Air Force Academy

April 5, 2011

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USAF ACADEMY, Colo. - A seven-run second inning helped lift Air Force baseball to a 10-6 win over Northern Colorado Tuesday afternoon at a windy Falcon Field. The the win improved the Falcons to 12-17 while the Bears fell to 3-21.

Air Force jumped ahead in the first with a solo home run by Nathan Carter to lead 1-0. The Falcons then erupted for seven runs in the second to lead 8-0.

The Falcons sent 12 batters to the plate in the second, racking up seven hits. Brad Pingel highlighted the inning with an inside-the-park home run. The senior entered the game with one career hit. Parker Mayo also added a two-run single.

After trading runs in the fourth, Northern Colorado scored five runs in the fifth inning to climb back in the game and make the score 9-6. The Falcons added an insurance run in the sixth to make it a 10-6 ballgame. The Falcon bullpen pitched four scoreless innings to close out the game.

Sophomore right-hander Luke Dorlac (2-0) earned the win for the Falcons, pitching four pre-determined innings in the start. Dorlac allowed one unearned run, while striking out three. Cameron White came in for Dorlac and recorded two outs in the fifth. Jack Hourin, Matt Zettler, Alex Baker and Stephen Colangelo then followed by throwing 4.1 scoreless innings to close out the game.

Air Force had 12 hits in the game. Carter, Jon McMahon, Pingel and Matt Thorne had two hits each. Mayo had three RBIs and Carter scored three runs. Mayo also had a stellar game at catcher, throwing out three UNC base runners attempting to steal.

Northern Colorado had 10 hits in the game. Bret Fanning and Marcus Valenzuela had two hits each. Bear starting pitcher Josh Tinnon (0-2) took the loss, allowing eight runs in two innings.

Air Force returns to action Thursday, opening a three-game conference set at BYU.