Air Force Academy
Tarleton State University
Baseball to Play Weekend Series at Tarleton State
3/26/2026 12:38:00 PM | Baseball
STEPHENVILLE, Tx., - Air Force baseball (10-12) continues their road trip and will return back to Texas to take on Tarleton State (16-8) in a weekend series from March 27-29 at the Tarleton State Baseball Complex.
MEDIA
Watch Live – ESPN+
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @AF_Baseball
Tickets
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
- Kayden Bradshaw, CF (1.097)
- Ben Niednagel, SS (.931)
- Wyatt Hanoian, DH (.944)
- Tripp Garrish, RF (.957)
- Luke Elmore, 1B (.835)
- Landon Boyd, 3B (1.044)
- T.J. Oster, 2B (.929)
- Brooks Burdine, LF (.865)
- Van Klein, C (.317)
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Friday March 27 | LHP Josh Holst (6.26) vs. RHP Cort Lowry (3.09)
Saturday March 28 | RHP Gaines Estridge (6.27) vs. RHP Ethan Wendel (6.26)
Sunday March 29 | RHP Jordan Watkins (8.71) vs. RHP Brendon Carter (3.00)
ALL TIME VERSUS TARLETON STATE
This weekend's series will mark the first meeting of the two programs.
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.301)
Pitching - 7th (7.29)
Fielding - 6th (.969)
RBIs - 3rd (183)
SLG% - 4th (.453)
SBs - 1st (75)
Individual
AVG - 3rd Kayden Bradshaw (.403)
SLG% - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (.597)
OB% - 3rd Kayden Bradshaw (.500)
- 3rd Wyatt Hanoian (.500)
OPS - 4th Kayden Bradshaw (1.097)
Hits - 6th Kayden Bradshaw (31)
Runs- 4th Kayden Bradshaw (28)
- 5th Tripp Garrish (27)
RBI - 2nd Walker Zapp (29)
- 3rd Luke Elmore (26)
- 7th Wyatt Hanoian (24)
HR - 3rd Landon Boyd (5)
BB - 3rd Wyatt Hanoian (17)
HBP - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (12)
- 2nd Kayden Bradshaw (9)
- 7th Blake Campbell (6)
SAC BU - 1st Ben Niednagel (6)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (14)
- 2nd Kayden Bradshaw (10)
- 5th Brooks Burdine (8)
- 5th Ben Niednagel (8)
- 9th T.J. Oster (7)
- 9th Luke Elmore (7)
IP - 3rd Gaines Estridge (33.0)
Putouts - 5th Luke Elmore (161)
- 10th Walker Zapp (124)
Assists - 2nd Ben Niednagel (62)
Runners Caught Stealing - 2nd Walker Zapp (7)
- 9th Bowen Brantingham (2)
- 9th Van Klein (2)
AIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
Stolen Bases - 5th (75)
- 41st Tripp Garrish (14)
Stolen Bases/Game - 4th (3.41)
Runs - 41st (202)
OB% - 41st (.420)
BA - 54th (.301)
- 53rd Kayden Bradshaw (.403)
A LOOK AT TARLETON STATE
The Texans are coming off a ten-inning midweek loss to Lamar, 5-3 and currently sit at 16-8 overall, before starting WAC play. Notably, Tarleton defeated #2 Texas, 6-1, in Austin as well as swept New Mexico in a four game series (13-11, 7-3, 15-10, 9-7).
Offensively, the Texans are led by Rayner Heinreich with a .366 batting average, 22 RBIs, and 30 hits. On the mound, the Falcons will see Ethan Wendel and Cort Lowry who both have 23 strikeouts and over 23 innings pitched.
TRIPPIN'
Tripp Garrish has played a pivotal role in the successes of Air Force, as he has made moves as the designated hitter and the right fielder.
At the plate, the senior is batting third-best at .319 with 29 hits, 27 runs scored, and 18 runs batted in. On the base paths, Garrish is a threat, stealing 14 bases so far this season to rank first in the MW and 41st nationally and surpassing his previous career-high of nine stolen bags in 2025.
His best performance in 2026 was on March 13 in the first league game of the season against UNLV. Garrish helped the Falcons to 16-5 run-rule win after going a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored and four RBIs.
KB
Sophomore Kayden Bradshaw has earned the starting spot in 20 games of 22 he has played this season and been a leader for the team. The outfielder posts a team-best batting average of .403 with 28 runs scored, 31 hits, and 20 RBIs while stealing ten bases to rank high in the Mountain West statistical standings and nationally in the NCAA.
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.
During the series at Nevada, he drove in six runs off five hits.
FIRE FRESHMEN
Wyatt Hanoian has started all 20 games he has played in and boasts the highest BA of the freshmen starters at .306 with 20 runs, 22 hits, and 24 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. At Nevada as the designated hitter, Hanoian accounted for five RBIs and four runs.
Brooks Burdine has logged 16 starts in the outfield and has recorded the second-best batting average for the freshman at .289. He has scored 15 runs and 10 RBIs. In game two at Nevada, he marked a career-high four RBIs in a single game after going 3-for-4.
ON THE MOUND
RHP Gaines Estridge has been a solid starter for AFA, recording 24 Ks and spending the most amount of time on the mound for any AF pitcher (33.0 IP) and holds a 6.27 ERA. He posted a pair of career outings in his first two appearances 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 6.26 with 23.0 innings and 18 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.
Sunday starter Jordan Watkins has taken one start and made a trio of appearances out of the pen this season. The freshman holds a 8.71 ERA with seven strikeouts in 10.1 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. In his first start of the season against Nevada, Watkins went 2.2 innings with five earned runs allowed and one K.
