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Another “Groundhog Year” for Air Force Baseball?

By Mark Knudson, The Mtn. Insider
February 9, 2012

And then there were five.

Another odd number means someone gets left out again.

When it comes to Mountain West baseball, even when there were seven teams, that someone always seems to be the Air Force Falcons. The Falcons last qualified to play in the MW baseball tournament in 2006, when no one now associated with the team was wearing an Air Force baseball uniform. Since then, they’ve had a few chances but have never been able to climb over anyone near the finish line, being left to watch the postseason from a distance.

A new season brings with it a new chance.

It was, ironically, Groundhog Day when I paid a visit to the Falcons’ baseball facility. A huge storm was on the way (two feet of snow covered the field 36 hours later) and the temperature was in the mid-20s, but there were the Falcons, all dressed up and battling the elements as they prepared for their season opener at LSU on February 15.  

“We don’t mind the cold,” said head coach, Mike Kazlausky. “We want guys that are tough and ready to compete.”

So could this be the year Air Force breaks through? The Falcons say yes.

“Of course, yes,” said Garrett Custons, arguably AFA’s best player heading into the season. “We’re shooting for the Top 25 in college baseball.”

“It’s our number one goal,” continued Kazlausky.

No one is saying it will be easy. To a man, the Falcons know they probably don’t match up talent-wise with the other four teams in the Conference. You can make a case that they’d have a better shot if BYU and Utah were still in the MW and they just had to finish sixth. But now, the four remaining programs – TCU, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV – are all solid ball clubs and each is thinking about making the NCAA tournament, not just the MW version.

TCU enters the season in a familiar place, ranked in the pre-season Top 20 despite a largely unproven pitching staff. New Mexico has been to two straight NCAA tournaments as well, and Ray Birmingham has an experienced group of position players ready to rumble. It was a calmer offseason for Tony Gwynn and San Diego State, meaning some of Gwynn’s recruits should start to show what they can do. And UNLV looks to get even better after surprising a lot of people with a solid 2011 showing in Tim Chambers’ first year at the helm.

All of this means an uphill battle for the Falcons, who have also had to battle the injury bug during the pre- season.

“We don’t have the talent to just throw our gloves out there and win,” added Kazlausky. “We just go out there and play hard, play Falcons baseball and whatever happens, happens.”

This is a more experienced and mature team going into this season. More veteran leadership, according to Custons. “We’re going to surprise some people,” said the junior catcher/outfielder.

They’ll also have to do most of their work away from home. Air Force plays just 14 games out of 55 in the friendly confines of Falcon Field this season. They will have played on three coasts – the Gulf, the Atlantic and the Pacific, as well as in places like Norman, Okla. and St. Louis before they play their first home game.

Maybe the snow will be gone by then. No one could see their shadow the day I was there.
See all of Mark Knudson's blog entries HERE.