Friday, April 24
USAFA, CO
3 p.m. MT
Air Force Academy
vs
San Jose State University
Falcons Return to Erdle Field for MW Series Against San Jose State
4/23/2026 11:47:00 AM | Baseball
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo., - Air Force baseball (18-20, 9-6) returns to Erdle Field for a Mountain West series against San Jose State (17-21,5-7).
SCHEDULE
Friday April 24 | vs. San Jose State | 3 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
Saturday April 25 | vs. San Jose State | 1 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
Sunday April 26 | vs. San Jose State | 12 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
MEDIA
Live Stream – Mountain West Network
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @AF_Baseball
BASE ACCESS
New this year: Passes will now be issued monthly instead of requiring a separate submission for each event. This means ticket holders only need to complete the form once per month to gain access to all events during that time. Ticket holders can request a base pass using this link.
After registering, you will receive a message on our phone to present at the gate when entering the Academy. Fans must also present their game tickets at each venue. All tickets and credentialed attendees can enter through the North or South gate. North gate is recommended for access to athletic fields; while fans are encouraged to use the North and South gates for football games.
Note: When completing the information from the link, please use the information directly from your driver's license (Robert vs. Bob). Your ID must also be REAL ID compliant. Anyone under 18 will not be required to do a QR code.
ALL TIME VERSUS SAN JOSE STATE
SJSU and Air Force have met 69 times between 1959 and 2025, with the Falcons holding the winning 40-29 record. Overtime, AF has outscored San Jose State 464-442 and have shutout the Spartans once, 12-0, on March 7, 2015. Last season, the Spartans swept the MW series (14-1, 14-3, 2-0).
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Friday | RHP Gaines Estridge (7.58) vs. RHP David Thomas (7.24)
Saturday | LHP Ethan Dillinger (9.89) vs. LHP Jesse Gutierrez (5.40)
Sunday | TBD vs. RHP Dylan Smith (4.57)
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
The Falcons are a perfect 11-0 at Erdle Field after completing a 6-0 homestand and are the lone NCAA DI institution to go unbeaten on home turf. Air Force's most consecutive home wins, 16, was in 1971 and this is the best home start since the Birds marked four consecutive home wins in 2021.
When at Erdle Field, the Falcons are batting .386 with a SLG% of .681 and have recorded 152 runs off 144 hits, including 21 homers, to outscore opponents 152-88. The pitching staff has tossed 92 innings on the bump with 78 strikeouts and have seen eight different hurlers pick up wins while Patrick Davidson and Sam Hentges earned two saves apiece.
AIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
Stolen Bases -10th (114)
67th Tripp Garrish (18)
Stolen Bases/Game - 7th (3.00)
Runs - 29th (334)
44th Tripp Garrish (47)
Scoring - 15th (8.8)
OB% - 38th (.411)
9th Wyatt Hanoian (.533)
BA - 49th (.299)
Doubles - 43rd (84)
Doubles/Game - 26th (2.21)
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.299)
Pitching -7th (7.48)
Fielding - 5th (.970)
RBIs - 3rd (296)
SLG% - 4th (.461)
SBs - 1st (114)
Individual
AVG - 5th Wyatt Hanoian (.371)
SLG% - 9th Wyatt Hanoian (.573)
OB% - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (.533)
10th Brooks Burdine (.457)
OPS - 3rd Wyatt Hanoian (1.105)
9th Tripp Garrish (1.005)
Runs- 3rd Tripp Garrish (47)
4th Kayden Bradshaw (43)
Hits - 10thTripp Garrish (51)
RBIs - 3rd Luke Elmore (41)
5th Walker Zapp (38)
7th Tripp Garrish (37)
HR - 5th Tripp Garrish (8)
BB - 3rd Ben Niednagel (26)
9th Wyatt Hanoian (25)
HBP - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (19)
2nd Kayden Bradshaw (15)
SAC BU - 2nd Ben Niednagel (6)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (18)
2nd Ben Niednagel (16)
4th Kayden Bradshaw (14)
5th Luke Elmore (12)
IP - 9th Gaines Estridge (48.2)
Ks Looking - 10th Gaines Estridge (7)
FLDG% - 1st Tripp Garrish (1.000)
6th Luke Elmore (.996)
Putouts - 6th Luke Elmore (256)
Assists - 5th Ben Niednagel (102)
GDP - 7th Luke Elmore (22)
Runners Caught Stealing - 3rd Walker Zapp (8)
8th Van Klein (5)
STARTING SLOT
Gaines Estridge (2-5) has been a steady presence in the rotation for Air Force, leading all Falcon pitchers with 48.2 innings pitched while totaling 33 strikeouts and a 7.58 ERA. The junior opened the season with back-to-back standout performances, beginning with six shutout innings and four strikeouts in a 15-3 win over Penn State. He followed that with a career effort against Navy, tossing seven innings with a personal-best 10 strikeouts. Estridge added five strikeouts over five innings at Baylor and turned in another strong outing at Tarleton State, going six innings while allowing just two earned runs and striking out four.
Estridge earned his second season win, the fourth of his career, with a five-inning performance in game one against Fresno State. He struck out three Bulldogs and gave up just one run to help towards the 8-5 win. Most recently, the junior went 1.1 innings at Grand Canyon.
Junior Ethan Dillinger (0-1) is set to take his fifth start of the season on Saturday against SJSU. The LHP has totaled 23.2 innings on the mound with 12 appearances for 29 strikeouts and an ERA of 9.89. Against Fresno State, he went a season-high 4.2 frames with a trio of Ks before tossing 3.1 frames with two earned runs and a pair of strikeouts at Grand Canyon.
RELIABLE RELIEVERS
Marcus Downing has proved to be a strong reliever for the Falcons, with the lowest ERA of 3.86 in 23.1 frames. He has struck out 17 batters and allowed ten earned runs to hold the winningest record of any AF pitcher at 5-0.
Junior Sam Hentges has thrown 14.2 innings of strong relief, logging 17 Ks and nine runs off nine hits for a 5.52 ERA.
A LOOK AT SAN JOSE STATE
The Spartans are 17-21 on the 2026 season and have compiled a MW mark of 5-7. They took a series wins over New Mexico, and won one against Nevada, Washington State, and UNLV.
The team is batting .267, and have been outscored opponents 268-230. Alex Fernandes leads at the plate, posting the highest average at .392 with 56 hits and 31 RBIs.
Defensively, San Jose State marks a team ERA of 6.85, allowing 268 runs in 331.1 innings, along with 298 strikeouts.
SCHEDULE
Friday April 24 | vs. San Jose State | 3 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
Saturday April 25 | vs. San Jose State | 1 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
Sunday April 26 | vs. San Jose State | 12 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
MEDIA
Live Stream – Mountain West Network
Live Stats – StatBroadcast
Twitter - @AF_Baseball
BASE ACCESS
New this year: Passes will now be issued monthly instead of requiring a separate submission for each event. This means ticket holders only need to complete the form once per month to gain access to all events during that time. Ticket holders can request a base pass using this link.
After registering, you will receive a message on our phone to present at the gate when entering the Academy. Fans must also present their game tickets at each venue. All tickets and credentialed attendees can enter through the North or South gate. North gate is recommended for access to athletic fields; while fans are encouraged to use the North and South gates for football games.
Note: When completing the information from the link, please use the information directly from your driver's license (Robert vs. Bob). Your ID must also be REAL ID compliant. Anyone under 18 will not be required to do a QR code.
ALL TIME VERSUS SAN JOSE STATE
SJSU and Air Force have met 69 times between 1959 and 2025, with the Falcons holding the winning 40-29 record. Overtime, AF has outscored San Jose State 464-442 and have shutout the Spartans once, 12-0, on March 7, 2015. Last season, the Spartans swept the MW series (14-1, 14-3, 2-0).
PITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
Friday | RHP Gaines Estridge (7.58) vs. RHP David Thomas (7.24)
Saturday | LHP Ethan Dillinger (9.89) vs. LHP Jesse Gutierrez (5.40)
Sunday | TBD vs. RHP Dylan Smith (4.57)
PROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
- Kayden Bradshaw, CF (.951)
- Ben Niednagel, SS (.926)
- Wyatt Hanoian, 2B (1.106)
- Walker Zapp, C (.836)
- Tripp Garrish, DH (1.005)
- Luke Elmore, 1B (.820)
- Christian Taylor, LF (.597)
- Cole Jenkins, 3B (.960)
- Blake Campbell, RF (.602)
The Falcons are a perfect 11-0 at Erdle Field after completing a 6-0 homestand and are the lone NCAA DI institution to go unbeaten on home turf. Air Force's most consecutive home wins, 16, was in 1971 and this is the best home start since the Birds marked four consecutive home wins in 2021.
When at Erdle Field, the Falcons are batting .386 with a SLG% of .681 and have recorded 152 runs off 144 hits, including 21 homers, to outscore opponents 152-88. The pitching staff has tossed 92 innings on the bump with 78 strikeouts and have seen eight different hurlers pick up wins while Patrick Davidson and Sam Hentges earned two saves apiece.
AIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
Stolen Bases -10th (114)
67th Tripp Garrish (18)
Stolen Bases/Game - 7th (3.00)
Runs - 29th (334)
44th Tripp Garrish (47)
Scoring - 15th (8.8)
OB% - 38th (.411)
9th Wyatt Hanoian (.533)
BA - 49th (.299)
Doubles - 43rd (84)
Doubles/Game - 26th (2.21)
AIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Team
Batting - 4th (.299)
Pitching -7th (7.48)
Fielding - 5th (.970)
RBIs - 3rd (296)
SLG% - 4th (.461)
SBs - 1st (114)
Individual
AVG - 5th Wyatt Hanoian (.371)
SLG% - 9th Wyatt Hanoian (.573)
OB% - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (.533)
10th Brooks Burdine (.457)
OPS - 3rd Wyatt Hanoian (1.105)
9th Tripp Garrish (1.005)
Runs- 3rd Tripp Garrish (47)
4th Kayden Bradshaw (43)
Hits - 10thTripp Garrish (51)
RBIs - 3rd Luke Elmore (41)
5th Walker Zapp (38)
7th Tripp Garrish (37)
HR - 5th Tripp Garrish (8)
BB - 3rd Ben Niednagel (26)
9th Wyatt Hanoian (25)
HBP - 1st Wyatt Hanoian (19)
2nd Kayden Bradshaw (15)
SAC BU - 2nd Ben Niednagel (6)
Stolen Bases - 1st Tripp Garrish (18)
2nd Ben Niednagel (16)
4th Kayden Bradshaw (14)
5th Luke Elmore (12)
IP - 9th Gaines Estridge (48.2)
Ks Looking - 10th Gaines Estridge (7)
FLDG% - 1st Tripp Garrish (1.000)
6th Luke Elmore (.996)
Putouts - 6th Luke Elmore (256)
Assists - 5th Ben Niednagel (102)
GDP - 7th Luke Elmore (22)
Runners Caught Stealing - 3rd Walker Zapp (8)
8th Van Klein (5)
STARTING SLOT
Gaines Estridge (2-5) has been a steady presence in the rotation for Air Force, leading all Falcon pitchers with 48.2 innings pitched while totaling 33 strikeouts and a 7.58 ERA. The junior opened the season with back-to-back standout performances, beginning with six shutout innings and four strikeouts in a 15-3 win over Penn State. He followed that with a career effort against Navy, tossing seven innings with a personal-best 10 strikeouts. Estridge added five strikeouts over five innings at Baylor and turned in another strong outing at Tarleton State, going six innings while allowing just two earned runs and striking out four.
Estridge earned his second season win, the fourth of his career, with a five-inning performance in game one against Fresno State. He struck out three Bulldogs and gave up just one run to help towards the 8-5 win. Most recently, the junior went 1.1 innings at Grand Canyon.
Junior Ethan Dillinger (0-1) is set to take his fifth start of the season on Saturday against SJSU. The LHP has totaled 23.2 innings on the mound with 12 appearances for 29 strikeouts and an ERA of 9.89. Against Fresno State, he went a season-high 4.2 frames with a trio of Ks before tossing 3.1 frames with two earned runs and a pair of strikeouts at Grand Canyon.
RELIABLE RELIEVERS
Marcus Downing has proved to be a strong reliever for the Falcons, with the lowest ERA of 3.86 in 23.1 frames. He has struck out 17 batters and allowed ten earned runs to hold the winningest record of any AF pitcher at 5-0.
Junior Sam Hentges has thrown 14.2 innings of strong relief, logging 17 Ks and nine runs off nine hits for a 5.52 ERA.
A LOOK AT SAN JOSE STATE
The Spartans are 17-21 on the 2026 season and have compiled a MW mark of 5-7. They took a series wins over New Mexico, and won one against Nevada, Washington State, and UNLV.
The team is batting .267, and have been outscored opponents 268-230. Alex Fernandes leads at the plate, posting the highest average at .392 with 56 hits and 31 RBIs.
Defensively, San Jose State marks a team ERA of 6.85, allowing 268 runs in 331.1 innings, along with 298 strikeouts.
Players Mentioned
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UT
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C
/ BaseballFalcons finish series sweep against Utah Valley
Tuesday, April 14
Falcons Ten Run Utah Valley 17-7 on Monday
Monday, April 13
Falcons finish series sweep vs Fresno State
Sunday, April 12
8th inning rally gives Falcons win over Fresno State
Saturday, April 11
