Air Force Drops Late to Nevada

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY., - Air Force baseball (17-26, 9-11) fought hard but dropped a close game two, 17-15, to Nevada (24-18, 11-9) on Saturday afternoon at Erdle Field. Both programs collected 15 hits and the Falcon pitchers struck out four.

At the dish, Luke Elmore batted 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, as well as a double and a homer. The right fielder, Zach Peters went 2-for-3 and plated four runs while notching a pair of RBIs. Tripp Garrish, Christian Taylor, and Ben Niednagel all accounted for two RBIs a piece.

Freshman Cranz Smelcer took the start on the hill and went four full innings with one strikeout and four earned runs allowed. Bowen Brantingham took over in relief, logging a pair of strikeouts and four runs given up across two innings pitched. Marcus Downing and Gaines Estridge made back-to-back appearances and combined to allow five runs. The closer, Patrick Davidson (5-2) notched one strikeout but was charged with four runs.

The Wolf Pack started off strong, scoring four runs to take an early lead in the top of the first.

Air Force responded with four to level the board at 4-4, in the bottom of the same frame. Chase Spencer and Walker Zapp opened the offense with consecutive singles and scored when Zach Peters came out swinging with an RBI double placed perfectly deep down the right field line. After Peters advanced to third on the throw from right, Garrish locked in an RBI single up the middle. With two away, Luke Elmore sent his third career homer over the left field wall for a solo shot.

After a scoreless inning and a half, the Falcons grabbed a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the third. Zapp led off with a double to right center and was joined on base by a walked Peters. The designated hitter, Garrish pulled AF ahead when he sent Zapp home on a single up the middle of the field. A sacrifice fly by Taylor scored Peters.

The bottom of the fifth was explosive for the Falcons, as they plated eight runs off five hits and a trio of Wolf Pack errors to lead 14-4. On the first pitch of the inning, Zapp singled to left while Peters followed on a hit by pitch. After Nevada opted for a pitching change, Garrish reached base on a fielder's choice, Peters went home on a Taylor double, and Elmore was hit by a pitch. Alex Adams sent an RBI single to the gap in right center and T.J. Oster enabled a Taylor to score. The next batter, Niednagel, found open territory in right center, sending two runners to the plate. Both base runners stole the next bag and Oster took advantage of an error on Nevada's catcher to score. A big triple from Chase Spencer plated one run, and the center fielder scored on a wild pitch.

Nevada trimmed the deficit in the top of six with four runs, 14-8.

In the top of the stretch, the Wolf Pack reclaimed the lead at 15-14.

For a strengthen advantage, Nevada plated one more run, 16-14, in the top of the eighth frame.

The bottom of the eighth frame saw Air Force shrink the deficit to 16-15. The opening batter, Peters drilled a single past the third baseman and moved to second on a Garrish single. After a fielder's choice and a runner caught stealing, Elmore sent Peters home for the Falcons' last run of the afternoon with a double to left field.

The Pack solidified the board at 17-15 with a solo home run in the top of nine.

Air Force will take on Nevada in the series rubber match on Sunday April 27 at 12:05 p.m. MT.

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Team Stats

Walker Zapp

Tripp Garrish

Chase Spencer

Zach Peters

Players Mentioned

Alex Adams

Bowen Brantingham

Patrick Davidson

Marcus Downing

Luke Elmore

Gaines Estridge

Tripp Garrish

Ben Niednagel

T.J. Oster

Zach Peters

Cranz Smelcer

Chase Spencer

Christian Taylor

Walker Zapp

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