For Air Force Academy baseball coach Mike Kazlausky, his team’s record heading into Wednesday’s start of the Mountain West playoffs at Nevada-Reno allows him to dream big.
A 22-27 overall record and fifth-place finish in the conference may not seem like much, but 21 of the victories came against Division I opponents, setting a school record.
“We’ve basically been at the bottom of the league for the last 15 years, but those 21 victories over top division opponents gives us some confidence we haven’t had before,” Kazlausky said.
The Falcons begin their playoff bid Wednesday against New Mexico. They’re looking for their first postseason victory in Kazlausky’s five-year tenure as head coach. But at least they didn’t have to navigate a play-in game this year, a task that proved too difficult a year ago.
Kazlausky’s hopes for success isn’t just based on the record. Air Force pitchers have posted a staff ERA of 4.38, the best since a 4.32 staff ERA in 1979.
Sophomore Griffin Jax, out of Cherry Creek High School, gets the start against the Lobos. Jax knows at least one of the New Mexico players quite well. New Mexico catcher/designated hitter Lane Milligan was Jax’s batterymate at Cherry Creek.
“We need to get hot at the right time,” said Kazlausky, a 1991 AFA graduate. “We need to win four games to win the tournament. A team has to be really good to do that.”
The Falcons have had victories over Army, Navy and Northern Colorado. UNC is its lone Division I baseball opponent in the state.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or
