Air Force baseball will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to participate in the Salute the Troops weekend at Founders Park from February 20 to 22. The Falcons (2-2) are scheduled to play Navy (3-1), Army (0-3), and South Carolina (2-2). Following this event, they will face Charleston (2-3) on February 23.
The schedule includes games against Navy on Friday at 6 p.m. ET, Army on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, South Carolina on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET, and Charleston on Monday at 1 p.m. ET. Fans can follow live stats via StatBroadcast and watch streams on SECN+ for the South Carolina game and FloCollege for the Charleston matchup.
The probable starters for Air Force feature a lineup with Tripp Garrish as designated hitter, Wyatt Hanoian at third base, Walker Zapp catching, Christian Taylor in left field, Brooks Burdine in right field, Luke Elmore at first base, Kayden Bradshaw in center field, Ben Niednagel at shortstop, and T.J. Oster at second base.
Air Force opened its season at the MLB Desert Invitational in Arizona. The Falcons secured wins over Penn State—marking their first victorious opening day since 2020—and UConn but lost to Iowa and Kansas State. Junior pitcher Gaines Estridge earned his third career win with six scoreless innings against Penn State. “Tripp Garrish managed five of both runs and hits, including the first homer of the season,” according to team sources.
Senior Ben Niednagel currently leads Air Force hitters with a .462 average and a 1.332 OPS.
Returning pitchers Estridge and Ethan Dillinger anchor the rotation; reliever Patrick Davidson led the team in wins and saves last season.
Fifteen freshmen have joined Air Force’s roster this year due to restrictions preventing participation in the transfer portal or NIL deals. Among newcomers is left-handed pitcher Josh Holst, who debuted against Iowa with a notable performance: allowing just one run over 5.1 innings and recording five strikeouts.
Wyatt Hanoian has contributed a .385 batting average along with five RBIs early in the season.
Navy enters this weekend after a dominant win over Delaware State and holds a record of 3-1. Victor Izquierdo leads Navy’s offense with a .500 batting average while Brady Bendik is expected to start on the mound with a current ERA of 1.59 across 5.2 innings pitched. Historically, Air Force holds a slight edge over Navy with a record of 35-33 in their series.
Army is seeking its first win after being swept by Clemson; Carter Hewitt leads their offense while Andrew Berg will likely start as pitcher against Air Force.
South Carolina started its season strong behind KJ Scobey’s performance (.435 average). Sunday’s probable starter for South Carolina is Brandon Stone who has posted an ERA of 2.25 through four innings pitched so far this year.
This weekend’s game marks the first meeting between Air Force and South Carolina programs; notably, Gamecocks Head Coach Paul Manieri previously coached current Air Force Head Coach Mike Kazlausky during his time as an Air Force player from 1988 to 1991.
Charleston stands at 2-3 after opening week wins over Rutgers and Coastal Carolina; infielder Ethan Plyler leads their offense (.412 average). This will be only the second matchup between Charleston and Air Force—the Cougars won their previous meeting in 2023.
