Courtesy of Air Force Athletics
In his encore as yesterday’s hero, Jay Thomason was superb at the plate yet again, going 2-4 with 4 RBIs, as his three-run home run in the 6th created an 8-2 Falcons lead. Thomason opened the scoring in the 1st with a sacrifice fly before lining a double off the of the big right field wall in the 3rd.
In four games this week, Thomason finished 9-14 (.643) with 4 HR’s, 1 3B, 2 2B’s and 14 RBIs.
Jake Greiving had his most impactful game of the series on Sunday, going 3-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Greiving drove in runs in the 3rd and the 8th as the result of base-hits.
Chase Spencer was 2-4, bringing in a run with single up the middle in the 6th, while Zach Peters closed his day with an identical batting line. Charlie Jones picked up a hit and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 8th.
Jones has reached base in each of his last 18 games, aided by what is now a 15-game hitting streak.
Getting the start in the designated hitter spot, Tripp Garrish ended his afternoon 2-4 with a double and two runs scored. Walker Zapp had quite the adventurous day at the plate, as the Air Force catcher finished 1-2 with a bases-loaded walk and a hit-by-pitch. In total, the Falcons were plunked five times.
Air Force never relented against Dallas Baptist on Sunday, scoring in six of their eight turns at the plate while piling on 14 hits.
Ben Weber picked up his second win of the season, and deservedly so, as the sophomore gave Air Force 5.2 solid innings in the rubber game. Weber initially ran into some trouble in his opening inning, though he worked out of a base-loaded, one-out situation to keep the Patriots off the scoreboard.
After allowing a run in the 2nd, Weber kept DBU out of the run column until the 6th, as he departed with the Falcons holding a 4-2 lead. Weber managed five strikeouts over his 103 pitches.
With two outs in the 6th, Doyle Gehring made his first appearance since being hit with the loss on Friday. The formidable right-hander struck out six Patriots over 3.1 innings, as his only two earned runs were the result of a two-run home run in the 7th.
Two Air Force errors in the 9th extended the ballgame, though Gehring remained steadfast to pick up his sixth save of the season. Sunday marks his third multi-inning save of the spring.
The series win becomes Air Force’s first since sweeping San Diego State on March 16-17, and is the Falcons first series win over a ranked opponent since sweeping #20 UNLV on April 17-19 in 2014.
Next, the Falcons will head to College Station for a matchup against #3 Texas A&M on Tuesday, April 16.
