FALCONS AT HOME, SET MWC RUNS MARK

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 3, 2008 | by BOB STEPHENS

Air Force celebrated its first true home game with a stunning display of recordsetting offense in a 37-13 rout of Doane College on Wednesday.

Sophomore Matt Alexander had the game's only home run -- he hit for the cycle -- and collected 11 RBIs, one shy of the AFA record.

"It was just awesome," said Alexander, who had six hits and scored five runs. "I've been struggling some so this will give me confidence going into the conference."

The Falcons (10-16) take their 0-5 record in the Mountain West Conference to TCU this weekend.

The Falcons set MWC records with 37 runs and four sacrifice flies. They tied the school and MWC record with 34 RBIs and were one shy of the AFA record for runs set in a 38-7 win against Colorado College on May 10, 1967.

"This will give us some momentum," AFA coach Mike Hutcheon said. "We've got such a young club and learning about emotions is part of the game. Winning a game in the Mountain West is the next hurdle we're trying to get over mentally."

It was Air Force's opening game at Falcon Field -- five others had been scheduled but inclement weather had forced postponement or a move to Pueblo.

The Falcons lost 11-1 in Pueblo on Tuesday to Doane, an NAIA team from Nebraska. They led the Tigers 19-3 after two innings in the rematch.

"I don't know if it was payback but we wanted to prove we could come back from that loss," said sophomore Gentry Addison, who tied a school record with seven runs. "We figured we'd stomp these guys (twice) so the loss was a real wake-up call for us."

Freshman Jon McMahon was 5-for-5 with five RBIs and freshman Nathan Carter scored five runs and had two of AFA's eight steals.