By Georgia Blair — Staff Writer
San Jose State baseball (7-5, 1-2 MW) will try to use home-field advantage to take down an in-form Air Force Academy (6-3, 1-0 MWC) in a three-game conference series starting on Friday.
The Spartans were doomed by a late inning blow out in a midweek trip to the University of San Francisco on Tuesday. They gave up 10 runs in the eighth inning and fell 12-6.
The Falcons are coming off a big 9-5 win against reigning Mountain West champion San Diego State (5-6, 0-1 MWC)
Air Force will look to its veteran senior reliever Jake Gilbert to shut down the Spartans offense. Gilbert has pitched 12.2 innings this season and posts a conference-best 0.00 ERA.
Junior and freshman outfielders Kellen Strahm and Brandon Peterson will have to stay hot in the batter’s box to get on top of a great Air Force pitching staff.
As of Thursday, the Spartans are ranked third nationally with a .336 team batting average.
If the Spartans pitching rotation remains the same, Andrew Mitchel will be starting the first game on Friday night.
The senior has struggled so far this season with a 9.00 ERA in three appearances. Mitchel will need to get command of his fastball and minimize walks to be successful.
SJSU is currently ranked last in the Mountain West for fielding percentage, having committed 18 errors so far. The defense will need to be clean to help ease the pressure on the pitching staff.
First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m. at Municipal Stadium, followed by a 2 p.m start on Saturday and a 12 p.m start on Sunday.
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