Falcons Secure Series on Senior Day with 5-4 Win Over New Mexico

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo., - On a special senior day, Air Force baseball (20-31, 12-15) claimed the series over New Mexico (29-20, 16-11) with a final score of 5-4 on Sunday afternoon at Erdle Field. The Falcons racked up 13 hits with four doubles while the pitchers combined to strike out nine Lobos.

Head Coach Mike Kazlausky shared, "What a great way for our seniors and soon to be 2nd Lieutenants to end their days playing at Erdle Field, with a win. It is a sad but powerful day to watch our seniors play their final home game"

During pregame, Air Force honored five graduating seniors: Jaxson Crump, Zach Peters, Aaron Reyes, Dylan Rogers, and Chase Spencer. The five-man class helped bring in 103 Falcon wins and contributed to historic feats such as claiming the 2022 Mountain West Tournament Championship title, saw Air Force reach the 2022 NCAA Regionals for the first time in 53 years, and earned the 2024 Mountain West Regular Season Champions honor for the first time in history.

Senior, Chase Spencer closed his time at Erdle Field going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and one run scored. Alex Adams recorded two RBIs and one double. Walker Zapp, Zach Peters, and Tripp Garrish were responsible for one RBI a piece.

Ethan Dillinger took the starting spot on the mound and earned his first win of the season, improving to 1-2. The sophomore went five full innings with a new career-high six strikeouts and allowed three runs. The first reliever, Davis Rhyne recorded one strikeout, and one run allowed in 0.2 innings pitched. Across 1.2 innings, Joey Collier made critical outs with a pair of strikeouts and gave up no runs. The closer, Charlie Russell earned the save after giving up no hits and no runs in his 1.2 innings on the hill.

The Falcons were first on the board early in the bottom of one, 2-0. Spencer opened the game with a single to the shortstop and stole second. With a full-count single out to left field, Zapp sent Spencer to score the first run of the afternoon. Peters followed with the third single of the frame and advanced Zapp to scoring position. An RBI ground out by Adams gave Zapp time to score.

New Mexico cut the lead in half, 2-1, with a solo shot in the top of the second.

The home half of the third saw Air Force take a strong 5-2 advantage, with a trio of runs off four hits. Zapp led off with a double to deep left center and saw the opportunity to take third on a wild pitch. A Peters single through the right side allowed Zapp to cross the plate. With one away, Peters moved to second on a first-pitch single from Christian Taylor and scored on an RBI ground out hit by Garrish. Coming in clutch was Adams, who recorded a two-bagger out to left center field, plating the Falcons' final pair of runs scored at home this season.

The Lobos knocked a two-run homer out of the park to trim the deficit to 5-3, in top of five.

UNM put up their last run on an RBI single in the top of the sixth frame for a final score of 5-4. Collier entered the game for the last out and got the Birds out of a bases-loaded situation with a strikeout.

In the top of the eighth, Russell took the call from the bullpen and forced a double play to hold the Lobos. He went three up, three down in the top of the ninth with a pair of ground outs and a fly out to secure the save.

Air Force will play their last regular season Mountain West series on the road at UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev., from Thursday May 15-Saturday May 17 and are striving to clinch a spot in the Mountain West tournament.

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