UTPB baseball opened up Heartland Conference play Saturday afternoon with a seventh-inning walk-off 2-1 win and a 6-3 victory over Texas A&M International at Roden Field in Odessa.

The Falcons took the first lead of the day in the bottom of the third in game one when Matt Reyes scored from first on a fielding error at first base on a ball that rolled down the first base line into foul territory.

The Deustdevils tied the game in their last trip to the plate, evening the game at 1-1 on a one-out double.

UTPB kept the game from going extra innings in the bottom half of the frame, ending the contest when David Lee hit a soft grounder to the right of the mound that was bobbled to score Colin Kowal for the game-winner.

Lance Fairchild earned his first win of the season, holding TAMIU to eight hits and a lone run while striking out three with no walks in the seven inning complete game.

The Falcons played from behind to take the lead in game two. Lee tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third on a single into right to drive home Reyes, and the Falcons took a 3-1 lead on a two-out double to deep center off the wall by Brian Van Vranken that also drove in Ryan Souza.

The Dustdevils tied game two with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, but UTPB came back with a three run inning of its own when they came up to bat. Lee drove in his third run of the afternoon on a base hit underneath the glove of the TAMIU shortstop to plate Souza. Lee later scored on a single into right by Jose Sierra, and Ty Morgan stole home on a delayed steal with Alex Robles to grab a 6-3 lead.

John Rodriguez pitched a perfect 1.2 innings of relief, earning his third win of the season out of the bullpen. Brad Paramapoonya struck out six with four hits and a walk and allowed three runs, two earned, in 6.1 innings receiving the start. Nolan Schattel earned his first save in pitching the ninth. Souza and Lee each had a pair of hits for the UTPB offense and two runs scored, while Lee also drove in a pair. Colin Kowal had a pair of hits at the bottom of the UTPB lineup.

The Falcons go for the series sweep Sunday afternoon, closing out the three-game set at 1 p.m.