MESA, Ariz. (Interstat) — The Mountain West Conference baseball championship opens Friday with an elimination game between Air Force and Washington State, two teams separated by a single game in the regular-season standings and a split of their recent three-game series.

The Falcons (26-26) and Cougars (27-25) meet at 7 p.m. EDT at Hohokam Stadium. Forecasted game-time conditions were not immediately available. The winner advances in the double-elimination tournament; the loser goes home.

Air Force enters having won its regular-season finale 17-2 over UNLV on Thursday, powered by a 2-for-4, two-home run, six-RBI performance from third baseman Landon Boyd. The junior is the Falcons’ most dangerous hitter but has been inconsistent. Over his past 10 games, Boyd is batting .320 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, but he went a combined 0 for 9 in the three-game series at Oregon State on May 14-16 and 0 for 7 in the previous series against Washington State on May 8-10.

Boyd’s power surge against UNLV — including a line-drive home run to left-center in the third inning and a towering blast in the sixth — gives Air Force a lift after it lost four of its final six regular-season games. The Falcons’ pitching staff, led by reliever Richard Rutledge (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K vs. UNLV), will need to contain a Washington State lineup that scored 11 or more runs three times in its past eight games.

Washington State dropped its regular-season finale 12-11 to Seattle on May 12, despite a 2-for-4, two-home run, four-RBI day from left fielder Dustin Robinson. The sophomore has been a driving force at the plate, hitting .333 over his past 10 games with three home runs and 11 RBIs. He went 0 for 4 in the Cougars’ 10-9 loss at Air Force on May 10 but had two hits and drove in three runs in a 14-4 victory the day before.

The Cougars have not played since losing to Seattle, but they took two of three against the Falcons earlier this month, winning 14-4 and 11-2 before dropping the finale 10-9. In that series, Washington State’s offense posted 27 runs on 36 hits.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-5 Washington State victory.

The teams finished the regular season with nearly identical records but took different paths. Air Force dropped three of four at Oregon State before exploding for 17 runs against UNLV. Washington State closed with a three-game sweep of Fresno State (May 1-3) but lost back-to-back games to Gonzaga and Seattle.

Friday’s game marks the fourth meeting between the two programs in 14 days. A win for either side keeps hope alive for a conference title and an automatic NCAA tournament berth.