April 22, 2011
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - In a reversal of roles from the previous day, San Diego State was held to a lone run by a starting pitcher over the first eight innings while Air Force scored in five different innings as the Falcons' defeated the Aztecs, 7-3, Friday afternoon in Colorado Springs. The result ended SDSU's run of 35 consecutive victories over the cadets dating back to the 2003 season.
The win was the Falcons' first in Mountain West Conference play this season as they improved to 15-24 overall and 1-8 in the MWC. San Diego State, meanwhile, saw its record fall to 12-27 (6-8 MWC). The game was played in windy conditions that included a steady 20 mile per hour breeze with gusts to 30 mph.
Just as Air Force did in Thursday's contest between the teams, San Diego State scored a run in the opening frame to take a quick 1-0 lead. Brandon Meredith was hit by pitch with two out, advanced to second on a walk to Chris Wilson and scored on Jomel Torres' single to center.
From that point on, however, Falcon starting pitcher Ben Bertelson (2-3) shut down the Aztec offense over the next seven innings, allowing five hits and striking out nine. Bertelson did walk five on the afternoon, but was aided by his defense which turned three double plays.
Air Force tied the game in the bottom of the first on a double steal that came with Alex Bast on third and Nathan Carter at first. Carter broke for second and when catcher Ben Vasko threw there, Bast broke for home. The throw to the plate was in time by Bast managed to avoid the tag and tie the game at 1-1.
The Falcons took the lead for good with a run in the second off Aztec starter Ethan Miller. They would also rally for two in the fourth and put the leadoff man on in the fifth against the sophomore right-hander to bring a close to his afternoon on the mound. Miller would take the loss to fall to 2-4 after going four innings and allowing five runs on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
Craig Rasmussen came on in relief of Miller in the fifth only to have the first batter he faced, Nathan Carter, hit a wind-blown home run to right to make it 6-1. Air Force added its final run in the seventh against reliever Mike Hachadorian.
With Bertelson out of the game in favor of reliever Stephen Colangelo, San Diego State picked up a pair of consolation runs in the final inning. A two-out single by Tim Zier brought home Cody Slader and Cody Smith, who had singled and doubled respectively. But Colangelo then got the final out on a fly ball to center to nail down the win for the Falcons.
Zier finished the afternoon as SDSU's offensive leader with three hits and the two runs batted in. Jomel Torres added a pair of singles and an RBI as well.
Air Force and San Diego State will conclude their three-game series with a contest on Saturday (April 23) with first pitch scheduled for noon (MT) at Falcon Field.