For the second time in four years, the Air Force baseball team finished the season without a conference win. But fourth-year coach Mike Hutcheon remains optimistic.
Air Force (8-44, 0-23 Mountain West Conference) started as many as six freshmen this season, which ended Saturday at UNLV.
“We had to go through this year to get our guys exposed (to the competition),” said Hutcheon, whose first squad in 2004 went 6-49, 0-28. “Hopefully in the next few years we’ll capitalize on the experience we’re gaining.”
Long gone, it seems, are the days of Air Force fielding competitive teams under Paul Mainieri. During 1989-94, Mainieri’s teams went 152-158, winning at least 20 games each season – an unprecedented feat for the program, which faces unique recruiting challenges.
Mainieri’s teams did play more Division II opponents than Hutcheon’s have.
Air Force is 3-14 in the conference tournament, which starts Tuesday in Las Vegas. After losing the inaugural MWC title game in 2000, its last postseason win was in 2004 against BYU.
“I personally think this is the toughest Division I job in the country, because of the situation we’re in with recruiting and the tough conference we’re in,” said Hutcheon, 33-175 at Air Force. “And trying to get pitchers at this level, let alone at this altitude, is a challenge.
“There’s a trick to it. You’ve got to kind of catch lightning in a bottle, like men’s basketball has done here. Then it kind of runs itself a little bit.”
Hutcheon, who grew up in Gunnison, said recruiting efforts have been encouraging, particularly with in-state prospects.
“We’ve already contacted 10 to 15 high school kids in Colorado for next year and the year after,” he said. “Colorado has become much more a focal point of our focus.”
Finding relievers, Hutcheon said, is a priority. “We’re kind of like the Colorado Rockies: We have some starting pitching but our bullpen needs work.”
