Putting aside the fact that Air Force hasn't won a Mountain West Conference game yet this year and extended its losing streak to 25, the Utah baseball team felt pretty good about its weekend series with the Falcons.
The Utes completed the five-game series with another decisive victory Sunday at Franklin Covey Field, a 17-3 crushing that limited the game to seven innings for the third time on the weekend.
Not only did the Utes (19-27, 10-13) bang out 17 hits, bringing their five-game total to 86, they also received their fourth straight complete game from a pitching staff that has struggled for much of the year. While the Utes pounded the ball all weekend, the pitching is what really impressed Ute coach Tim Esmay.
"If I was going to put anything on the weekend, it was our pitching," said Esmay. "Our pitching really stepped up and that's huge when your team plays this many games in three days. Our pitching was solid for five games."
The Utes used their closer, Clay Westmoreland, as the starter Sunday, and he responded with a six-hitter, including seven strikeouts.
Westmoreland was a starter last year but moved to the bullpen this year to help the Ute staff.
For the third time in the series, the Falcons took an early lead, only to see Utah quickly respond. The Utes answered the two-run first with three of their own in the bottom of the first as Mike Westfall singled in two runs.
The Utes exploded for six runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to turn the game into a rout for the fourth straight game. Previously the Utes had beaten AFA by scores of 25-3, 11-3, 12-0 and 8-7.
Jared Pena and Nate Schleiman each drove in a pair of runs with doubles in the fourth, while John Welsh and Ryan Khoury each had two-run doubles in the fifth and Matt Ciaramella smacked a two-run homer. The game was called after seven innings because the Utes were ahead by more than 10 runs.
Jay Brossman and Tyler Olson each added three hits on the day for the Utes.
"We hit the ball on the screws all weekend, and we didn't let (AFA) get back in the games," said Esmay. "We also played great defense (two errors in five games)."
With their winning streak now at six, the Utes are hoping to keep the momentum going through the rest of the regular-season schedule and into the MWC Tournament later this month.
"If you're going to get hot, get hot late," said Esmay. "I like the way we're playing right now. Utah will definitely be a factor the rest of the way."
The Utes play Utah Valley State College Tuesday night in Provo and Wednesday at Ute Field before playing four games against league-leading UNLV on the weekend.
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