KINSTON, N.C. – In a contest dominated by pitching, Navy (2-2) dropped a narrow decision to Air Force (3-2), 2-1, in the opening game of the 2022 Freedom Classic Friday at Grainger Stadium. Additionally, it was announced that the final two games of the series will be played Saturday due to impending inclement weather on Sunday.
 
The pairing of Nolan Jorgenson (So., Eastvale, Calif.) and Nate Mitchell (Jr., Parker, Colo.) led the Midshipmen effort on the mound, combining to allow just two hits over a 6.2 innings of work while adding a pair of strikeouts. Christian Policelli (Sr., Walkersville, Md.) paced the Navy offense with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate with an RBI.
 
"First off, hats off to their (Air Force) pitching staff," said head coach Paul Kostacopoulos. "They did a really good job, they struck out 13 and didn't walk a guy, had plus velocity and plus sliders. They really did a good job really dominating the game on the mound. On our side I think it was really positive getting to see Nate Mitchell get back out there and collect seven outs while only throwing 28 pitches, he was really efficient.
 
"Nolan (Jorgenson) was outstanding tonight, he did what he needed to do. It was good to see Zach Powers back out there after some time off, he had a good last inning. Honestly, our pitching was much better tonight which was encouraging, it's something we're going to have to keep getting better at. Tonight was just a good college game, just well played and we have to be ready to go tomorrow."
 
Following a leadoff double by Zane Raba (So., San Antonio, Texas) and a sacrifice bunt by Eduardo Diaz (So., Miami, Fla.), the Mids opened the scoring as Policelli brought Raba home from third on a groundout to take an early 1-0 lead.
 
The one-run lead would hold into the bottom of the third inning as Mitchell, making his first appearance of the 2022 season, was masterful in 2.1 innings of work. The junior yielded just one hit in addition to striking out a batter before giving way to Owen Beisty (Fr., Wayne, Pa.) with one out in the bottom of the third.
 
Following the pitching change, the Air Force offense came to life, tallying two runs on two hits including a bases-loaded walk that put the Falcons ahead 2-1 and forced Beisty from the contest in favor of Jorgenson who worked out of the bases-loaded jam without further damage.
 
After recording the final out in the third, Jorgenson went on to retire 13 of the next 15 batters he faced before giving way to Zach Powers (So., Centreville, Md.) who pitched a clean top of the ninth inning to maintain the one-run deficit for the Midshipmen.
 
However, the Air Force pitching staff would match the effort of the Mids as starting pitcher Paul Skenes allowed just two hits and one run over six innings of work along with tallying nine strikeouts. Zach Argo pitched the next two innings for the Falcons, holding the Navy offense at bay by allowing just one hit and striking out three batters to maintain their lead heading into the top of the ninth.
 
In the ninth, Doyle Gehring was tasked with closing out the contest for Air Force, working around a two-out single by Policelli to secure his second save of the season and the 2-1 decision in favor of the Falcons.
 
The pairing of Gabriel Garcia and Chase Spencer paced the Air Force offense with one RBI apiece while Skenes (1-1) earned his first win of the season on the mound. Beisty (0-1) took the loss for the Midshipmen after yielding two runs on two hits while walking three.
 
UP NEXT
Following the aforementioned scheduling changes to the Freedom Classic, Air Force and Navy will conclude the series with a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 2 p.m.