The Fresno State baseball team ended the regular season with an 11-1 loss to Air Force in only seven innings on Saturday afternoon. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)
- The Fresno State baseball team ends the regular season with an 11-1 loss at Air Force in seven innings on Saturday.
- The Falcons claim the regular season Mountain West title, earning them the top seed in the MW Championship in San Diego.
- The fourth-seeded Bulldogs will face the Falcons in the opening round of the 2024 MW Championship tournament on Thursday.
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The Fresno State baseball team (16-14 MW, 29-26) ended the regular season with an 11-1 loss at Air Force (18-12, 26-26) in seven innings on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons claimed the regular season Mountain West Championship, earning them the top seed in the MW Championship this week in San Diego.
Fresno State stripped Air Force of the first-place spot in the MW standings when they played them at Beiden Field in March. The Bulldogs then led the conference for most of the season but a four-game conference losing streak by the Bulldogs helped Air Force retake the top spot.
Opening Game and First Inning
The Bulldogs opened the game with three consecutive groundouts in the first. Air Force led off their half of the inning with a pair of singles, and a double to drive both runners home.
Fresno State scored its only run in the top of the second as Grady Morgan led off with a double down the right-field line and Bobby Blandford followed with an RBI single.
The Falcons extended their lead in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single.
Related Story: Bulldogs Fall to Air Force in Opener of Crucial Baseball Series at Air Force
Game Halted Due to Thunderstorm
Three-and-a-half scoreless innings went by before the game was halted for an hour and 40 minutes due to a thunderstorm.
Air Force came back firing from the 100-minute break, scoring one run in the sixth after back-to-back singles and a passed ball. The Falcon offense exploded in the seventh inning and the game was ended early due to a Mountain West mercy rule in effect on travel days.
Upcoming MW Championship Tournament
Fresno State, Air Force, New Mexico (28-24,17-13 MW), and San Jose State (22-31, 16-14 MW) will participate in the double-elimination tournament. The fourth-seeded Bulldogs will rematch with the Falcons in the opening round at 6 p.m. Thursday at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
No. 2 New Mexico takes on No. 3 San Jose State at 1:30 p.m.
The Mountain West Network will broadcast all games of the 2024 MW Baseball Championship.
This is Fresno Stateās eighth MW tournament berth since joining the conference in 2012.