U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Starting pitcher Gaines Estridge<\/a> (2-4) earned his second victory of the season, tossing five innings with three strikeouts and allowing just two earned runs. Josh Holst<\/a> provided one inning of relief with a strikeout, while Gunner Gilmore<\/a> added 1.2 scoreless innings. Sam Hentges<\/a> shut the door, recording his first save of the season without allowing a hit and striking out one.<\/p>\n Offensively, Wyatt Hanoian<\/a> led the charge, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Cole Jenkins<\/a> added two hits and scored three times in his fourth career start, while Van Klein<\/a> contributed two hits and two runs.<\/p>\n Fresno State struck first, jumping out to a 3-0 lead with runs in the opening two innings.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> drove in the first run with a base hit, and Hanoian followed with an RBI fielder’s choice. Walker Zapp<\/a> capped the inning with a double to left, bringing in the tying run.<\/p>\n Air Force took control in the fourth, moving ahead 5-3. Garrett Hutchins<\/a> singled before being replaced by pinch runner Blake Campbell<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n