Bucs Honor Armed Services, Take on Air Force; Follow the Action Online

As part of its Military Appreciation Day, the CSU baseball team will square off with the Air Force Academy at 2 p.m. on Monday. All active duty military will receive free admission with their military ID and each family member will only pay $1 to see the game at Buccaneer Field.

Full Game Notes for Air Force (March 24)

Media Coverage
Live Video (Big South Edge, subscription service)

Live Stats

Series Notes
This is the first meeting between these two teams.

Scouting the Falcons
In its final road trip before beginning conference play, Air Force will have one game against Charleston Southern before playing a pair against Savannah State. The Falcons lost three straight to BYU this weekend, falling by a combined margin of 16 runs over the three-game series.
Matt Alexander and Addison Gentry pack the punch for an Air Force offense that has scored 100 runs this season, hitting four and three home runs, respectively. Nathan Carter, the Falcons’ leadoff man, has shown tremendous ability to reach base for his team this season. He is batting .318, which ranks second on the team, but has drawn 19 walks to compile a squad-best .471 on-base percentage.
Alex Truesdale, the projected started for Air Force on Monday, has made eight appearances for the Falcons this season, six of which were starts. Over 31.2 innings, he has a 9.66 ERA with 20 strikeouts, which ranks second on the team. He has lost all five of his decisions this season. The top reliever for Air Force, Michael Ruvolo has made 11 appearances, all in relief, compiling a 4.76 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.

Last Time Out
CHARLESTON, S.C. – In its first bottom-of-the-ninth victory since the 2006 season, the CSU baseball team scored a pair of runs in its last at-bats to defeat Presbyterian, 6-5, in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday. The Buccaneers carried the momentum into the second game, beating the Blue Hose 12-0 with help from a pair of home runs by freshman Derek Smith.
In just the fifth start of his young career, freshman Tyler Thornburg pitched a complete-game shutout in the nightcap, striking out 10 and allowing just five hits to improve to 2-1 on the season.

Now Arriving
While growing pains are to be expected for a first-year player, freshman Tyler Thornburg is setting the bar high early in his debut season. In just his fifth collegiate start on the mound, Thornburg pitched a complete shutout, holding Presbyterian to five hits to improve to 2-1 on the season. He is second on the team with 30 strikeouts over 26 innings, having issued 11 walks and seven extra-base hits. His 4.15 ERA ranks fourth on the staff.

Carrying the Lumber
Freshman Derek Smith showed no ill effects to having his 15-game hitting streak snapped in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday. He responded with 5-for-5 game in the nightcap, belting two home runs and driving four runs in to take the team lead with 20 RBI on the season. He has moved into second on the team in both batting average (.391), slugging percentage (.667) and on-base percentage (.667) as the teams designated hitter.

On The List
Junior catch Jake Cox has been named to the 2008 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award Watch List, given annually to the top division one collegiate catcher. On the season, Cox has an on-base percentage of .368 thanks to eleven drawn walks, which is tied for second on the squad. He has thrown out all nine runners attempting to steal on him this season.

On The Horizon
CSU will be off until this weekend when they hit the road to begin Big South competition. The Bucs will play a three-game series with Radford.