333) in his past 19 games.
-Zoomed even further in, Sammy K is 12-33 (.364) over the past seven games.
-An on-base machine, Kulasingam has reached base in 30 of the past 31 games.
Chase, Chase, In Your Face
-Chase Spencer has been a table-setter for the Air Force lineup.
-His 19 stolen bases lead all Mountain West players.
-As well, Spencer has picked up at least one hit in 28 of 35 games this season.
-Spencer finished a perfect 4-4 at #1 Texas A&M on Tuesday, picking up his third home run of the season.
The Zach Attack
-Since entering the starting lineup on April 5, Zach Peters has been a steady producer of offense.
-In the past eight games, Peters is 11-31 (.355) with four doubles and his first-career home run on April 6.
-In that span, Peters has driven in seven runs as part of an eight-game hitting streak.
He is Shim
-In nine starts this season, Seungmin Shim owns a 2.78 ERA and an 8.25 K/9.
-His 2.78 ERA is the third-lowest in the conference.
-Shim's 60 strikeouts are also third-most in the Mountain West.
-Shim also has produced a 1.8 GB/FB ratio.
-Shim's seven pickoffs lead the Mountain West.
Doyle Rules
-Doyle Gehring has been one of the more effective relievers in the entire Mountain West.
-Gehring owns a career-best 3.55 ERA in 33.0 innings with a 7.6 K/9.
-Gehring's six saves tie his career-high set in 2022, and are second-most in the conference.
Born to Run
-Through 30 games, Air Force is 58-71 (82%) in stolen base tries this season.
-The Falcons 58 stolen bases are tops among Mountain West teams.
On Deck
-Following the weekend series against New Mexico, the Falcons will travel up I-25 to play Northern Colorado on Tuesday, April 23.
Fri: vs. New Mexico, 3:00 pm MT
Sat: vs. New Mexico, 1:00 pm MT
Sun: vs. New Mexico, 12:00 pm MT
Broadcast Information
Watch: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball
Series History
-Since 1957, Air Force is 58-152 in 210 meetings against New Mexico.
-A season ago, the teams posted an identical 3-3 record in six games over two series.
-As well, Air Force is 6-6 against New Mexico in the past 12 ballgames.
Pitching Probables
Fri: LHP Seungmin Shim (3-2, 2.78 ERA) vs. RHP Dayne Pengelly (3-3, 9.53 ERA)
Sat: RHP Dylan Rogers (4-3, 6.21 ERA) vs. RHP Brett Russell (2-0, 9.00 ERA)
Sun: RHP Ben Weber (2-2, 5.65 ERA) vs. TBA
Projected Lineup (2024 OPS)
1. R/R, Chase Spencer, CF (.814 OPS)
2. S/R, Sam Kulasingam, 3B (.766 OPS)
3. L/R, Jay Thomason, 2B (1.141 OPS)
4. R/R, Charlie Jones, 1B (1.015 OPS)
5. L/R, Jake Greiving, RF (.959 OPS)
6. R/R, Zach Peters, LF (.823 OPS)
7. R/R, Aerik Joe, SS (.647 OPS)
8. L/L, Tripp Garrish, DH (.625 OPS)
9. R/R, Walker Zapp, C (.734 OPS)
Falcons Defend Home Turf
-Over the weekend of April 12-14, Air Force claimed two of three games from #15 Dallas Baptist.
-The series win was Air Force's first over a ranked opponent since sweeping #20 UNLV back in 2014.
Thomason Earns MW Player of the Week
On Monday, the Mountain West announced Air Force infielder Jay Thomason as the conference's Player of the Week, an honor well-deserved after a raucous four-game stretch produced by the Falcons leading hitter.
Jay Thomason helped Air Force to a 3-1 record in four games at Erdle Field this week, including a series win against #15 Dallas Baptist over the weekend. Thomason finished the week 9-14 (.643) with 4 HR's, 1 3B, 2 2B's and 14 RBIs. In a 23-6 win against Northern Colorado on April 9, Thomason hit for the cycle, highlighted by a grand slam, as the cycle was completed with a triple in his final plate appearance. The senior slugger produced a walk-off three-run home run on Saturday, April 13, his second home run of the day, to defeat #15 Dallas Baptist 7-5 in the final inning. He closed the weekend 2-4 with a double, another three-run home run, and a total of 4 RBIs to help the Falcons take the rubber game 10-6 to secure the series win over the 15th-ranked team in Division 1.
Thomason now owns 48 career home runs, as he sits just two shy of tying Nic Ready for the program record in homers (50). Currently, Thomason leads all Air Force hitters in batting average (.358), home runs (11), total bases (94), RBIs (31), hits (49), slugging percentage (.686) and on-base percentage (.455).
The left-handed power bat becomes the third different player this spring to earn a weekly award from the Mountain West, as Chase Spencer was named Player of the Week alongside Seungmin Shim being named Pitcher of the Week on March 18 following Air Force's three-game sweep of San Diego State. The award is Thomason's second-career weekly accolade, as he was named Mountain West Player of the Week on May 1, 2023.
Horns Out
-Jake Greiving has been as consistent a force for the Falcons as any player so far in 2024.
-Greiving is second on Air Force in batting average (.333), hits (46), home runs (6), total bases (77), slugging percentage (.558), on-base percentage (.401) and RBIs (30).
-Greiving also leads all Falcons in doubles (13).
-He also currently leads the team with eight multi-RBI games.
Here Comes the Chuckster
-Sophomore Charlie Jones has returned from injury to make an immediate splash.
-In his first 19 games, Jones is 26-69 (.377), reaching base in each of those 19 games.
-His on-base streak also includes a current 16-game hitting streak.
-Jones recorded his first-career three-hit game on March 20, going 3-4 with a home run.
-Though not qualified, Jones' .377 average would lead Air Force hitters.
He's Getting Going
-Sam Kulasingam, the reigning two-time MW Player of the Year, is beginning to overcome his initial troubles at the plate.
-Hitting just .200 over his first 13 games, Kulasingam is 28-84 (.333) in his past 19 games.
-Zoomed even further in, Sammy K is 12-33 (.364) over the past seven games.
-An on-base machine, Kulasingam has reached base in 30 of the past 31 games.
Chase, Chase, In Your Face
-Chase Spencer has been a table-setter for the Air Force lineup.
-His 19 stolen bases lead all Mountain West players.
-As well, Spencer has picked up at least one hit in 28 of 35 games this season.
-Spencer finished a perfect 4-4 at #1 Texas A&M on Tuesday, picking up his third home run of the season.
The Zach Attack
-Since entering the starting lineup on April 5, Zach Peters has been a steady producer of offense.
-In the past eight games, Peters is 11-31 (.355) with four doubles and his first-career home run on April 6.
-In that span, Peters has driven in seven runs as part of an eight-game hitting streak.
He is Shim
-In nine starts this season, Seungmin Shim owns a 2.78 ERA and an 8.25 K/9.
-His 2.78 ERA is the third-lowest in the conference.
-Shim's 60 strikeouts are also third-most in the Mountain West.
-Shim also has produced a 1.8 GB/FB ratio.
-Shim's seven pickoffs lead the Mountain West.
Doyle Rules
-Doyle Gehring has been one of the more effective relievers in the entire Mountain West.
-Gehring owns a career-best 3.55 ERA in 33.0 innings with a 7.6 K/9.
-Gehring's six saves tie his career-high set in 2022, and are second-most in the conference.
Born to Run
-Through 30 games, Air Force is 58-71 (82%) in stolen base tries this season.
-The Falcons 58 stolen bases are tops among Mountain West teams.
On Deck
-Following the weekend series against New Mexico, the Falcons will travel up I-25 to play Northern Colorado on Tuesday, April 23.
Players Mentioned
OF
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RHP
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OF/DH
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1B
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IF
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UT/RHP
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RHP
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LHP
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OF/RHP
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IF
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C
/ BaseballFalcons win on senior day over New Mexico
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Lobos top Falcons to even series
Saturday, May 10
Falcons big 8th inning leads to win over Lobos
Friday, May 09
Falcons fall in series finale to Nevada
Sunday, April 27
