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Falcons split Wednesday doubleheader with Creighton

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Air Force baseball split a doubleheader with Creighton Wednesday at Falcon Field. The Falcons (7-10) took game one, 2-1, while the Blue Jays (13-4) took game two 11-9.

In game one, the Falcons rallied back from a 1-0 deficit with two runs in the seventh to pull out the win. Nathan Carter tied the game with an RBI single then scored the winning run on a throwing error by the Creighton second baseman on a grounder by Jon McMahon. Three Falcon pitchers combined to hold the Jays to six hits in the game. Kincaid Koehler, who made his first start of the season, held Creighton to one run on five hits in five innings. Luke Dorlac (1-0) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in relief to pick up his first-career win. Stephen Colangelo got the last four outs of the game to earn his third save of the season.

Creighton reliever Kurt Spomer (0-2) took the loss. Starter Greg Hellhake went 5.1 scoreless innings, striking out three. Michael Mutcheson and Alex Staehely led the Jays with two hits each.

Air Force had 10 hits in the game. Parker Mayo led the way, going 3-for-4. Carter and Garrett Custons added two hits each.

In game two, the Falcons put up a furious ninth inning rally but fell just short in the loss. Trailing 11-4, the Falcons put up five runs in the ninth, highlighted by a grand slam by freshman Seth Kline.

Creighton had 15 hits in the game, with Chance Ross and Michael Blatchford hitting home runs. Jay reliever Jack VanLeur (2-0) picked up the win with 2.2 innings pitched. Starter Brandon Koenigstein went two innings, allowing three runs. Mark Winkelman picked up the save.

Falcon reliever Brad Pingel (0-1) took the loss. Cameron White pitched two innings of scoreless ball in his first-career start. Kyle Van Alstine made his collegiate debut in relief. Mike Kazakoff, Matt Zettler and Alex Baker also pitched in relief.

The Falcons had nine hits in the game. Blair Roberts went 3-for-4 and Custons added two hits and two runs. Alex Bast and Roberts also scored two runs each.

Creighton put up two runs in the third but the Falcons responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Custons and Bast highlighted the inning by hitting triples. The Jays re-took the lead in the fourth, scoring three runs to go ahead 5-4 and then added a run in the sixth. Creighton then took advantage of a fielding error in the ninth and went on to score five runs to build its lead to 11-4.

The Falcons responded in the ninth, as Patrick Lobo doubled off the fence in right to score Custons for the first AFA run. Two batters later, Kline ripped an offering from Creighton reliever Reese McGraw right down the right field line, hitting the lacrosse field fence–which is nearly 150 feet away–on one hop.

Creighton then brought in Winkelman, who retired Ryan Kramer for the save.

Air Force returns to action Friday, hosting Portland for a three-day, four-game set.

Stats – Game 1

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Stats – Game 2

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