A sellout crowd of 41,628 fans watched Team USA beat Mexico in the World Baseball Classic on Monday night, with the Air Force baseball team among that number — courtesy of former cadets and current U.S. pitchers Paul Skenes and Griffin Jax.
Skenes and Jax paid homage to their college days by ensuring the current Falcons squad, which was coming off a series of its own against Baylor in Texas, could be in attendance in Houston. The former cadets coordinated tickets for the team’s excursion to Minute Maid Park.
“[Air Force coach] Mike Kazlausky] reached out to both of us, and then I got together with Paul in Arizona. We were there for those couple of days just say, ‘How can we make this happen?'” Jax said. “The team’s been great in terms of trying to get as many tickets as possible in one group because it’s a standing-room-only game.”
Post win chats with our guys, Griffin Jax and Paul Skenes! ⚡️#FlyFightWin #AmericasTeam🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ewLz0CvSyM
— Air Force Baseball (@AF_Baseball) March 10, 2026
Skenes’ most impressive collegiate season came as LSU’s ace in 2023, when he led the Tigers to a College World Series title and became the No. 1 pick in that year’s MLB draft, but that season with the Tigers wasn’t his collegiate debut. The now-Pittsburgh Pirates hurler spent his freshman and sophomore years as a two-way star at Air Force before transferring.
And a half-decade before Jax made his debut in the major leagues, the Tampa Bay Rays reliever spent three years as a cadet himself, winning Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2016.
Jax said Kazlausky remains a major figure in his life, even years removed from being his coach:
“I still talk to him every week. He’s such a big part of my life. So any chance I could have to help him and get him here and get him and the team around this opportunity, I want him to be a part of it.”
Skenes started for the U.S. on Monday — warming up to the “Top Gun” theme — and threw four innings of one-hit ball, striking out seven. Jax entered the game in the eighth inning with one out and the tying run at the plate and induced a double play to end the frame.
Team USA closed out the game one inning later, securing a 5-3 victory to remain undefeated in Pool B play.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan contributed to this report.
