ALBUQUERQUE (Interstat) — Ethan Dillinger rebounded from a rough outing to throw five scoreless, no-hit innings Saturday evening and lead Air Force to an 11-1 victory over New Mexico in a Mountain West matchup.

The Falcons improved to 22-22 overall; the Lobos dropped to 25-19-1. Air Force pounded out 13 hits, while New Mexico managed eight. Gaines Estridge followed Dillinger with four innings of one-run ball, allowing no hits and striking out three.

Dillinger, who had surrendered five earned runs in three innings against San Jose State on April 25, walked none and struck out two. He was lifted after five innings and 65 pitches, having faced the minimum 15 batters. Estridge entered and worked around three walks and a hit batter, yielding the lone Lobos run in the seventh.

Air Force jumped ahead in the first inning. Kayden Bradshaw singled, moved to second on a hit batter, and scored on Wyatt Hanoian’s single through the left side.

The Falcons broke the game open with a six-run second. Taylor Elmore doubled and scored on Christian Taylor’s single. Consecutive singles by Hutchins and Boyd loaded the bases, and Bradshaw singled home a run. Ben Niednagel then cleared the bases with a triple to right field, scoring three runs. Walker Zapp’s groundout brought Niednagel home, and Hanoian added a single later in the inning.

Air Force led 7-0 after two innings. The Falcons added four more in the ninth. Taylor doubled and scored on a Boyd single. Bradshaw stole home after a failed pickoff attempt and a steal of third. Zapp then crushed a two-run homer to left field, his first of the game, scoring Niednagel.

New Mexico scored its only run in the bottom of the seventh. J.T. Carris walked and advanced to second on a single by Jake Ashby. Gene Trujillo singled down the left-field line to drive in Carris. The Lobos had runners on the corners with one out but failed to score further.

Matt Cornelius pitched two scoreless innings of relief for New Mexico with one strikeout. Matt Romero allowed one earned run on one hit and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. The Lobos used five pitchers and issued seven walks.

Offensively for Air Force, Taylor went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs. Bradshaw was 2 for 4 with an RBI, three runs and two stolen bases. Hanoian finished 2 for 4 with an RBI. Niednagel walked twice and drove in three. Zapp drove in three runs including the ninth-inning home run.

The game featured eight total pitchers and 14 combined walks. Air Force also stole four bases.

Dillinger’s performance was the story. In his previous start, he had allowed five earned runs on five hits over three innings. He bounced back with precision command and a fastball that kept the Lobos off balance.

The Falcons had lost the series opener 9-7 on Friday but responded emphatically Saturday. The teams conclude the three-game series Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a 7-4 Air Force victory, while the Interstat ELO system gave New Mexico a 53.30 percent probability to win.