May 3, 2002
Colorado Springs - Air Force, trailing 7-6, scored the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on to defeat San Diego State, 8-7, Friday afternoon at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs. With the win, the Falcons improved to 23-22 overall and 10-11 in the Mountain West Conference. The loss dropped the Aztecs to 35-17 and 15-7 in league play.
Air Force starter Matt Kaercher threw a complete game to even his season record at 7-7. Along the way he struck out seven and walked four. SDSU's Joe Carque took the loss in relief and saw his record fall to 6-3.
SDSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead after three innings, getting runs in the first and third with RBI's on each occasion by freshman Jake McLintock.
However, Air Force sent nine men to the plate in the fourth against Aztec starter Chris Dunwell to take a 6-2 lead. The first six Falcons hitters reached base with the big blows in the inning a two-run single by Adam Howes and two-run homer by Josh Phifer.
San Diego State fought back with two in the fifth courtesy of an Air Force throwing error and an RBI single by McLintock. SDSU then regained the lead with three more in the sixth inning. A bases-loaded walk to Josh Hill, another RBI single by McLintock, and a fielder's choice off the bat of Jon Stephens gave the Aztecs a 7-6 advantage.
Carque, who replaced Dunwell to start the fifth, sailed through his first three innings, striking out six along the way, But in the eighth, he gave up a two-out walk to pinch hitter Brian Gornick followed by back to-back RBI doubles by Howes and Tony Shockley. Kaercher then retired in the Aztecs in the ninth to secure the victory.
Taber Lee and Jake McLintock accounted for the majority of SDSU's offensive output, accounting for seven of SDSU's 11 hits on the day. Lee went 4-for-4 with a double, four runs scored and a walk while McLintock had three hits and four runs batted in.
Even with the loss, San Diego State's magic number to clinch the MWC regular-season title outright has dropped to four with Utah (11-11 MWC) and three with Brigham Young (10-11 MWC) and Air Force (10-11 MWC). The Utes and Cougars both lost at home Thursday night and were scheduled to continue their series with New Mexico and UNLV respectively later this evening.
The Aztecs and Falcons continue their three-game series on Saturday (May 4) in Colorado Springs with game time set for noon (MDT). The Internet broadcast of that contest can be heard beginning at 10:50 a.m. (Pacific Time) in San Diego with the Aztec pre-game show.
Air Force 8, San Diego State 7SDS 101 023 000 - 7 11 2AFA 000 600 02x - 8 10 2Kaercher and PetroDunwell, Carque (5), Ring (8) and ManfredW - Kaercher (7-7)L - Carque (6-3)Sv - NoneHR - AF: Phifer (4th-one on)Att. - 312Time - 2:45