Baseball Drops Season Opener to No. 10 Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla., - The Falcons (0-1) dropped their season opener, 7-0, to No. 10 Florida (1-0), on Friday evening. Air Force batters collected three hits on the night, in the form of two singles and a double, while drawing a pair of walks. The pitching staff combined for five strikeouts to begin the season.

The designated hitter, Tripp Garrish, recorded his first double of 2025 in the top of the second, with veteran Falcons, Zach Peters and Ben Niednagel, hitting one single apiece.

Dylan Rogers (0-1) took the start on the mound and went four innings with a pair of strikeouts. The senior surrendered six earned runs and just one walk. Making his collegiate debut, Easton Miller entered in relief for three innings, marking three strikeouts and giving up no runs. Davis Rhyne closed the game for Air Force, throwing one strikeout in the final inning.

Defensively, Niednagel tallied seven assists as shortstop, while Alex Adams and Walker Zapp both made five putouts.

Air Force was on the brink of scoring after Garrish doubled down the left line and took third on a sacrifice fly from Zapp, but the Falcons could not bring the DH across the plate.

Following two full innings of no scoring action, the Gators hopped on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the third. An RBI single and a two RBI single followed for a 4-0, Florida lead.

In the bottom of five, Florida added three runs for their final 7-0 lead. With bases loaded, the Gators walked a runner in and capitalized on a single to left field to score their sixth run. A double play provided Florida with an opportunity to score one more.

Miller was called out of the pen in the bottom of the fifth and struck out the first batter he faced. The freshman kept the Gators at bay through the seventh.

The top of the eighth saw runners on with two outs for Air Force. Niednagel laid down a single to right and Kayden Bradshaw was issued a walk, but the runners would not make it around the bags.

To close for the Falcons, Rhyne entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and went three up, three down, allowing no hits or runs.

Up next, Air Force will take on the tenth-ranked Gators in a double header on Saturday Feb. 15^th to close the series. Game 2 is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch, with the series finale to follow.

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