Air Force falls in series finale with New Mexico

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- The Falcons couldn't contain the Lobos bats this afternoon, as Air Force was on the wrong end of Sunday's rubber game score, losing 12-7.

Jay Thomason clubbed his 8th home run of the season in the 6th, a solo blast, as he finished the day 3-4 to lead Air Force. All of Thomason's home runs this season and of his collegiate career have come in the span of the last six games. Gabriel Garcia was 2-5 with a double and single. Both of Garcia's runs batted in were the result of a two-run base hit in the 6th, as he is now 13-32 (.406) over his last seven games.

Sam Kulasingam, Jake Greiving, and Aerik Joe each had two hits as well.

Making his fifth start of 2022, lefty Seungmin Shim was pulled after 3.1 IP, allowing five runs on six hits, two strikeouts, and a hit batter. The Lobos led off three of the first four innings with extra-base hits as well as a one-out triple in the 3rd.

It ws a tough afternoon for the Air Force bullpen too, as five Falcons relievers combined to allow seven runs over the game's remaining 5.2 innings.

New Mexico managed a run over the first two innings to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. In the Falcons half of the 2nd, a Greiving single and consecutive walks from Cayden Zimmerman and Braydon Altorfer quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. Following Altorfer, Thomason grounded into a double-play to score Greiving, with Joe poking one of his two doubles into right field to tie the game at 2-2.

The Lobos immediately countered with a run in the 3rd before posting a four-run 4th to extend the visitor's lead to 7-2. The Falcons were able to inch a little bit closer, scoring a run via a wild pitch in the 4th and a Greiving RBI single in the 5th, with Air Force trailing 7-4 going into the 6th.

Even so, New Mexico pounded out three extra-base hits in the 6th, eventually growing its advantage on the scoreboard to 10-4. Thomason's solo home run and Garcia's two-run single in the 6th brought Air Force back to within three runs at 10-7, though the Lobos scored twice in the 7th to build a 12-7 lead.

The Falcons produced just two hits over the last three innings to cement the final score.

Next, Air Force will travel to Fresno State to play the Bulldogs for three games starting Friday, April 1. First-pitch is scheduled for 7:00 pm MT.

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