U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo., –  After a week on the road, Falcon baseball (4-12) returns to home turf, looking to face the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (1-10) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. MT at Erdle Field.
 
Schedule
Weds: vs. South Dakota State, 2:00 p.m. MT
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Live Stream: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @AF_Baseball
 
Erdle Field
With the anticipation of great crowds during the 2025 Air Force baseball season, fans are encouraged to bring a folding chair to enjoy the game from the third base line, and other areas around Erdle Field, when the first base bleachers reach capacity.
 
Base Access
The U.S. Air Force Academy processes to access the installation continue to affect athletic events. While the installation remains open, if you do not have a DoD ID card you will need to obtain a pass to enter the base. Ticket holders wishing to attend can request a base pass by using this link for each game. Once you register, you will receive a message with a QR code on your phone to present at the gate when entering the Academy. Fans will present game tickets when entering each venue. All ticketed/credentialed attendees will need to enter through the North Gate only to get to the Cadet Field House.
 
Series History
-The first meeting of the two programs took place in 1959, ending with a win for Air Force, 11-9.
-The two teams have played 20 games, with the Falcons holding a winning 13-7 record.
-The last meeting was a three-game series in 2020, with Air Force winning the series, 2-1.
– In game three of the latest series, on March 8, 2020, the Birds defeated the Jacks, 6-5 at USAFA.
-Across the 20 matchups, AF has outscored South Dakota State, 163-145.
 
Pitching Probables (2025 Stats)
Weds: RHP Cranz Smelcer (19.64 ERA, 0-3) vs. RHP Dylan Richey (First Appearance, 0-0)
 
Projected Lineup (2025 OPS)
1. R/R, Chase Spencer, CF (.457 OPS)
2. R/R, Alex Adams, 3B (.658 OPS)
3. R/R, Walker Zapp, C (1.000 OPS)
4. L/L, Tripp Garrish, DH (.913 OPS)
5. R/R, Christian Taylor, LF (.582 OPS)
6. R/R, Zach Peters, RF (.874 OPS)
7. L/R, Ben Niednagel, SS (.578 OPS)
8. R/R, Cam Anstey, 1B (.639 OPS)
9. R/R, T.J. Oster, 2B (.471 OPS)
 
First Start for Smelcer
–Cranz Smelcer is looking to take his first start for the Falcons.
-So far this season, the right-handed pitcher has made six appearances out of the bullpen.
-Across 7.1 relief innings pitched, Smelcer has allowed 16 runs off 11 hits.
-The freshman has tallied eight strikeouts and issued seven walks.
-His collegiate debut came against No. 10 Florida, where he went 0.2 innings with one K and five runs allowed.
-He threw a career-high 2.1 innings at No. 14 Vanderbilt and gave up a pair of runs.
-In game one against Navy, Smelcer gave up no runs and struck out one batter in 0.2 innings.
-His career-high four Ks came in the second midweek game at TCU, he went three up, three down with a trio of strikeouts in the fifth.
-In high school, Smelcer was the Apex High School baseball MVP and named First Team All-Conference and All-Region during his senior year.

Reliable Reliever
–Patrick Davidson earned his first pair of career wins against Navy and Army.
-The first win came in game one against Navy.
-The sophomore entered in relief and threw the final 1.1 innings, defending the 3-2 lead for the Falcons.
-He notched one strikeout and gave up no hits.
-Against Army, the righty took the call from the bullpen in the top of the ninth.
-He threw the final 2.2 outs into the 11th and allowed no runs, no hits, and notched a career-high four Ks.
-His defense enabled the Falcon offense to end the game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning.
-Davidson has appeared in five games in relief, and allowed just three runs off four hits.
-Over the last three times he has taken the bump (against Navy, Army, and TCU), the righty has not given up a run or a hit in six innings pitched.
-The reliever currently holds an ERA of 3.12 with seven strikeouts and four hits across 8.2 innings pitched, along with a batting average against for Air Force, at .154.
 
First Pitch
-The pair of Josh Shropshire and Marcus Downing made their collegiate debuts at California Baptist.
-Both freshmen threw one full inning.
-Downing closed for the Falcons in the game two, 13-5, loss for Air Force.
-He recorded two looking strikeouts and did not allow any runs or hits.
-Shropshire got the call from the bullpen in game one, a 10-3 Falcon loss.
-He marked a trio of Ks but saw one unearned run score off a single hit.
 
He’s a Catch
–Walker Zapp returned to the lineup after making 50 starts of 51 games played in 2024.
-The junior is batting a multitude of team-bests: AVG: .379, slugging .603, 1.000 OPS, 22 hits, six doubles, two triples, and 12 RBIs.
-Zapp is currently on a six-game hit streak, recording at least one hit in every game since Army on March 3.
-He leads the team in extra base hits, boasting nine with six doubles, two triples, and a home run.
-In game one at California Baptist, Zapp batted 3-for-5.
-The junior batted 2-for-4 in game one at TCU, with a pair of RBI singles.
-Zapp marked critical ABs in wins against Navy and Army.
-In game one against Navy, Zapp earned an RBI for sending the winning run across the plate in the top of the ninth, 3-2.
-Against Army in game one, the catcher led off the bottom of the 11th frame with a double down the left line to reach base, and ultimately scored the walk-off run for a 9-8 Falcon victory.
-He knocked one out of the park for his first home run of 2025 at No. 15 Vanderbilt.
-Behind the plate, Zapp has marked 116 put outs on 136 chances, with 16 assists for a fielding percentage of .971.
-He has caught six runners stealing, four of which were in the series at CBU.
-The catcher combined with the second baseman, T.J. Oster to throw out a pair of Lancers stealing in the bottom of the third in game three at California Baptist.
 
Senior Leader
 – Zach Peters is currently batting second-best for the Falcons at .304 and holds a team-third nine RBIs.
-Peters has already notched at least one of every extra-base hit, with three doubles, a triple, and a home run.
-He notched his second career homer in game two at CBU, to help the Falcons hang on to the 4-2 lead they had in the fourth inning.
-The outfielder markes an on-base percentage of .396, the second best for Air Force.
-On the base path, Peters is 2-for-2 in stolen bags.
– Across the Army series, the senior collected 7 hits, with four in game two for a new career high.
-In the same game, Peters tallied two doubles, a triple, and three RBIs, helping to propel AF to a 14-7 victory.
 
Double A
–Alex Adams has secured a start in all 16 of Air Force’s games, thus far.
-The freshman is batting .288 third-best of the Falcons with one double out of 17 hits.
-He accounts for five RBIs, seeing two against No. 10 Florida, one against Navy, and a pair at California Baptist.
-Defensively, Adams began his season with Air Force at first base but made the switch to protect third.
-Adams holds a fielding percentage of .964 with 34 put outs, 20 assists, and five double plays.
-Over the last four games, Adams holds a perfect fielding percentage.
-He marked a season-high nine put outs in the third game of the CBU series.
-On the base path, Adams accounts for a team-high five stolen bags this season.
 
ON DECK
The Falcons gear up to host Washington State for Mountain West play from Mar. 14 – 16. Game one is slated for a 2:00 p.m. MT first pitch.
 

South Dakota lawmakers nearly came up empty-handed on their property tax relief campaign pledges Monday, until they rescued one of several remaining bills from defeat.

Many lawmakers campaigned on property tax reform in the 2024 election, more than 20 bills were introduced this legislative session addressing the issue, and the governor convened a working group earlier this session to introduce a comprehensive property tax reform package. That bill from the governor was the only one left standing by late Monday, the first day of the session’s final week.

Lawmakers are responding to public calls for relief, largely from non-agricultural property owners. Since 2017, property tax payments have gone up 47% for owner-occupied homes and 36% for commercial property, while rising 3% for agricultural property. Ag land taxes have been held in check by a change from market-based to productivity-based assessments.

Lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives rejected other bills Monday at the Capitol in Pierre that would have provided varying amounts of property tax relief to South Dakota homeowners.

More: Larry Rhoden-led property tax reform would cap assessments, adjust freeze program

The House of Representatives reconsidered and approved, by a vote of 53-16, an amended version of what the governor has called his “rifle shot” approach to the issue, after the bill failed in the chamber by one vote earlier in the day. The legislation will now go back to the Senate for consideration of the amended language. 

Rep. Trish Ladner, R-Hot Springs, has been working to pass property tax reform for several years. She called the legislative proposal a “good first bite.”

“It’s not a solution to every issue,” Ladner told lawmakers on the House floor, “but it gives us the opportunity to pause the skyrocketing valuations and the bleeding that people are feeling.” 

Governor’s legislation passes with amendment

Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden’s bill would cap countywide residential assessment growth at 3% annually for five years, cap at 3% for five years the amount local governments can increase tax collections annually based on new construction (that five-year sunset and change to 3% were amended into the bill Monday), exempt some home improvements worth less than 40% of a home’s value from affecting assessments, and expand eligibility among disabled and elderly people for property tax relief programs.

Rep. Greg Jamison, whose own property tax bill failed Monday in the Senate, told lawmakers the Governor’s Office supported the amendment on the governor’s bill “to make something work.” It was enough to sway his vote because the amendment “lightens the load” for growing counties, but he’s still “concerned” about the limiting growth factor.

“But I don’t want to go home empty-handed either,” Jamison said.

Opposing lawmakers said the legislation is flawed because it primarily targets counties with the largest growth. Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre, said the legislation aims to manipulate property valuations, which strays from “letting the market work.”

Rep. Liz May, R-Kyle, voted against the bill twice, saying that the solution is to cut spending by local governments or find new revenue streams.

“I hope when we step back in here next year, there better not be any more rifle shots,” May said. “I want a plan.”

Other bills rejected

Earlier Monday, the House rejected Senate Bill 191 in a 62-7 vote. The bill, from Sen. Amber Hulse, R-Hot Springs, would have rolled back assessments for some homeowners and capped assessment growth for all of them. 

Some lawmakers in the House made a last-ditch effort to revive a bill to lower property taxes and replace the lost local revenue by increasing the state sales tax. The House shot that effort down 42-27.

The Senate rejected House Bill 1235 in a 21-13 vote. The legislation, from Jamison, would have reduced local taxing districts’ annual inflationary property tax collection growth from a 3% cap to a 2.5% cap.

Opponents said the bill would limit counties, cities and school boards’ ability to meet their budgetary needs. Sen. Randy Deibert, R-Spearfish, told lawmakers the legislation is a “bad bill” that messes with a system “that’s not broken.”

“We have a summer study under a resolution that’ll dig into this and look under the hood,” Deibert said.

Both chambers passed a resolution earlier this session to create a summer task force to “identify impactful, substantive measures” to provide significant and lasting tax relief. The task force will include 16 lawmakers, a representative from the Bureau of Finance and Management, and a representative from the Governor’s Office.

Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, said property tax reform is “one of the most important priorities” of the legislative session.

“We need to take a look at the whole picture of what’s happening,” Karr told lawmakers, “what forces are driving the property taxes to increase and what some of the mechanisms are that we can look at and consider to provide relief.”