{"id":261283,"date":"2026-04-10T16:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261283\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T16:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T16:25:16","slug":"air-force-hosts-fresno-state-series-utah-valley-midweek-at-erdle-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/261283\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force Hosts Fresno State Series, Utah Valley Midweek at Erdle Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo., – Air Force baseball (12-18, 5-4) looks to continue their homestand with a Mountain West series against Fresno State (10-19-1, 1-7-1) and a two-game midweek against Utah Valley (14-7, 0-0) at Erdle Field.
\n\u00a0
\nSCHEDULE
\nFriday April 10 vs. Fresno State | 3 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
\nSaturday April 11 vs. Fresno State | 1 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
\nSunday April 12 vs. Fresno State | 12 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
\nMonday April 13 vs. Utah Valley | 3 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
\nTuesday April 14 vs. Utah Valley | 12 p.m. MT | Erdle Field
\n\u00a0
\nMEDIA
\nLive Stream \u2013 Mountain West Network<\/a>
\nLive Stats \u2013 StatBroadcast<\/a>
\nTwitter – @AF_Baseball
\n\u00a0
\nBASE ACCESS
\nNew this year: Passes will now be issued monthly instead of requiring a separate submission for each event. This means ticket holders only need to complete the form once per month to gain access to all events during that time. Ticket holders can request a base pass using this\u00a0link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After registering, you will receive a message on our phone to present at the gate when entering the Academy. Fans must also present their game tickets at each venue. All tickets and credentialed attendees can enter through the North or South gate. North gate is recommended for access to athletic fields; while fans are encouraged to use the North and South gates for football games. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Note: When completing the information from the link, please use the information directly from your driver’s license (Robert vs. Bob). Your ID must also be REAL ID compliant. Anyone under 18 will not be required to do a QR code.

\n\u00a0

\nPROBABLE STARTERS (OPS)
\n \n<\/p>\n


\n\tKayden Bradshaw<\/a>, CF (.946)
\n\tBen Niednagel<\/a>, SS (.957)
\n\tWyatt Hanoian<\/a>, 2B (1.034)
\n\tWalker Zapp<\/a>, DH (.826)
\n\tTripp Garrish<\/a>, RF (.959)
\n\tLuke Elmore<\/a>, LF (.823)
\n\tGarrett Hutchins<\/a>, 1B (1.077)
\n\tLandon Boyd<\/a>, 3B (.933)
\n\tVan Klein<\/a>, C (.575) <\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nPITCHING MATCHUPS (ERA)
\nFriday | RHP Gaines Estridge<\/a> (7.02) vs. TBD
\nSaturday | LHP Ethan Dillinger<\/a> (10.34) vs. TBD
\nSunday | TBD vs. TBD
\n\u00a0
\nAIR FORCE IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
\nTeam
\nBatting – 4th (.299)
\nPitching -7th (7.53)
\nFielding – 6th (.968)
\nRBIs – 3rd (231)
\nSLG% – 4th (.455)
\nSBs – 1st (95)
\nIndividual
\nAVG – 10th Kayden Bradshaw<\/a> (.350)
\nOB% – 2nd Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (.514)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 9th Ben Niednagel<\/a> (.462)
\n– 10th Brooks Burdine<\/a> (.457)
\nOPS – 7th Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (1.034)
\nRuns- 3rd Tripp Garrish<\/a> (37)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 10th Kayden Bradshaw<\/a> (31)
\nRBIs – 4th Luke Elmore<\/a> (33)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 7th Walker Zapp<\/a> (29)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 7th Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (29)
\n3B – 7th Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (2)
\nBB – 2nd Ben Niednagel<\/a> (24)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 5th Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (22)
\nHBP – 1st Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (15)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 2nd Kayden Bradshaw<\/a> (10)
\nSAC BU – 1st Ben Niednagel<\/a> (6)
\nStolen Bases – 1st Tripp Garrish<\/a> (17)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 2nd Kayden Bradshaw<\/a> (13)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 4th Ben Niednagel<\/a> (11)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 8th Brooks Burdine<\/a> (9)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 8th Luke Elmore<\/a> (9)
\nIP – 5th Gaines Estridge<\/a> (42.1)
\nKs Looking – 6th Gaines Estridge<\/a> (6)
\nPutouts – 6th Luke Elmore<\/a> (204)
\nAssists – 5th Ben Niednagel<\/a> (79)
\nRunners Caught Stealing – 2nd Walker Zapp<\/a> (7)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 7th Van Klein<\/a> (4)
\n\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nAIR FORCE RANKED NATIONALLY
\nStolen Bases – 6th (95)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 45th Tripp Garrish<\/a> (17)
\nStolen Bases\/Game – 6th (3.17)
\nRuns – 42nd (261)
\nScoring – 21st (8.7)
\nOB% – 52nd\u00a0 (.410)
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – 38th Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> (.514)
\nBA – 49th (.299)
\nDoubles\/Game – 19th (2.30)
\n\u00a0
\nALL-TIME VERSUS FRESNO STATE
\nThe two programs have played a total of 69 games against each other, with the Bulldogs holding the winning record of 42-27. Fresno State has not won a game at Erdle Field since May 29, 2021, the Falcons going 9-0 on their home turf against the Bulldogs. Last season in California, the Falcons dropped the MW series 2-1, taking the finale and avoiding a sweep, 8-3.
\n\u00a0
\nALL-TIME VERSUS UTAH VALLEY
\nUtah Valley and Air Force have met 20 times, with the first meeting in 2005. The Falcons post a winning 12-8 record and won the most recent matchups 9-0 and 17-12 on March 10 and 11 of 2020, the Falcons’ final game of the Covid season.
\n\u00a0
\nCATCH US IF YOU CAN
\nThe Birds have been a major threat on the bases this season, averaging 3.17 stolen bases per game for a total of 95, both stats ranking sixth in the nation.<\/p>\n

In games two and three at Nevada, Air Force stole nine bases in both games for a season high. The current program record for steals in a single game is 12. So far, the Falcons have stolen five or more bases in 10 different games and are on track to break the Academy season-record, which sits at 122 and was set in 1978 and 1979.<\/p>\n

Tripp Garrish<\/a> leads in stealing with 17, while Kayden Bradshaw<\/a> follows close behind with 13. Ben Niednagel<\/a> has stolen 11 while Brooks Burdine<\/a> and Luke Elmore<\/a> account for nine apiece.<\/p>\n

STARTING SLOTS

\nGaines Estridge<\/a> (1-4) has been a steady presence in the rotation for Air Force, leading all Falcon pitchers with 42.1 innings pitched while totaling 30 strikeouts and a 7.02 ERA. The junior opened the season with back-to-back standout performances, beginning with six shutout innings and four strikeouts in a 15-3 win over Penn State. He followed that with a career effort against Navy, tossing seven innings with a personal-best 10 strikeouts.<\/p>\n

Estridge added five strikeouts over five innings at Baylor and turned in another strong outing at Tarleton State, going six innings while allowing just two earned runs and striking out four.<\/p>\n

Junior Ethan Dillinger<\/a> (0-1) is set to take his third start of the season on Saturday against Fresno State. The LHP has totaled 15.2 innings on the mound with 10 appearances for 24 strikeouts and an ERA of 10.34. His most recent outing was two innings of relief at San Diego State where he struck out on batter and allowed three runs off three hits.

\n\u00a0

\nHANOIAN STAYS HOT

\nWyatt Hanoian<\/a> has been a mainstay in the lineup, starting all 29 games he’s appeared in while emerging as one of Air Force’s most productive bats. The freshman owns the second-highest average on the team at .340, totaling 29 runs, 34 hits, and 29 RBIs. He also leads the Falcons with a .514 on-base percentage, drawing the most hit-by-pitches and the second-most walks on the team. Hanoian currently holds the longest active reached-base streak at 19 games and leads the team with eight multi-RBI performances.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

At Tarleton State, Hanoian paced the team with a .357 batting average, collecting five hits and three RBIs across the series. He capped off his stretch with a flawless performance in the series finale at San Diego State, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

\n\u00a0

\nBRADSHAW’S BREAKOUT

\nSophomore Kayden Bradshaw<\/a> has been a staple in the lineup, starting 26 of the 28 games he’s appeared in while emerging as a category leader for the Falcons. The outfielder leads the team with a .350 batting average, adding 31 runs scored, 35 hits, and 21 RBIs, along with 13 stolen bases. He also owns a team-high 11 multi-hit games, including two four-hit performances. Bradshaw matched the team’s longest reached-base streak at 19 games and is currently riding a two-game streak. On a national scale, he averages 1.11 runs per game, ranking 141st in the country.<\/p>\n

In game three against UNLV, Bradshaw delivered one of the season’s most impressive performances by hitting for the cycle. He went a perfect 4-for-4, scoring five runs and driving in two with a single, double, triple, and home run.<\/p>\n

He carried that momentum into the following game, going 4-for-4 once again in a win over St. Thomas. In that outing, he scored four runs, added a double, and capped the day with an inside-the-park home run. During the series at Nevada, Bradshaw continued to produce, driving in six runs on five hits. He was quieter in San Diego, recording one hit on the trip.

\n\u00a0

\nA LOOK AT FRESNO STATE

\nThe Bulldogs currently sit at 10-19-1 overall with a Mountain West record of 1-7-1, with their only conference victory coming from a 10-8 win over Grand Canyon. Fresno State was swept by Nevada, dropped a pair to New Mexico before ending the finale in an 18-18 tie, and lost the series to GCU. Most recently, the Bulldogs picked up their tenth win of 2026, a 2-1 defeat of Sacramento State.

\n\u00a0

\nOffensively, the Bulldogs are led by Brady Hewitt with an average of .347 and 23 runs scored off 42 hits, along with Mikey Boyd who accounts for a team-high 31 RBIs.

\n\u00a0

\nDrew Townson owns the lowest ERA of the starters at 7.82 with 39 runs and 26 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched.<\/p>\n

A LOOK AT UTAH VALLEY

\nThe Wolverines are 14-17 on the 2026 season and are on a two-game losing streak. They will play their first Western Athletic Conference series against Sacramento State prior to their stint at USAFA.<\/p>\n

At the plate, Chipper Beck posts the highest average at .370 with 34 hits and 24 RBIs while Kaden Carpenter marks team-highs in runs (36), hits (40), doubles (12), homers (6), and RBIs (34).<\/p>\n

Defensively, Jacob Heppner leads the Wolverines with a starter-best ERA of 3.77, 31 innings pitched, and 19 strikeouts.

\n\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo., – Air Force baseball (12-18, 5-4) looks to continue their homestand with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-261283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}