The University of Texas of the Permian Basin Falcons swept the second day of the series with St. Mary’s with a 7-4 win in game one and a 6-5 comeback from behind win in game two.
Game One
After being shutout in game two the day before the Falcon hitters got back on track early against conference foe St. Mary’s.
With junior centerfielder Chandler Goode, who reached on an error by Jonathon Cisneros, and senior outfielder Chris Wagner, who reached on a walk, already on base; the Falcons found themselves with two on and no outs with sophomore DH Evan Gattis coming up to hit.
Gattis ripped a double up the left field line to score Goode from second and moving Wagner to third. The Gattis RBI double put the Falcons up 1-0. Senior first basemen Chris Hook grounded out to second base, but did score Wagner for an RBI to increase the Falcon’s lead to 2-0. Gattis advanced to third on the groundout.
Later in the inning, with junior outfielder Jeremy Miller on first after being hit by a pitch, junior catcher Austin Wooldridge hit a double to right center and picked up two RBIs as Gattis and Miller scored on the play for the Falcons to put UTPB up 4-0. UTPB would end the inning with four runs on two hits with four RBIs and two left on base.
St. Mary’s picked up a run in the bottom half of the first inning after senior infielder Jonathon Cisneros doubled to right center driving in junior outfielder Jason Garcia, who reached on a hard hit single to third base. The Rattlers would wrap up the inning with one run on two hits with one left on base and an RBI.
In the third inning, with two outs, UTPB’s junior third basemen Garrett Wolff and junior shortstop Brantley Miller each reached with singles to the outfield while senior second basemen Gordy LaHann drew a walk to load the bases with two outs and Goode coming up to bat. Goode hit s single to left field to score both B. Miller and Wolff to give the Falcons two more runs and give UTPB a 6-1 lead. UTPB finished the inning with two runs on three hits with two RBIs and two left on base.
St. Mary’s would get back in to the game over the next two innings. The Rattlers added a run in the fourth when junior second basemen Weston Baros reached on a double and advanced to third on a passed ball. Sophomore shortstop Esteban Raygoza had an infield hit to the shortstop to score Baros and give St. Mary’s at run to reduce the Falcon lead to 6-2. St. Mary’s would add two more runs in the fifth when junior catcher Ryan Morrow had a two RBI hit through the right side of the infield scoring Baros and Cisneros to cut the UTPB lead down to 6-4.
The Falcons would take one run back when J. Miller hit a soft grounder to third base and beat the throw with the bases load to score LaHann from third base to give the Falcons an insurance run, 7-4.
Sophomore pitcher Chance Lankford came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh and retired the St. Mary’s hitter in order with a groundout and two strikeouts, sealing the deal and giving the Falcons the 7-4 victory.
Goode finished the day with two hit and a run while picking up two RBIs. Wooldrige also had a big day with two hits and two RBIs. UTPB hitters combined for seven runs on 10 hits with seven RBIs with two errors.
St. Mary’s hitter were lead by Morrow with had a hit with a pair of RBIs in the game. The Rattlers hitters had four runs on seven hits with four RBIs and two errors.
Junior Pitcher Felix Cardenas picked up his second win of the season going four and two thirds while picking up three strikeouts and walk while allowing five hits with four runs (one earned). Senior Jordan Strode came in relief in the fifth and went one and a third giving up no runs on one hit and putting a runner on base via HBP. Lankford picked up his first save of the season going one complete with two strikeouts and no hits.
Junior pitcher Matt Holland, picked up the loss to drop to 1-1 on the season. Holland went five and a third allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits with two strikeouts and three walks and one batter hit by pitch. Junior pitcher Grant Harrelson finished the game going one and two thirds with three strikeouts and one walk with no runs allowed.
Game Two
The Rattlers came back strong in the second game of the doubleheader.
St. Mary’s scored a run in the first inning when a Cisneros single scored senior center fielder James Hipp from second base to go up 1-0. St. Mary’s wrapped up the first inning with one run on three hits leaving three runners on base.
In the fifth inning, St. Mary’s struck again when Morrow singled to left center bringing in Cisneros and junior right fielder Jason Garcia to go up 3-0. The Rattlers tacked on another run when Morrow scored on a sac fly from sophomore first basemen Tyler Migl to increase the lead to 4-0. St. Mary’s had three run on two hit while leaving two runners strained.
Each team added a run to the score board in the fourth inning. UTPB scored when junior Ryan Giacomini singled through the right side to drive home Gattis from second base to take a run from St. Mary’s 4-1. St. Mary’s took the run back in the bottom of the fourth when Morrow hit a sac fly to bring in Garcia from third base to go up 5-1.
In the sixth inning the tide turned for the Falcons in a big way. With one out, Gattis doubled down the right field line; Wooldridge drew a walk and Giacomini was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the Falcons. Senior outfielder Jack Wortley came in to pinch hit and brought in a run with a sac fly to right field scoring Gattis and cut the lead to 5-2. Freshman third basemen Travis Wilcox drew a walk to load the bases up again for B. Miller. B. Miller drew a five pitch, RBI-walk to move the runners over and score Wooldridge; cutting the St. Mary’s advantage to 5-3 with two outs. Then, LaHann drew a RBI walk to walk in another run as each runner moved over on base and Giacomini scored to bring the Falcons within one at 5-4. Goode ripped a single through the left side of the infield to bring in B. Miller and Wilcox. Goode’s two RBIs put the Falcons on top 6-5. The Falcons scored five runs on only two hits leaving two on base and picking up 5 RBIs.
The UTPB defense held off the Rattlers in the last two innings to pick up the 6-5 win.
Goode had two RBIs on one hit while Gattis finished the game with two hit and two runs.
For the Rattlers, Cisneros had three hits with a run and an RBI, while Morrow had one run on one hit with three RBIs.
Senior pitcher Matt Ortiz started the game for the Falcons. Ortiz went three complete with three strikeouts and four walks while allowing four runs (all earned) on six hits. Sophomore pitcher Casey Rana picked up his first win of the season in a relief appearance. Rana went two complete with three walks and no strikeouts while giving up one run on one hit. Kendrick came in to protect the UTPB lead going on inning for no runs on no hits with no strikeouts or walks. Lankford picked up his second save of the day and of the season with no runs on no hits with no strikeouts and no walks.
St. Mary’s starting pitcher, senior Courtney Behrend, went five and a third with five strikeouts and a walk while giving up four hits and three runs (all earned) with one hit batsmen. Junior Eduardo DeLaChica got the loss to fall to 0-1 for the season in a relief appearance. DeLaChica went a third of an inning allowing three runs (all earned) on no hits with two walks, no strikeouts and one hit batsmen. Junior Sammy Rivas finished up the game for the Rattlers going one and a third with one hit and no runs while allowing one walk and no strikeouts.
Next up for the Falcons will be trip up to Goodwell, OK for a three game series against Oklahoma Panhandle State.