By Marissa Scott (@marissascotttt ):
San Jose State baseball will travel to Colorado Springs to take on conference-foe Air Force in a three-game series.
The Spartans (9-14, 2-6 MW) sit right below the Falcons (9-14, 3-6 MW) in the conference standings.
In the last nine games against Air Force dating back to the 2016 season, SJSU is 1-8. The Falcons swept the three-game series at Municipal Stadium last year.
Similar to SJSU, Air Force pitching has been the its weak spot. The team posts a 6.84 ERA and has given up 154 runs through 23 games this season, averaging about seven runs a game. Falcon starters have a combined 7.66 ERA and account for 96 of the 154 earned runs.
A brighter spot on the teams’ pitching staff is senior Nick Biancalana who will make his first start of the season on Thursday against the Spartans. Biancalana ranks sixth in the conference with a 2.77 ERA as a reliever.
Despite rocky pitching, Air Force’s offense has been a ray of sunshine up in the high altitude. Junior infielder Nick Ready is No. 3 in the conference with six home runs and a .277 batting average.
The team has a combined average of .287, which ranks third in the conference behind UNLV and SDSU, respectively.
Spartan hitting, although not third in the conference, packs a punch to opposing pitching. Senior left fielder Brett Bautista is No. 6 in the nation with a .457 batting average and No. 5 in hits per game with 1.78.
SJSU sophomore center fielder Kellen Strahm has been on a hot streak with 19 hits in his last 34 at bats. He started off the season with only three hits in his first 30 at bats, posting a .100 batting average in his first 10 games.
Although Spartan pitching has slowly improved, they’ve pitched a combined 6.33 ERA, have given up 141 earned runs and walked 169 batters.
The Spartans continue to struggle with a 1-7 road record, and have dropped six in a row.
The three-game series will start Thursday at 2 p.m. The next two games are slated for Friday at 2 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m.