Washington State at Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Interstat) — Washington State goes for a three-game series sweep Sunday evening when the Cougars face Air Force at Falcon Baseball Field.
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. under partly cloudy skies with a temperature of 72 degrees.
The Cougars (27-23) have dominated the first two games of the series, winning 14-4 on Saturday and 11-2 on Friday. Washington State seeks to complete the sweep behind right-hander Griffin Smith, who earned the victory Saturday with a stellar outing: 6.0 innings, zero hits, two earned runs and six strikeouts.
Smith has been a reliable arm for the Cougars. In his previous start May 2 against Fresno State, he threw 6.0 innings of three-hit, shutout ball with five strikeouts in a 17-0 win. However, he has been susceptible to the long ball, allowing three earned runs in a 4-3 loss to New Mexico on April 25 and six earned runs in a 12-3 defeat at UNLV on April 18.
Air Force (23-24) will counter with its bullpen, likely using right-hander Easton Miller. Miller threw 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one. Over his last four appearances, Miller has posted a 0.00 ERA across 6.0 innings, though he did allow four earned runs in 1.0 inning against Fresno State on April 12.
The Falcons have lost four of their last five games, including the first two of this series. Their offense struggled Saturday, managing only four runs on seven hits. Christian Taylor went 1 for 3 with an RBI, and T.J. Oster went 3 for 4 in the loss.
Washington State’s offense has been explosive in the series. In Saturday’s win, first baseman Ryan Skjonsby went 2 for 5 with four RBIs, and right fielder Max Hartman went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. The Cougars have scored 25 runs in the two games.
The Interstat game simulator projects a 7-6 victory for Washington State.
Following Sunday’s game, Washington State returns home to face Seattle on Tuesday. Air Force opens a three-game series at Oregon State on Thursday.