April 8, 2016
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - San Jose State tied the game with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but Air Force responded with five runs in the bottom half to pull away for a 9-3 win Friday afternoon at Falcon Field.
The Spartans (10-18, 3-9 MW) climbed back from a 3-1 hole to knot the ballgame at 3-3 in the seventh. Air Force (15-8, 5-4 MW) starter Trent Monaghan struck out Brendt Citta to lead off the inning, but the ball skipped off the front of the plate and kicked to the backstop, allowing Citta to reach. He would later score on a bases-loaded balk by newly-entered reliever Matt Hargreaves. The Spartans then tied the game on Joe Stefanki's RBI groundout.
In the bottom half, Air Force plated five runs on five hits and took advantage of a key San Jose State error. All five runs scored after two outs had been recorded.
Spartans' starter Graham Gomez (L, 1-3) was tagged with the loss despite throwing a career-high 6.2 innings. He surrendered seven runs (five earned) on 15 hits while striking out three and walking none.
Shane Timmons (1-3, walk) extended his reached-base streak to 21 games, while Ozzy Braff (1-4, RBI, double) upped his to 16. Michael Breen (2-4, double) collected a pair of hits, improving his hit streak to 11 games.
The Spartans and Falcons will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12:00 p.m. MT/11:00 a.m. PT. San Jose State will be the home team for the first game - a seven-inning make-up contest for the rained-out affair in San Jose. The following game will be a nine-inning game with the Falcons as the home team.