Air Force Academy

March 22, 2007

Box Score

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force baseball (5-19, 0-4) team failed to hold a 6-4 lead as San Diego State (16-11, 1-0) scored eight runs in the seventh inning to pull out a 12-9 win over the Falcons in Mountain West Conference baseball action Thursday afternoon at Falcon Field. The loss spoiled a two-homer, six-RBI day by senior Karl Bolt.

All nine starters had hits for the Falcons, as the team amassed 15 hits on the day, the second-highest total on the season. Bolt led the way for the Falcons, going 3-for-6 with the two long balls. He hit his 31st and 32nd career home runs, moving him into seventh place all-time at the Academy.

San Diego State utilized a big first and seventh inning to pull out the win. The Aztecs scored three in the first and one more in the third to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. The Falcons then scored six unanwered runs over the next four innings to go ahead 6-4 after six.

The Aztecs then exploded for eight runs in the seventh, highlighted by three SDSU triples and a double.

San Diego State had 18 hits on the day, with most of the damage coming from the 2-3-4 hitters in the lineup which combined to go 11-for-14 with nine RBI and seven runs scored. Troy Hanzawa and Nick Romero both went 4-for-5 for the Aztecs, with Hanzawa hitting a pair of triples and Romero driving in four.

The 3-4-5 hitters did most of the damage for Falcons, as Bolt, Matt Alexander and Geno Salazar combined to go 9-for-14 with four runs and seven RBI. Alexander was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, Salazar went 3-for-4 with a walk, double and RBI.

San Diego State reliever and Castle Rock native Mike Koons (2-1) picked up the win in relief, allowing a run in 0.2 innings of relief. Stephen Strasburg picked up his fourth save of the season, striking out the side in the ninth. Aztec starter Steven Hirschfeld went 5.1 innings, allowing six runs on 10 hits.

Air Force and San Diego State return to action tomorrow beginning at 2 p.m.