Friday, May 2
Bailey-Brayton Field | Pullman, WA
7:05 pm MT
Air Force Academy
at
Washington State University
Air Force to Play Conference Series at Washington State
5/1/2025 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
PULLMAN, Wash., - Air Force baseball looks to take another Mountain West series over Washington State from Friday May 2-Sunday May 4 at Bailey-Brayton Field. The Falcons are vying for a spot in the conference tournament and find themselves in a three-way tie for fifth, with UNLV and San Jose State, heading into the weekend.
Schedule
Fri: at Washington State, 6:05 p.m. PT/7:05 p.m. MT at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.,
Sat: at Washington State, 6:05 p.m. PT/7:05 p.m. MT at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.,
Sun: at Washington State, 12:05 p.m. PT/1:05 p.m. MT at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.,
Broadcast Information
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball
Series History
-The first meeting between the two programs took place on March 2, 2007, and ended with a loss for Air Force, 3-0. The game was a part of the S.P.O.R.T. Banana Belt Classic in Pullman, Wash.
-Earlier this season, AF hosted WSU and won the series 2-1 (15-14, 4-10, 14-9).
-Across that first MW series, both teams scored 33 runs.
-Overall, the Cougars have outscored Air Force, 36-33.
-For the 2025 season, Washington State joined the Mountain West as an affiliate member.
Pitching Probables (2025 Stats)
Fri: RHP Davis Rhyne (6.66 ERA, 2-1) vs. RHP Luke Meyers (5.91 ERA, 4-2)
Sat: RHP Cranz Smelcer (8.39 ERA, 1-4) vs. RHP Griffin Smith (5.09 ERA, 4-4)
Sun: LHP Ethan Dillinger (4.62 ERA, 0-1) vs. LHP Nick Lewis (7.39 ERA, 3-6)
Projected Lineup (2025 OPS)
1. R/R, Chase Spencer, CF (.839 OPS)
2. R/R, Walker Zapp, C (1.056 OPS)
3. R/R, Zach Peters, RF (.973 OPS)
4. L/L, Tripp Garrish (.916 OPS)
5. R/R, Christian Taylor, LF (.816 OPS)
6. R/R, Luke Elmore, 1B (.849 OPS)
7. R/R, Alex Adams, 3B (.725 OPS)
8. R/R, T.J. Oster (.720 OPS)
9. R/R, Ben Niednagel, 3B (.759 OPS)
A Look at the Cougars
-Washington State holds an overall record of 15-28, a Mountain West record of 8-13, and are on a five-game loss streak.
-At home, WSU has a winning record of 9-6.
-So far this season, the Cougars have been outscored by opponents, 351-263 and have fallen victim to the run-rule six times.
-The pitching staff has collected a combined overall ERA of 7.80 and 259 strikeouts across 356.2 innings. UIn league play, the Cougar pitchers hold an 8.60 ERA with 112 Ks in 171.2 IP.
-WSU's batters have notched overall batting average of .295, a .405 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .388. In the Mountain West, the Cougars are batting .326, slugging .468, and have an OB% of .410.
-In conference games only, Washington State sits at 2nd in team batting (.326) but last in team pitching (8.60). The Cougars currently sit in last place in the Mountain West.
-Cougar catcher, Will Cresswell sits high in the batting charts in MW play: 2nd in on-base percentage (.506), 2nd in RBIs (30), 3rd in batting average (.429), 4th in slugging (.686).
Friday Guy
-Davis Rhyne is slated to take the Friday start at Washington State, for his third start of the season.
-Rhyne holds an overall ERA of 6.66 with a record of 2-1.
-Across the season, the RHP has totaled 20 strikeouts and 18 earned runs allowed in 24.1 innings for a batting average against of .272. He has 18 appearances under his belt, tied for the most of any Air Force pitcher this season.
-The sophomore has collected seven MW strikeouts in 10.2 innings for a record of 1-1 in conference play.
-Last time against WSU, Rhyne entered as a reliever in the game one 15-14 come-from-behind win, throwing one strikeout and giving up one run in one inning.
-Most recently, Rhyne appeared in relief during a midweek at Northern Colorado, where he recorded a pair of strikeouts and gave up no earned runs.
-The RHP took his second career start in the game one run-rule win over Nevada. He threw the first two innings, struck out three batters and surrendered four earned runs.
-Rhyne earned his second career win in the game three 8-3 victory over Fresno State. He entered in relief for 3.1 innings where he threw one K and gave up just one run off two hits.
-Earlier the same week, Rhyne earned his first career win after taking his first career start in a midweek against Oral Roberts. He notched a career-high four innings pitched with a pair of strikeouts and two earned runs allowed, helping the Falcons to win 9-3.
Saturday Smelcer
-Cranz Smelcer has worked his way from reliever to taking multiple starts for the Falcons.
-Overall, the freshman has the third-most appearances for an (15) for an Air Force pitcher and has a team third-best 33 Ks, along with an overall ERA of 8.39 across 39.2 IP.
-In MW play, Smelcer holds an ERA of 6.58 with 16 strikeouts, and 19 earned runs off 35 hits allowed, in 26 innings.
-Most recently, the righty started game two against Nevada, where he recorded one K in four IP.
-At Fresno State, Smelcer picked up a new career-high 6.2 innings pitched and logged a pair of strikeouts while giving up five runs.
-Smelcer started the game two 6-4 win over UNLV. He threw 4.2 innings with four Ks and two earned runs.
-In the 18-8 run-rule win against San Diego State, Smelcer threw a career-high five full innings with three strikeouts and three earned runs allowed.
-The RHP closed game two at New Mexico, throwing 3 full innings, striking out a trio of Lobos, and not surrendering a run or a hit.
-Smelcer started his third game of 2025 in a midweek win, 9-4, over Wright State. He opened with three Ks and two earned runs allowed in 2.1 IP.
- He took his second start of the season in the rubber match 14-9 win against MW opponent, Washington State. He went 1.1 innings with one K and three earned runs given up off six hits.
-In the 15-2 run-rule win over South Dakota State, Smelcer made his first start on the mound. He recorded an impressive outing, going four full innings with a career-high six strikeouts.
-The freshman earned his first win at Air Force and im- proved to 1-3, after defending AF's lead and only allowing one run off three hits.
-So far this season, the right-handed pitcher has made eight appearances out of the bullpen.
-His collegiate debut came against No. 10 Florida, where he went 0.2 innings with one K and five runs allowed.
Dilly Day
-Typically, Ethan Dillinger serves as a middle reliever, but he earned the starting Sunday slot for AF.
-Over 25.1 innings pitched, the lefty has collected a pair of starts in 12 total appearances and a record of 0-1.
-Dillinger marks an ERA of 4.62 with 26 strikeouts for a batting average against of .302.
-In MW play, the sophomore has logged a 5.87 ERA with 14 Ks in 15.1 innings pitched.
-In his latest appearance, Dillinger went a career-high five innings in the rubber match against Nevada. He struck out three and allowed just a pair of runs off five hits.
-Dillinger did pitch against Washington State in the game two 10-4 loss. He threw two full innings with three Ks and four runs allowed.
Zach Attack
-Zach Peters is currently batting second-best for the Falcons at .323, a slugging percentage of .563, with an on-base percentage of .410 and has marked a team-high 40 RBIs.
-Peters has notched at least one of every extra-base hit, with 15 doubles, a triple, and is tied for the most homer, seven.
-The right fielder has marked 69 put outs, nine assists,
and one double play for a FLD% of .929, while starting 44 of 45 games.
-Peters has recorded 15 multi-hit games and leads the Falcons with 12 multi-RBI games.
-On the base path, Peters is 6-8 in stolen bags.
-In the game one 15-14 victory over Washington State, Peters went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBIs.
-Across the previous WSU series, Peters collected seven hits and runs scored, along with four RBIs.
-In his latest outing, the senior went 3-for-4 at Northern Colorado, notching two home runs in a single game for the first time in his career, along with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
-Peters picked up six hits in the three-game series against Nevada. He scored six runs for the Falcons and logged a trio of both RBIs and doubles.
-He boasted four RBIs in the series at Fresno State with an RBI double and a homer in the game three 8-3 victory.
-Peters was a force in game three against UNLV, batting 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a trio of RBIs.
-In game two at San Jose State, Peters went 2-for-3 with a double.
-He notched his second career homer in game two at CBU, to help the Falcons hang on to the 4-2 lead they had in the fourth inning.
-Across the Army series, the senior collected 7 hits, with four in game two for a new career high.
-In the same game, Peters tallied two doubles, a triple, and three RBIs, helping to propel AF to a 14-7 victory.
On Deck
Following the series in Pullman, the Falcons will return to Erdle Field to host New Mexico in their final home series while celebrating the Air Force seniors from Friday May 9-Sunday May 11.
Schedule
Fri: at Washington State, 6:05 p.m. PT/7:05 p.m. MT at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.,
Sat: at Washington State, 6:05 p.m. PT/7:05 p.m. MT at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.,
Sun: at Washington State, 12:05 p.m. PT/1:05 p.m. MT at Bailey-Brayton Field in Pullman, Wash.,
Broadcast Information
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball
Series History
-The first meeting between the two programs took place on March 2, 2007, and ended with a loss for Air Force, 3-0. The game was a part of the S.P.O.R.T. Banana Belt Classic in Pullman, Wash.
-Earlier this season, AF hosted WSU and won the series 2-1 (15-14, 4-10, 14-9).
-Across that first MW series, both teams scored 33 runs.
-Overall, the Cougars have outscored Air Force, 36-33.
-For the 2025 season, Washington State joined the Mountain West as an affiliate member.
Pitching Probables (2025 Stats)
Fri: RHP Davis Rhyne (6.66 ERA, 2-1) vs. RHP Luke Meyers (5.91 ERA, 4-2)
Sat: RHP Cranz Smelcer (8.39 ERA, 1-4) vs. RHP Griffin Smith (5.09 ERA, 4-4)
Sun: LHP Ethan Dillinger (4.62 ERA, 0-1) vs. LHP Nick Lewis (7.39 ERA, 3-6)
Projected Lineup (2025 OPS)
1. R/R, Chase Spencer, CF (.839 OPS)
2. R/R, Walker Zapp, C (1.056 OPS)
3. R/R, Zach Peters, RF (.973 OPS)
4. L/L, Tripp Garrish (.916 OPS)
5. R/R, Christian Taylor, LF (.816 OPS)
6. R/R, Luke Elmore, 1B (.849 OPS)
7. R/R, Alex Adams, 3B (.725 OPS)
8. R/R, T.J. Oster (.720 OPS)
9. R/R, Ben Niednagel, 3B (.759 OPS)
A Look at the Cougars
-Washington State holds an overall record of 15-28, a Mountain West record of 8-13, and are on a five-game loss streak.
-At home, WSU has a winning record of 9-6.
-So far this season, the Cougars have been outscored by opponents, 351-263 and have fallen victim to the run-rule six times.
-The pitching staff has collected a combined overall ERA of 7.80 and 259 strikeouts across 356.2 innings. UIn league play, the Cougar pitchers hold an 8.60 ERA with 112 Ks in 171.2 IP.
-WSU's batters have notched overall batting average of .295, a .405 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .388. In the Mountain West, the Cougars are batting .326, slugging .468, and have an OB% of .410.
-In conference games only, Washington State sits at 2nd in team batting (.326) but last in team pitching (8.60). The Cougars currently sit in last place in the Mountain West.
-Cougar catcher, Will Cresswell sits high in the batting charts in MW play: 2nd in on-base percentage (.506), 2nd in RBIs (30), 3rd in batting average (.429), 4th in slugging (.686).
Friday Guy
-Davis Rhyne is slated to take the Friday start at Washington State, for his third start of the season.
-Rhyne holds an overall ERA of 6.66 with a record of 2-1.
-Across the season, the RHP has totaled 20 strikeouts and 18 earned runs allowed in 24.1 innings for a batting average against of .272. He has 18 appearances under his belt, tied for the most of any Air Force pitcher this season.
-The sophomore has collected seven MW strikeouts in 10.2 innings for a record of 1-1 in conference play.
-Last time against WSU, Rhyne entered as a reliever in the game one 15-14 come-from-behind win, throwing one strikeout and giving up one run in one inning.
-Most recently, Rhyne appeared in relief during a midweek at Northern Colorado, where he recorded a pair of strikeouts and gave up no earned runs.
-The RHP took his second career start in the game one run-rule win over Nevada. He threw the first two innings, struck out three batters and surrendered four earned runs.
-Rhyne earned his second career win in the game three 8-3 victory over Fresno State. He entered in relief for 3.1 innings where he threw one K and gave up just one run off two hits.
-Earlier the same week, Rhyne earned his first career win after taking his first career start in a midweek against Oral Roberts. He notched a career-high four innings pitched with a pair of strikeouts and two earned runs allowed, helping the Falcons to win 9-3.
Saturday Smelcer
-Cranz Smelcer has worked his way from reliever to taking multiple starts for the Falcons.
-Overall, the freshman has the third-most appearances for an (15) for an Air Force pitcher and has a team third-best 33 Ks, along with an overall ERA of 8.39 across 39.2 IP.
-In MW play, Smelcer holds an ERA of 6.58 with 16 strikeouts, and 19 earned runs off 35 hits allowed, in 26 innings.
-Most recently, the righty started game two against Nevada, where he recorded one K in four IP.
-At Fresno State, Smelcer picked up a new career-high 6.2 innings pitched and logged a pair of strikeouts while giving up five runs.
-Smelcer started the game two 6-4 win over UNLV. He threw 4.2 innings with four Ks and two earned runs.
-In the 18-8 run-rule win against San Diego State, Smelcer threw a career-high five full innings with three strikeouts and three earned runs allowed.
-The RHP closed game two at New Mexico, throwing 3 full innings, striking out a trio of Lobos, and not surrendering a run or a hit.
-Smelcer started his third game of 2025 in a midweek win, 9-4, over Wright State. He opened with three Ks and two earned runs allowed in 2.1 IP.
- He took his second start of the season in the rubber match 14-9 win against MW opponent, Washington State. He went 1.1 innings with one K and three earned runs given up off six hits.
-In the 15-2 run-rule win over South Dakota State, Smelcer made his first start on the mound. He recorded an impressive outing, going four full innings with a career-high six strikeouts.
-The freshman earned his first win at Air Force and im- proved to 1-3, after defending AF's lead and only allowing one run off three hits.
-So far this season, the right-handed pitcher has made eight appearances out of the bullpen.
-His collegiate debut came against No. 10 Florida, where he went 0.2 innings with one K and five runs allowed.
Dilly Day
-Typically, Ethan Dillinger serves as a middle reliever, but he earned the starting Sunday slot for AF.
-Over 25.1 innings pitched, the lefty has collected a pair of starts in 12 total appearances and a record of 0-1.
-Dillinger marks an ERA of 4.62 with 26 strikeouts for a batting average against of .302.
-In MW play, the sophomore has logged a 5.87 ERA with 14 Ks in 15.1 innings pitched.
-In his latest appearance, Dillinger went a career-high five innings in the rubber match against Nevada. He struck out three and allowed just a pair of runs off five hits.
-Dillinger did pitch against Washington State in the game two 10-4 loss. He threw two full innings with three Ks and four runs allowed.
Zach Attack
-Zach Peters is currently batting second-best for the Falcons at .323, a slugging percentage of .563, with an on-base percentage of .410 and has marked a team-high 40 RBIs.
-Peters has notched at least one of every extra-base hit, with 15 doubles, a triple, and is tied for the most homer, seven.
-The right fielder has marked 69 put outs, nine assists,
and one double play for a FLD% of .929, while starting 44 of 45 games.
-Peters has recorded 15 multi-hit games and leads the Falcons with 12 multi-RBI games.
-On the base path, Peters is 6-8 in stolen bags.
-In the game one 15-14 victory over Washington State, Peters went a perfect 3-for-3 with four RBIs.
-Across the previous WSU series, Peters collected seven hits and runs scored, along with four RBIs.
-In his latest outing, the senior went 3-for-4 at Northern Colorado, notching two home runs in a single game for the first time in his career, along with three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
-Peters picked up six hits in the three-game series against Nevada. He scored six runs for the Falcons and logged a trio of both RBIs and doubles.
-He boasted four RBIs in the series at Fresno State with an RBI double and a homer in the game three 8-3 victory.
-Peters was a force in game three against UNLV, batting 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a trio of RBIs.
-In game two at San Jose State, Peters went 2-for-3 with a double.
-He notched his second career homer in game two at CBU, to help the Falcons hang on to the 4-2 lead they had in the fourth inning.
-Across the Army series, the senior collected 7 hits, with four in game two for a new career high.
-In the same game, Peters tallied two doubles, a triple, and three RBIs, helping to propel AF to a 14-7 victory.
On Deck
Following the series in Pullman, the Falcons will return to Erdle Field to host New Mexico in their final home series while celebrating the Air Force seniors from Friday May 9-Sunday May 11.
Players Mentioned
IF
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LHP
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OF
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OF
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IF
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IF
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UT/RHP
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RHP
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RHP
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OF/RHP
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C
/ BaseballFalcons win on senior day over New Mexico
Sunday, May 11
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
