Box Score
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --- Air Force scored seven runs in the fifth inning as the Falcons overcame a grand slam by Portland catcher Ben Grubb en route to a 12-4 non-conference win over the Pilots on Friday afternoon at Falcon Field. Grubb’s grand slam, his first as a Pilot, provided the only runs on the day for UP.
Grubb, a junior transfer, clubbed the home run with the Pilots (8-7) trailing 1-0 in the top of the second inning. With Matt Mardesich on third, Brian Frattali on second and Kramer Scott on first, Grubb left the yard over the left-field fence for his third homer of the year. He now leads the Pilots with 13 RBI’s.
The Portland lead would stand until the Falcons (8-10) exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Air Force, which also scored a run in the third to cut the deficit to two, loaded the bases to begin the fifth and chase Portland starter Chris Johnson (1-1). Reliever Tyler Thompson was then called for a balk, forcing in a run. A fielder’s choice and four hits later and the Pilots found themselves trailing 9-4. Matt Thorne provided an RBI triple during the outburst.
The Flacons would score three more runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Johnson struggled a bit with his control, walking five Air Force batters in 4.1 innings. He allowed five runs, four which were earned, on just three hits, while striking out four. Thompson yielded seven runs in 3.0 innings and was followed by Scott Burris and J.R. Bunda.
Air Force starter Evan Abrecht (5-0) was solid on the mound, despite allowing the grand slam to Grubb. He scattered nine hits in 8.0 innings, walked two and K’d one. Stephen Colangelo pitched a scoreless ninth.
The Falcons out-hit the Pilots 11-9, while Portland committed the game’s only error. UP’s nine hits came from nine different batters.
Tomorrow the Pilots and Falcons are scheduled to play a double header with the first game slated for 10:00 a.m. (PT). The series finale of the four-game set will take place on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
