Courtesy of Air Force Athletics
SAN DIEGO- The Falcons made their presence known to begin the 2024 Mountain West Tournament, as Seungmin Shim and Doyle Gehring combined to allow just two runs, as #1 Air Force held on for the 3-2 win over #4 Fresno State.
Shim, on the same day he was named Pitcher of the Year in the conference, made good on the recognition, as the soon-to-be-commissioned Second Lieutenant surrendered just one run over 7.0 innings while striking out five. The southpaw let up just four hits, as his only run was the result of a wild pitch in the 2nd.
The win is Shim’s eighth of the spring, becoming just the 11th pitcher in Air Force history to win as many games in a single season. In 15 starts, Thursday marks the ninth game in which Shim has pitched at least 7.0 innings.
Doyle Gehring entered in the 8th, closing out his 10th save of the spring. The C1C had to work through some trouble that same inning, as three singles in the frame led to the Bulldogs cutting the Falcons lead to 3-2. Even so, with the tying and winning runs on base, Gehring induced a popup into foul ground to end the top half of the inning.
In the 9th, Gehring issued a leadoff walk after a six-pitch at-bat, but he retired the next three batters in order to notch his 18th career save.
The consistent combo stranded 10 Bulldogs on base while allowing just two extra-base hits.
Air Force’s three runs all came via the home run ball, as Chase Spencer led off the bottom half of the 1st with a solo home run to left. Spencer, a Second Team All-Conference selection pick, extended his on-base streak to 24 games and his hitting streak to 12 games with the homer.
Jay Thomason maintained his power production, as the Mountain West Co-Player of the Year launched a two-run home run to the opposite field later in the 1st. The home run was Thomason’s 20th of the season and the 57th of his career, making him the only player in program history to club 20+ home runs in multiple seasons. He’s now reached base in 17-consecutive games.
Sam Kulasingam became the Falcons all-time hit leader on Thursday, as his pair of base-hits upped his career total to 301, passing Nic Ready’s previous school record of 300. Kulasingam was the only Falcon to produce multiple hits, as he scored in front of Thomason after the latter’s long ball. Kulasingam also maintains his on-base run, extending his streak to 24-consecutive games.
Jake Greiving and Aerik Joe added hits as well.
The win is Air Force’s fourth-consecutive win over Fresno State, while the Falcons have been winners in eight of their last 10 ballgames overall.
Next, the Falcons will meet third-seed San Jose State in the semifinal round on Friday, May 24, with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 pm MT.
