By Marissa Scott
In its most crucial series of the season, San Jose State baseball welcomes Air Force to Municipal Stadium for its final three games of the regular season.
The Spartans (23-28, 13-14 MW) are tied for third place in the Mountain West standings with UNLV and need to take two of three games against the Falcons (24-27, 12-14 MW) to secure a spot in the Mountain West tournament.
The two teams faced each other earlier in the season in Colorado Springs and the Falcons took two of the three games.
In game 2 of the series, Spartan junior left hander Andrew Mitchel pitched seven frames of one-run baseball while striking out nine batters to secure the only win of the series.
Although the Falcons won the series earlier in the season at home, their road play doesn’t seem to be at the level of their home play. This season, the team is 15-7 at home and 8-18 on the road.
The Spartans have either tied or won their last five weekend series and look to continue that streak.
Air Force pitching has been the teams’ kryptonite all season. The squad holds a combined 6.38 ERA while SJSU’s ERA sits at 5.78.
Mitchel and junior right hander Tevin Cadola have both pitched well in their recent mound outings.
Mitchel is No. 2 in the conference with 83 strikeouts and Cadola has pitched six or more innings in his last three starts for the Spartans.
The Falcons are a force to be reckoned with on offense. They are in the top 10 in the nation in 11 different offensive categories, including T-3 in doubles, fifth in hits and seventh with a .313 batting average.
Junior infielder Nic Ready leads the team and the country in a couple of offensive categories. He is fourth in the nation with 19 home runs, second with 71 RBIs and first with 154 total bases.
If Spartan pitching can find a way to shut down the Falcon offense, they have a good chance of taking the series.
The first game of the series is on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Friday’s game starts at 6 p.m. and Saturday’s first pitch is slated for noon. The seniors will be honored before Saturday’s game.
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