Falcons Drop to Northern Colorado

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo., - The Falcons (12-21) dropped a pair to Northern Colorado (10-21) on Wednesday afternoon at Erdle Field. The first game opened tied in the tenth inning as a continuation game that began on Feb. 25 but was halted due to insufficient lighting.

Game 1: Northern Colorado 12, Air Force 10
After being previously tied at 10-10, the Bears claimed the lead with a pair of RBI doubles to win, 12-10 in the top of the tenth.

Air Force saw T.J. Oster walk in the bottom of the tenth, but a double play closed the game.

Game 2: Northern Colorado 8, Air Force 7
The Birds narrowly fell after the batters notched seven runs off five hits, while the pitching staff struck out five Bears.

Tripp Garrish led at the plate, finishing 1-for-2 with a trio of RBIs and two runs scored. Christian Taylor, Walker Zapp, Luke Elmore, and Chase Spencer all accounted for one RBI a piece.

On the mound, Marcus Downing took his first career start and went a career-high three full innings with three strikeouts and two earned runs allowed. Gaines Estridge and Bowen Brantingham each made an appearance for one inning and gave up a combined five runs. The next reliever, Charlie Russell got through three innings of work, striking out one Bear and allowing one run. Josh Shropshire closed for Air Force and allowed no runs.

Following a scoreless first inning, the Falcons jumped on the board with a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of two. Garrish opened the frame with a hit by pitch and proceeded to steal second. A fly out from Zach Peters enabled Garrish to take third on the throw. To bring the runner home, Spencer recorded a sacrifice fly to deep center field.

The Bears answered with a two-run shot to take a 2-1 lead, in the top of the third.

In the bottom of the same frame, Air Force powered ahead, scoring four runs off three hits for the lead at 5-2. The inning opened with a UNC pitching change and a double near the left line by Alex Adams. Christian Taylor and Walker Zapp were hit back-to-back, filling the bags with Falcons. The Bears opted for another pitching change to which Elmore responded with a sacrifice fly, sending Adams across the plate. The designated hitter, Garrish, got the job done with a home run sent high over the right field wall.

Northern Colorado trimmed their deficit but still trailed 5-4 in the top of four, with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly.

To tie the game in the top of the fifth, the Bears plated one run, 5-5.

In the top of six, UNC assumed an 8-5 lead after plating three runs off one hit.

The score held until Air Force came back with a pair of runs on their last chance in the bottom of the ninth, but were still down 8-7. To lead off, Adams planted a double in left center field and stole third. During Taylor's at bat, Adams took advantage of a wild pitch to score. Another double out to left center from Zapp sent Taylor home, but the Falcons did not come out of the inning on top.

Air Force looks to host Mountain West opponent, UNLV for a three game series from Friday April 11-Sunday April 13. First pitch on Friday is slated for 3 p.m. MT at Erdle Field.

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Team Stats

Alex Adams

Walker Zapp

Tripp Garrish

Chase Spencer

Players Mentioned

Alex Adams

Bowen Brantingham

Marcus Downing

Luke Elmore

Gaines Estridge

Tripp Garrish

T.J. Oster

Zach Peters

Charlie Russell

Josh Shropshire

Chase Spencer

Christian Taylor

Walker Zapp

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