April 2, 2015
USAFA, Colo. -- San Jose State's baseball team issued a combined nine free passes and Air Force added 14 hits in the Spartans' 13-3 loss Thursday afternoon at Falcon Field.
San Jose State fell to 8-21 (2-11 MW) on the season while Air Force won its third game in a row to move to 12-16 (6-7 MW).Matt Brown (1-5) took the loss for San Jose State, working the first 3.1 innings and allowing five runs on four hits, three walks and three hit batters.
Myles Richard took over for Brown in the fourth and also struggled with command at times, allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits, a walk and two hit batters in 3.2 innings of work.
Griffin Jax (2-5) went 7.0 innings for the Falcons and allowed just one run on three hits to pick up his second win of the season. The righty had control issues of his own, as he walked five Spartans, but San Jose State was only able to turn one of them into a run.
David Campbell (2-3, run, walk) put together the only multi-hit day for the Spartans, reaching base twice on infield singles. Brett Bautista (1-4, run, double) and Joe Stefanki (1-2, run, two walks, double, RBI) added two-baggers and Andre Mercurio (1-4, RBI) and Justin Beck (1-1) rounded out the Spartans' six-hit day.
Mercurio got the Spartans on the board first in the top of the second. Stefanki led off the inning with a walk and was advanced to second on a sac bunt by Michael Breen before Mercurio came up with a two-out knock to center for a 1-0 San Jose State lead.
Air Force responded in the home half of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. After Brown hit Noah Pierce and Tyler Jones in consecutive at-bats, Tyler Saleck cashed in with a double off the netting in right field to put the Falcons on top.
The Falcons added six more in the bottom of the next inning, as Air Force sent a combined 10 men to the plate off Brown and Myles despite only collecting three hits in the inning.
Richard settled down in the fifth and sixth, but the Falcons got to him for four more in the seventh inning with the help of a Spartan error to make it 13-1.
Stefanki got a pair back for San Jose State in the next frame, driving a two-run double to the right center gap to score Bautista and Campbell.Â
Kalei Contrades (3-5, 3.50) looks to repeat his dominant performance against the Falcons on March 6 when he takes the ball Friday at 2:00 p.m. PT. Jacob DeVries (3-4, 6.18) will get the start for Air Force.