Air Force baseball knocks off top-seeded San Jose State, surges back into Mountain West Tournament championship
Air Force baseball is positioned to do it again.
The third-seeded Falcons topped No. 1 San Jose State 7-3 on Friday night in Fresno, Calif., putting them back in the Mountain West Tournament championship game.
At 2-0 in the tournament, Air Force is in the driver’s seat. It will face the winner of the Spartans and No. 4 Fresno State for a second consecutive conference title and NCAA Tournament berth on Saturday at 7 p.m. Should the Falcons lose, the teams would play again on Sunday in a winner-take-all title game.
Mountain West Player of the Year Sam Kulasingam homered, doubled and drew a pair of walks and Jay Thomason and Tyler Covin each drove in a pair of runs on Friday. Covin, who homered, did his damage from the No. 9 spot in the order.
Starting pitcher Jake Sansing earned the win, giving up three runs over five innings. Doyle Gehring threw four scoreless innings in relief to earn the save.
Air Force was the surprise winner of the four-team tournament for the first time in program history last year. That time they earned a spot in the field on a tiebreaker, then surged to three wins in a row to take the title. Prior to that, the Falcons had never qualified for the tournament in a year when it featured a four-team field and were 6-21 overall in the Mountain West postseason.
Last year’s run was surprising. This might be even more unexpected.
That team included a once-in-a-lifetime talent in Paul Skenes, the ace pitcher/middle-of-the-order hitter who has since transferred to LSU and could be the first player taken this summer in the MLB Draft.
Also, Air Force (28-29) entered this weekend after giving up 51 runs in its final four regular-season games.
But none of that has mattered in two games in Fresno, as Air Force run-ruled No. 2 San Diego State 12-1 on Thursday and then took care of the Spartans.
“The work we’ve put in from Day 1 is starting to come together and it’s fun to see,” Kulasingam said in a postgame interview with the Mountain West Network. The back-to-back conference player of the year has reached base in 9-of-10 plate appearances in the tournament and has reached safely in 53 consecutive games.
Air Force is expected to send sophomore Dylan Rogers to the mound on Saturday. Rogers earned the clinching win in last year’s Mountain West Tournament, throwing 7⅓ innings.
Air Force center fielder Tyler Covin runs home during the Falcons’ 7-3 win over San Jose State on Friday night to advance to the championship round of the Mountain West Baseball Tournament. Covin went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. (Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos)
Air Force center fielder Tyler Covin is congratulated by teammate Sam Kulasingam during the Falcons’ 7-3 win over San Jose State on Friday night to advance to the championship round of the Mountain West Baseball Tournament. Covin went 4-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. (Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos)
Pitcher Jake Sansing earned the win for Air Force as it knocked off top-seeded San Jose State 7-3 on Friday to advance to the championship round of the Mountain West Baseball Tournament.
