U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The Air Force Falcons (13-18, 6-4) reached a historic milestone on Friday afternoon, securing their 700th home win in program history with an 8-5 victory over Fresno State Bulldogs (10-20-1, 1-8-1) at Erdle Field. Air Force tallied 11 hits on the day, while four pitchers combined for six strikeouts in the series-opening win.

Starting pitcher Gaines Estridge (2-4) earned his second victory of the season, tossing five innings with three strikeouts and allowing just two earned runs. Josh Holst provided one inning of relief with a strikeout, while Gunner Gilmore added 1.2 scoreless innings. Sam Hentges shut the door, recording his first save of the season without allowing a hit and striking out one.

Offensively, Wyatt Hanoian led the charge, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Cole Jenkins added two hits and scored three times in his fourth career start, while Van Klein contributed two hits and two runs.

Fresno State struck first, jumping out to a 3-0 lead with runs in the opening two innings.

The Falcons responded in the bottom of the third, evening the score at 3-3. Jenkins reached on a hit-by-pitch and moved to second on a Klein single. Ben Niednagel drove in the first run with a base hit, and Hanoian followed with an RBI fielder’s choice. Walker Zapp capped the inning with a double to left, bringing in the tying run.

Air Force took control in the fourth, moving ahead 5-3. Garrett Hutchins singled before being replaced by pinch runner Blake Campbell, who advanced on a Jenkins single. A throwing error on a pickoff attempt allowed a run to score, and Klein later added an RBI single to extend the lead.

The Falcons added insurance in the sixth, pushing the score to 8-3. Jenkins doubled to left-center and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Klein walked, both runners moved up on another wild pitch. Kayden Bradshaw delivered an RBI double, and Hanoian followed with an RBI single to cap the scoring.

Fresno State attempted a late comeback, scoring twice in the seventh, but the Falcons held on for the 8-5 victory.

Game two of the Mountain West series is set for Saturday, April 11 at 1 p.m. MT at Erdle Field.