Thursday, April 2
Tony Gwynn Stadium | San Diego, CA
7 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
at
San Diego State University
Baseball Heads West for MW Series at San Diego State
4/1/2026 2:49:00 PM | Baseball
SAN DIEGO, Calif., - The Falcons (11-15, 5-1) fly west to face the Aztecs of San Diego State (15-15, 2-2) in their third Mountain West series of the season from April 2-4 at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
MEDIA
Live Stream – Mountain West Network (Only Friday's game will be streamed)
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @AF_Baseball
SCHEDULE
Thursday April 2 | 6 p.m. PT | 7 p.m. MT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
Friday April 3 | 6 p.m. PT | 7 p.m. MT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
Saturday April 4 | 1 p.m. PT | 2 p.m. MT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
ALL-TIME VERSUS SAN DIEGO STATE
Air Force has met with the Aztecs 165 times and San Diego State holds the winning 122-43 record, outscoring the Falcons 1,576-849 over time. The first official game was on April 1, 1961, a 6-3 win for the Aztecs in San Diego. Last season, Air Force won the series, 2-1, with a run-ruled 18-8 second game and a 12-10 win in the finale.
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Thursday | LHP Josh Holst (5.46) vs. RHP Rohan Lettow (4.38)
Friday | RHP Gaines Estridge (5.77) vs. RHP Drew Talavs (6.75)
Saturday | RHP Jordan Watkins (10.67) vs. RHP Alec Belardes (6.75)
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.305)
Pitching - 7th (7.24)
Fielding - 6th (.969)
RBIs - 3rd (212)
SLG% - 4th (.463)
SBs - 1st (84)
Individual
AVG - 6th Kayden Bradshaw (.388)
OB% - 5th Wyatt Hanoian (.492)
- 6th Wyatt Hanoian (.486)
OPS - 6th Kayden Bradshaw (1.050)
Runs- 4th Tripp Garrish (33)
- 6th Kayden Bradshaw (30)
RBI - 4th Luke Elmore (29)
- 4th Walker Zapp (29)
- 8th Wyatt Hanoian (27)
3B - 6th Wyatt Hanoian (2)
BB - 5th Ben Niednagel (19)
HBP - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (12)
- 2nd Kayden Bradshaw (9)
SAC BU - 1st Ben Niednagel (6)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (14)
- 2nd Kayden Bradshaw (12)
- 4th Ben Niednagel (9)
- 4th Brooks Burdine (9)
- 9th T.J. Oster (8)
- 9th Luke Elmore (8)
ERA - 8th Josh Holst (5.46)
- 10th Gaines Estridge (5.77)
B/AVG - 10th Gaines Estridge (.278)
IP - 3rd Gaines Estridge (39.0)
Ks - 10th Gaines Estridge (28)
Ks Looking - 6th Gaines Estridge (5)
Putouts - 5th Luke Elmore (185)
Assists - 4th Ben Niednagel (68)
Runners Caught Stealing - 2nd Walker Zapp (7)
AIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
Stolen Bases - 6th (84)
- 61st Tripp Garrish (14)
Stolen Bases/Game - 6th (3.23)
Runs - 28th (238)
Scoring - 18th (9.2)
OB% - 43rd (.415)
BA - 38th (.305)
Doubles - 36th (60)
Doubles/Game - 19th (2.31)
Sacrifice Bunts - 15th Ben Niednagel (6)
STEALTH ON THE BASE PATH
The Birds have been a major threat on the bases this season, averaging 3.23 stolen bases per game for a total of 86.
In games two and three at Nevada, Air Force stole nine bases in both games for a season high. The current program record for steals in a single game is 12. So far, the Falcons have stolen five or more bases in nine different games and are on track to break the Academy season-record, which sits at 122 and was set in 1978 and 1979.
Tripp Garrish leads in stealing with 14, while Kayden Bradshaw follows close behind with 12. Ben Niednagel and Brooks Burdine have both accounted for nine.
STARTING SLOTS
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 28 Ks and spending the most amount of time on the mound for any AF pitcher (39.0 IP) and holds a 5.77 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. At Tarleton State, the junior went six innings in his sixth start, striking out four batters and allowing a pair of earned runs.
Freshman starter Josh Holst currently holds the lowest Falcon starter ERA of 5.46 with 28.0 innings and 21 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. Most recently at Tarleton State, Holst struck out three Texans and gave up just one run in five innings.
Finale starter Jordan Watkins has taken two starts and made a trio of appearances out of the pen this season. The freshman holds a 10.67 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 14.1 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.
ENTER IN RELIEF
Junior Easton Miller has logged 9.1 innings on the mound with 11 Ks and just three runs for a reliever-best ERA of 2.89.
Sam Hentges has been turned to in some big moments, as he has made eight appearances out of the bullpen for 8.2 IP. The lefty has struck out 10 batters and allowed six runs on the season. Most recently at Tarleton State, Hentges made two late appearances for 2.2 innings against the Texans with no runs allowed and four Ks.
A LOOK AT SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs are coming off a 6-2 loss to #22 Arizona State and currently sit at 15-15 overall record with a Mountain West record of 4-2. Two of their league wins came over Washington State (14-4, 15-10) the other pair was over Grand Canyon (12-11, 7-2) to win both series. Notably SDSU defeated #1 UCLA, 4-3, in February.
Offensively, San Diego State is led by Jake Jackson who is batting .343 with 35 hits, 14 of which were extra base, along with 18 RBIs. Four other Aztecs post 20 or more runs batted in. As a team, they are batting .275 with 179 runs scored and 36 stolen bases.
On the mound, the Aztec pitching staff has recorded 272 hits allowed, 191 runs allowed, 115 walks, and 274 strikeouts for a team ERA of 5.82.
MEDIA
Live Stream – Mountain West Network (Only Friday's game will be streamed)
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @AF_Baseball
SCHEDULE
Thursday April 2 | 6 p.m. PT | 7 p.m. MT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
Friday April 3 | 6 p.m. PT | 7 p.m. MT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
Saturday April 4 | 1 p.m. PT | 2 p.m. MT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
ALL-TIME VERSUS SAN DIEGO STATE
Air Force has met with the Aztecs 165 times and San Diego State holds the winning 122-43 record, outscoring the Falcons 1,576-849 over time. The first official game was on April 1, 1961, a 6-3 win for the Aztecs in San Diego. Last season, Air Force won the series, 2-1, with a run-ruled 18-8 second game and a 12-10 win in the finale.
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
- Kayden Bradshaw, CF (1.051)
- Ben Niednagel, SS (.935)
- Wyatt Hanoian, RF (.964)
- Tripp Garrish, DH (.971)
- Luke Elmore, 1B (.792)
- T.J. Oster, 2B (.920)
- Brooks Burdine, LF (.868)
- Dawson Thrush, 3B (.924)
- Van Klein, C (.634)
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Thursday | LHP Josh Holst (5.46) vs. RHP Rohan Lettow (4.38)
Friday | RHP Gaines Estridge (5.77) vs. RHP Drew Talavs (6.75)
Saturday | RHP Jordan Watkins (10.67) vs. RHP Alec Belardes (6.75)
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.305)
Pitching - 7th (7.24)
Fielding - 6th (.969)
RBIs - 3rd (212)
SLG% - 4th (.463)
SBs - 1st (84)
Individual
AVG - 6th Kayden Bradshaw (.388)
OB% - 5th Wyatt Hanoian (.492)
- 6th Wyatt Hanoian (.486)
OPS - 6th Kayden Bradshaw (1.050)
Runs- 4th Tripp Garrish (33)
- 6th Kayden Bradshaw (30)
RBI - 4th Luke Elmore (29)
- 4th Walker Zapp (29)
- 8th Wyatt Hanoian (27)
3B - 6th Wyatt Hanoian (2)
BB - 5th Ben Niednagel (19)
HBP - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (12)
- 2nd Kayden Bradshaw (9)
SAC BU - 1st Ben Niednagel (6)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (14)
- 2nd Kayden Bradshaw (12)
- 4th Ben Niednagel (9)
- 4th Brooks Burdine (9)
- 9th T.J. Oster (8)
- 9th Luke Elmore (8)
ERA - 8th Josh Holst (5.46)
- 10th Gaines Estridge (5.77)
B/AVG - 10th Gaines Estridge (.278)
IP - 3rd Gaines Estridge (39.0)
Ks - 10th Gaines Estridge (28)
Ks Looking - 6th Gaines Estridge (5)
Putouts - 5th Luke Elmore (185)
Assists - 4th Ben Niednagel (68)
Runners Caught Stealing - 2nd Walker Zapp (7)
AIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
Stolen Bases - 6th (84)
- 61st Tripp Garrish (14)
Stolen Bases/Game - 6th (3.23)
Runs - 28th (238)
Scoring - 18th (9.2)
OB% - 43rd (.415)
BA - 38th (.305)
Doubles - 36th (60)
Doubles/Game - 19th (2.31)
Sacrifice Bunts - 15th Ben Niednagel (6)
STEALTH ON THE BASE PATH
The Birds have been a major threat on the bases this season, averaging 3.23 stolen bases per game for a total of 86.
In games two and three at Nevada, Air Force stole nine bases in both games for a season high. The current program record for steals in a single game is 12. So far, the Falcons have stolen five or more bases in nine different games and are on track to break the Academy season-record, which sits at 122 and was set in 1978 and 1979.
Tripp Garrish leads in stealing with 14, while Kayden Bradshaw follows close behind with 12. Ben Niednagel and Brooks Burdine have both accounted for nine.
STARTING SLOTS
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 28 Ks and spending the most amount of time on the mound for any AF pitcher (39.0 IP) and holds a 5.77 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. At Tarleton State, the junior went six innings in his sixth start, striking out four batters and allowing a pair of earned runs.
Freshman starter Josh Holst currently holds the lowest Falcon starter ERA of 5.46 with 28.0 innings and 21 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. Most recently at Tarleton State, Holst struck out three Texans and gave up just one run in five innings.
Finale starter Jordan Watkins has taken two starts and made a trio of appearances out of the pen this season. The freshman holds a 10.67 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 14.1 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.
ENTER IN RELIEF
Junior Easton Miller has logged 9.1 innings on the mound with 11 Ks and just three runs for a reliever-best ERA of 2.89.
Sam Hentges has been turned to in some big moments, as he has made eight appearances out of the bullpen for 8.2 IP. The lefty has struck out 10 batters and allowed six runs on the season. Most recently at Tarleton State, Hentges made two late appearances for 2.2 innings against the Texans with no runs allowed and four Ks.
A LOOK AT SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs are coming off a 6-2 loss to #22 Arizona State and currently sit at 15-15 overall record with a Mountain West record of 4-2. Two of their league wins came over Washington State (14-4, 15-10) the other pair was over Grand Canyon (12-11, 7-2) to win both series. Notably SDSU defeated #1 UCLA, 4-3, in February.
Offensively, San Diego State is led by Jake Jackson who is batting .343 with 35 hits, 14 of which were extra base, along with 18 RBIs. Four other Aztecs post 20 or more runs batted in. As a team, they are batting .275 with 179 runs scored and 36 stolen bases.
On the mound, the Aztec pitching staff has recorded 272 hits allowed, 191 runs allowed, 115 walks, and 274 strikeouts for a team ERA of 5.82.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ BaseballFalcons sweep Spartans to go 14-0 at home
Sunday, April 26
Falcons ten run Spartans second game in a row
Saturday, April 25
Falcons ten run Spartans second game in a row
Saturday, April 25
Falcons rally for game one win over San Jose State
Friday, April 24
