COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Jose State baseball was unable to keep up with the hot bats of the Air Force Falcons as they dropped game two of the series 12-3 Friday at Falcon Field. The series is now tied 1-1 with the rubber match slated for an 11:00 a.m. PT start on Saturday.
After Air Force plated the game's first two runs in the bottom of the first, the Spartans struck back in the second as Santiago Cantu laced a RBI single that was just out of the Falcons' shortstop reach and rolled into left field to plate Nick Knecht to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Falcons then got a run back in the third as Ashton Easley scored from third on a wild pitch, but the lead was soon erased as James Shimashita knocked a two-run double to right in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.
Air Force then broke the game open, plating two in the fifth and four in the sixth on two homeruns to take a commanding 9-3 lead that they held on to for the remainder of the contest. They added three more runs on insurance to finish with a final of 12-3.
The Falcons (25-26, 11-14) finished with 15 hits while SJSU tallied 12. Cantu finished with a career-best three hits on the day to lead the Spartan offense.
With the loss, tomorrow's rubber match becomes an absolute must-win game for the Spartans as they try to lock up the fourth spot in the Mountain West Tournament. They will need a win and for Fresno State to sweep UNLV in order to clinch.
Tevin Cadola (5-3) was charged with the loss after surrendering 11 hits in 5.0 innings and was responsible for seven runs, all earned. Wesley Clawson, Nicholas Morales and Zach Wallace also spent time on the bump in the loss. Wallace, a senior, set a new school record with his 91st career appearance.
Falcons reliever Stevan Fairburn Jr. picked up the win to improve to 4-0. Rob Dau led the offense with a 4-for-4 day with three runs scored. Gabe Martinez tallied six RBI with two home runs and Easley had a three-hit game with two doubles and three runs scored.
SJSU drops to 20-33 overall and 13-16 in league play heading into tomorrow's regular-season finale.