Friday, March 20
Don Weir Field at Peccole Park | Reno, NV
7 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
University of Nevada
Air Force Travels for Mountain West Series at Nevada
3/19/2026 12:19:00 PM | Baseball
RENO, Nev., - The Falcons (6-11, 3-0) are back on the road for a Mountain West series at Nevada (12-6, 3-0) from Friday March 20-Sunday March 22 at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park. Both teams head into the series with conference sweeps under their belt.
SCHEDULE
Friday March 20 6 p.m. PT | 7 p.m. MT
Saturday March 21 2 p.m. PT | 3 p.m. MT
Sunday March 22 12 p.m. PT | 1 p.m. MT
MEDIA
Watch Live – Mountain West Network
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @af_baseball
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Friday | LHP Josh Holst (5.40) vs. LHP Alessandro Castro (5.94)
Saturday | RHP Gaines Estridge (5.97) vs RHP Mahiro Tomita (5.23)
Sunday | RHP Jordan Watkins (5.87) vs RHP Jordan Giacomini (5.48)
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.288)
Pitching - 9th (7.43)
Fielding - 6th (.970)
Individual
AVG - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.407)
SLG% - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.593)
OB% - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.521)
- 6th Wyatt Hanoian (.481)
OPS - 5th Kayden Bradshaw (1.114)
Runs- 4th Kayden Bradshaw (23)
- 7th Tripp Garrish (21)
RBI - 2nd Walker Zapp (25)
- 5th Luke Elmore (22)
- 9th Wyatt Hanoian (19)
HR - 2nd Landon Boyd (5)
- 5th Walker Zapp (4)
BB - 6th Wyatt Hanoian (15)
- 8th Tripp Garrish (14)
HBP - 1st Kayden Bradshaw (8)
- 2nd Wyatt Hanoian (7)
- 7th Blake Campbell (6)
SAC BU - 1st Ben Niednagel (4)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (10)
- 2nd Ben Niednagel (8)
- 5th Kayden Bradshaw (7)
- 7th Brooks Burdine (6)
- 8thWalker Zapp (5)
- 8th Luke Elmore (5)
ERA - 3rd Easton Miller (1.59)
IP - 1st Gaines Estridge (28.2)
Strikeouts Looking - 4th Bowen Brantingham (6)
- 7th Ethan Dillinger (4)
Putouts - 6th Luke Elmore (129)
- 10th Walker Zapp (110)
Assists - 2nd Ben Niednagel (49)
Runners Caught Stealing - 1st Walker Zapp (7)
- 6th Bowen Brantingham (2)
- 6th Van Klein (2)
ALL TIME VERSUS NEVADA
The two programs have faced each other a total of 58 times with Nevada holding the winning record of 32-26. In 2025, the Wolf Pack won two of three (17-15, 7-2) at Erdle Field after the Falcons run-ruled them in the first game of the series, 15-5. The first meeting of the two was in 2013.
SENIOR SHORTSTOP
C1C Ben Niednagel was named to the 2026 Brooks Wallace Award Watchlist, highlighting the top 100 shortstops across the nation. Through the opening stretch of the season, Niednagel has emerged as a key contributor for the Falcons, delivering both at the plate and in the field. The senior ranks second on the team in batting average at .328 and owns a .438 slugging percentage, highlighted by two doubles, a triple, one home run, and eight stolen bases.
Lockdown defense has defined Niednagel's play at shortstop. Starting all 14 games, the Santa Clarita, Calif., native has been perfect in the field, posting a team-best 1.000 fielding percentage among starters. He's recorded 23 putouts, 34 assists, and turned four double plays without an error to anchor the infield with reliability.
KB
Sophomore Kayden Bradshaw has earned the starting spot in 14 games of 16 he has played this season and been a leader for the team. The outfielder posts a team-best batting average of .407 with 23 runs scored, 24 hits, and 13 RBIs while stealing seven bases.
In game three against UNLV, Bradshaw completed the feat of hitting for the cycle. He went 4-for-4 to score five runs, bat in two, and record a single, double, triple, and a homer.
He followed that performance with another great one in the Monday win over St. Thomas, going a perfect 4-for-4 again with four runs scored, a double, and an inside the park home run.
ON THE MOUND
Air Force returns a steady pitching staff, looking for their experience to help out on the mound.
RHP Gaines Estridge has been a solid starter for AFA, recording 22 Ks and spending the most amount of time on the mound for any MW pitcher (28.2 IP) and holds a 5.97 ERA. He posted a pair of career outings in his first two outings of the season. In the opening 15-3 win over Penn State, the righty threw four strikeouts and allowed no runs in six innings. He came back stronger against Navy and despite earning the loss, Estridge recorded a couple of career highs with seven innings on the bump and ten strikeouts. Against ORU, Estridge struck out one batter in 5.1 IP and at Baylor he threw five innings with five strikeouts.
Freshman starter Josh Holst currently holds the lowest Falcon ERA of 5.40 with 18.1 innings and 14 Ks under his belt. In his collegiate debut against Iowa, he took a standout start, allowing just one run and striking out five batters in 5.1 innings. Against Army, the lefty allowed a pair of earned runs with four Ks in 4.1 IP. He went four innings against DBU with one strikeout an 1.1 innings with two Ks at Baylor, before the game was suspended for rain.
Set to take his first collegiate start on Sunday against Nevada is Jordan Watkins, who has made a trio of appearances out of the pen this season. The freshman holds a 5.87 ERA with six strikeouts in 7.2 IP. He picked up his first career win after going a new career-high four innings in the 15-11 win over UNLV, highlighted by three strikeouts and no earned runs allowed.
Reliever Patrick Davidson led the team in wins (5) and saves (3) in 2025 and will be looked to for some swings and misses. Most recently, the junior picked up his first save of the season in the game three win over UNLV after striking out two and getting out of a bases-loaded situation in the top of the ninth.
Junior Easton Miller has logged 5.2 shutdown innings on the mound with five Ks and just one run for the MW's third-best ERA of 1.59.
FRESHMEN FIGHT
Wyatt Hanoian has started all 17 games he has played in and boasts the highest BA of the freshmen starters at .293 with 15 runs, 17 hits, and 19 RBIs under his belt. In the second matchup with DBU, he recorded three hits and batted in four runs. Over the UNLV series, Hanoian drove in seven runs and scored six.
A LOOK AT NEVADA
The Wolf Pack are coming off a 15-5 midweek run-rule win over Fresno Pacific with a season record of 12-6. Nevada swept Fresno State (9-4, 15-12, 9-4) in their first MW series of the year as the defending regular-season conference champions. They were selected to finish first overall, while the Falcons were selected ninth.
Nevada has totaled 145 runs so far and are led offensively by Jacob Doyle who has batted in 20 runs with a .717 SLG%. On the mound, the Wolf Pack pitching staff has struck out 146 batters and allowed 116 runs for a team ERA of 6.34.
SCHEDULE
Friday March 20 6 p.m. PT | 7 p.m. MT
Saturday March 21 2 p.m. PT | 3 p.m. MT
Sunday March 22 12 p.m. PT | 1 p.m. MT
MEDIA
Watch Live – Mountain West Network
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @af_baseball
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
- Kayden Bradshaw, CF (1.114)
- Ben Niednagel, SS (.857)
- Walker Zapp, C (.910)
- Wyatt Hanoian, 2B (.929)
- Tripp Garrish, DH (.877)
- Luke Elmore, 1B (.855)
- Blake Campbell, RF (.771)
- Landon Boyd, 3B (1.036)
- Brooks Burdine, LF (.936)
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Friday | LHP Josh Holst (5.40) vs. LHP Alessandro Castro (5.94)
Saturday | RHP Gaines Estridge (5.97) vs RHP Mahiro Tomita (5.23)
Sunday | RHP Jordan Watkins (5.87) vs RHP Jordan Giacomini (5.48)
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.288)
Pitching - 9th (7.43)
Fielding - 6th (.970)
Individual
AVG - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.407)
SLG% - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.593)
OB% - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.521)
- 6th Wyatt Hanoian (.481)
OPS - 5th Kayden Bradshaw (1.114)
Runs- 4th Kayden Bradshaw (23)
- 7th Tripp Garrish (21)
RBI - 2nd Walker Zapp (25)
- 5th Luke Elmore (22)
- 9th Wyatt Hanoian (19)
HR - 2nd Landon Boyd (5)
- 5th Walker Zapp (4)
BB - 6th Wyatt Hanoian (15)
- 8th Tripp Garrish (14)
HBP - 1st Kayden Bradshaw (8)
- 2nd Wyatt Hanoian (7)
- 7th Blake Campbell (6)
SAC BU - 1st Ben Niednagel (4)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (10)
- 2nd Ben Niednagel (8)
- 5th Kayden Bradshaw (7)
- 7th Brooks Burdine (6)
- 8thWalker Zapp (5)
- 8th Luke Elmore (5)
ERA - 3rd Easton Miller (1.59)
IP - 1st Gaines Estridge (28.2)
Strikeouts Looking - 4th Bowen Brantingham (6)
- 7th Ethan Dillinger (4)
Putouts - 6th Luke Elmore (129)
- 10th Walker Zapp (110)
Assists - 2nd Ben Niednagel (49)
Runners Caught Stealing - 1st Walker Zapp (7)
- 6th Bowen Brantingham (2)
- 6th Van Klein (2)
ALL TIME VERSUS NEVADA
The two programs have faced each other a total of 58 times with Nevada holding the winning record of 32-26. In 2025, the Wolf Pack won two of three (17-15, 7-2) at Erdle Field after the Falcons run-ruled them in the first game of the series, 15-5. The first meeting of the two was in 2013.
SENIOR SHORTSTOP
C1C Ben Niednagel was named to the 2026 Brooks Wallace Award Watchlist, highlighting the top 100 shortstops across the nation. Through the opening stretch of the season, Niednagel has emerged as a key contributor for the Falcons, delivering both at the plate and in the field. The senior ranks second on the team in batting average at .328 and owns a .438 slugging percentage, highlighted by two doubles, a triple, one home run, and eight stolen bases.
Lockdown defense has defined Niednagel's play at shortstop. Starting all 14 games, the Santa Clarita, Calif., native has been perfect in the field, posting a team-best 1.000 fielding percentage among starters. He's recorded 23 putouts, 34 assists, and turned four double plays without an error to anchor the infield with reliability.
KB
Sophomore Kayden Bradshaw has earned the starting spot in 14 games of 16 he has played this season and been a leader for the team. The outfielder posts a team-best batting average of .407 with 23 runs scored, 24 hits, and 13 RBIs while stealing seven bases.
In game three against UNLV, Bradshaw completed the feat of hitting for the cycle. He went 4-for-4 to score five runs, bat in two, and record a single, double, triple, and a homer.
He followed that performance with another great one in the Monday win over St. Thomas, going a perfect 4-for-4 again with four runs scored, a double, and an inside the park home run.
ON THE MOUND
Air Force returns a steady pitching staff, looking for their experience to help out on the mound.
RHP Gaines Estridge has been a solid starter for AFA, recording 22 Ks and spending the most amount of time on the mound for any MW pitcher (28.2 IP) and holds a 5.97 ERA. He posted a pair of career outings in his first two outings of the season. In the opening 15-3 win over Penn State, the righty threw four strikeouts and allowed no runs in six innings. He came back stronger against Navy and despite earning the loss, Estridge recorded a couple of career highs with seven innings on the bump and ten strikeouts. Against ORU, Estridge struck out one batter in 5.1 IP and at Baylor he threw five innings with five strikeouts.
Freshman starter Josh Holst currently holds the lowest Falcon ERA of 5.40 with 18.1 innings and 14 Ks under his belt. In his collegiate debut against Iowa, he took a standout start, allowing just one run and striking out five batters in 5.1 innings. Against Army, the lefty allowed a pair of earned runs with four Ks in 4.1 IP. He went four innings against DBU with one strikeout an 1.1 innings with two Ks at Baylor, before the game was suspended for rain.
Set to take his first collegiate start on Sunday against Nevada is Jordan Watkins, who has made a trio of appearances out of the pen this season. The freshman holds a 5.87 ERA with six strikeouts in 7.2 IP. He picked up his first career win after going a new career-high four innings in the 15-11 win over UNLV, highlighted by three strikeouts and no earned runs allowed.
Reliever Patrick Davidson led the team in wins (5) and saves (3) in 2025 and will be looked to for some swings and misses. Most recently, the junior picked up his first save of the season in the game three win over UNLV after striking out two and getting out of a bases-loaded situation in the top of the ninth.
Junior Easton Miller has logged 5.2 shutdown innings on the mound with five Ks and just one run for the MW's third-best ERA of 1.59.
FRESHMEN FIGHT
Wyatt Hanoian has started all 17 games he has played in and boasts the highest BA of the freshmen starters at .293 with 15 runs, 17 hits, and 19 RBIs under his belt. In the second matchup with DBU, he recorded three hits and batted in four runs. Over the UNLV series, Hanoian drove in seven runs and scored six.
A LOOK AT NEVADA
The Wolf Pack are coming off a 15-5 midweek run-rule win over Fresno Pacific with a season record of 12-6. Nevada swept Fresno State (9-4, 15-12, 9-4) in their first MW series of the year as the defending regular-season conference champions. They were selected to finish first overall, while the Falcons were selected ninth.
Nevada has totaled 145 runs so far and are led offensively by Jacob Doyle who has batted in 20 runs with a .717 SLG%. On the mound, the Wolf Pack pitching staff has struck out 146 batters and allowed 116 runs for a team ERA of 6.34.
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C
/ BaseballFalcons walk past St. Thomas 20-12
Monday, March 16
Falcons Sweep UNLV with pair of wins on Saturday
Saturday, March 14
Falcons ten run UNLV to start series on Friday
Friday, March 13
Falcons win on senior day over New Mexico
Sunday, May 11
