Air Force Academy
Oregon State University
Air Force to Close Regular Season at No. 7 Oregon State
5/13/2026 10:10:00 AM | Baseball
CORVALLIS, Ore., - Air Force (24-24) will close out the regular season with a non-conference series at No. 7 Oregon State (41-11) from May 14-16 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. This marks the first ranked opponent the Falcons will face in 2026.
SCHEDULE
Thursday May 14 | at No. 7 Oregon State | 5:35 p.m. PT | Coleman Field
Friday May 15 | at No. 7 Oregon State | 5:35 p.m. PT | Coleman Field
Saturday May 16 | at No. 7 Oregon State | 1:35 p.m. PT | Coleman Field
MEDIA
Watch: Portland's CW
Radio: Beaver Sports Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball
Tickets
ALL-TIME VERSUS OREGON STATE
The two programs have totaled four matchups, with the Beavers holding the overall winning record of 4-0. The first meeting was on March 24, 1970, when OSU defeated Air Force, 10-0. Most recently, the pair met on March 30, 1985, a 5-2 Oregon State win.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
PROBABLE STARTERS
- T.J. Oster, DH (.877)
- Ben Niednagel, SS (.996)
- Walker Zapp, C (.900)
- Wyatt Hanoian, 2B (1.123)
- Tripp Garrish, RF (.936)
- Christian Taylor, CF (.688)
- Garrett Hutchins, 1B (1.209)
- Luke Elmore, LF (.857)
- Landon Boyd, 3B (.956)
AIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
Stolen Bases -11th (133)
Stolen Bases/Game - 11th (2.77)
Runs - 18th (427)
Scoring - 8th (8.9)
OB% - 39th (.410)
11th Wyatt Hanoian (.519)
BA - 27th (.306)
Doubles - 11th (116)
Doubles/Game - 9th (2.42)
WALK IT OFF
After dropping the first pair of games in their Washington State series, Air Force came from behind, highlighted by a ninth-inning five-run rally, to walk off the Cougars.
SENIOR SHORTSTOP
C1C Ben Niednagel earned a spot on the 2026 Brooks Wallace Award Watchlist, recognizing the nation's top 100 shortstops, and has backed it up with standout play for the Falcons this season. A steady presence both offensively and defensively, the senior ranks second on the team with a .344 batting average while posting a .552 slugging percentage. His production includes 15 doubles, four triple, five home runs, and 19 stolen bases. Niednagel also put together the longest hitting streak by any Falcon this year at 14 games and has tallied 18 multi-hit performances. In conference play, Niednagel is batting .315 with 16 RBIs.
During the Nevada series, Niednagel stayed hot at the plate, recording a double in every game while totaling five hits and five RBIs. His standout performance was in the game one win over San Jose State, where he became the second Falcon of the season to hit for the cycle, while tying his career high of five runs batted in.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Wyatt Hanoian has been a mainstay in the lineup, starting all 46 games he's appeared in while emerging as one of Air Force's most productive bats. The freshman owns the highest average on the team at .371, totaling 45 runs, 59 hits, and 45 RBIs. He also leads the Falcons with a .519 on-base percentage (ranked 11th in the country), drawing the most hit-by-pitches and most walks on the team. Hanoian currently holds the longest reached-base streak at 33 games and leads the team with 20 multi-hit performances and 14 multi-RBI games.
In Mountain West play, Hanoian has a .421 mark with 32 hits for an .776 league slugging percentage. Most recently in the walkoff 10-9 win over Washington State, he was responsible for two RBIs and the winning single that helped the Birds avoid a sweep.
During the UNLV series, Hanoian made a major impact, driving in seven runs while scoring six times. He stayed productive at Nevada in the designated hitter role, tallying five RBIs and four runs.
STARTING SLOT
Aiden Poe (3-2) is slated to take his fifth start of the season on Thursday. The freshman has totaled an ERA of 6.39 across 13 appearances. In his 38 innings of work, he has struck out 26 batters and allowed 27 earned runs. His standout performance of the season was against Grand Canyon when he tossed 6.2 scoreless frames with four hits and four strikeouts. Most recently against Washington State, Poe struck out two and allowed a trio of earned runs in five innings.
Freshman Jordan Watkins looks to take his eighth start of the season. In his 35.1 innings of work, he has totaled an ERA of 9.93 with 39 earned runs allowed and 24 strikeouts. Last weekend, Watkins took a four-inning start, striking out three Cougars and allowing five runs.
A LOOK AT OREGON STATE
The No. 7 Beavers currently mark a record of 41-11 and are on a seven-game winning streak. They are coming off an 8-3 victory over Portland.
Offensively, Oregon State is batting .272 with 475 hits and a slugging percentage of .422. They have outscored opponents 348-192 and are led by Ethan Porter with an average of .333.
On the mound, the Beavers have totaled a team ERA of 3.27, ranking first in the nation, with 192 runs allowed and 608 strikeouts in 471 innings. Their 3.47 strikeout-to-walk ratio is fourth best while their 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings sits at sixth nationally. The Beaver pitching staff also boasts the number one WHIP in Division I, at 1.15.
