Falcons get 17 hits in rout of Lobos
New Mexico can’t catch a break as Air Force wins MWC series opener
A little bad UNM luck plus a lot of Air Force hitting added up just about the way one might expect Friday night.
The visiting Falcons piled up 17 hits, including three triples and a homer, and bashed their way to a 10-4 victory over the University of New Mexico baseball team at Santa Ana Star Field.
Air Force (9-12, 3-4 Mountain West) scored in six innings and had base runners everywhere throughout the game. The Falcons capitalized on some costly UNM mistakes early and pulled away late to beat the Lobos (8-12-1, 2-5).
“We didn’t get any breaks but we weren’t very good either,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said. “Air Force is a really good offensive club and I tip my cap to them, but giving up 17 hits on a Friday night is not encouraging. We have to pitch better than that.”
The Falcons earned the seriesopening victory with aggressive hitting and solid relief pitching by Nick Biancalana (1-1), who worked 5⅓ shutout innings to finish the contest. But it’s fair to say a few significant breaks also went Air Force’s way.
One came in the first inning, when UNM loaded the bases and Chris Dunn lined a one-out shot to the gap in right-center. Two runs scored but Daniel Zakosek was called out at the plate on a good relay throw. Video replay showed Zakosek’s foot on the plate prior to the tag, and an ensuing fly ball to right that likely would have scored Dunn was instead the third out.
Air Force trailed 2-0 but got even in the second when Daniel Jones’ two-out pop fly to shallow left-center dropped and bounced past two sliding UNM outfielders for a tworun triple.
The Falcons grabbed the lead on Nic Ready’s RBI single in the third, and Lobo starter Justin Slaten (1-5) hurt his own cause by allowing two more runs to score on two-out wild pitches to make the score 5-2.
UNM’s last unlucky break came in the fourth. Hayden Schilling singled home a run to make the score 5-3, and with two runners on Jared Mang laced a line drive to left-center that hopped over the fence for a ground-rule double. Schilling was forced to stop at third and ended up stranded with UNM still trailing 5-4.
“One of those nights for us,” Birmingham said. “Air Force made their own breaks, though.”
The Falcons quickly rebuilt their lead on Rob Dau’s two-run triple in the fifth. Ashton Easley later added an RBI triple and a solo homer.