The University of Texas Permian Basin scored eight runs in its last four innings on Saturday afternoon at Roden Field, including a five-run seventh, but St. Mary's staged its own late-game rally to escape with a narrow victory. The teams split a Lone Star Conference weekend series, winning two games each and accumulating a total of 74 runs and 89 hits. Despite the plethora of offense, each game was decided by one run.
 
Saturday's lead changed hands six times.
 
The Falcons' Garret Thornton and Cole Dickie earned three RBIs each on Saturday. Thornton, Pedro Astacio and Mario Pena each contributed two hits. The Falcons' starting pitcher, Trever Berg, faced 31 batters over in six and one-third innings on the mound, holding the Rattlers scoreless for four frames and striking out six opponents.
 
Berg stranded his only first-inning baserunner at third. Then UT Permian Basin continued its weekend slugfest in the bottom of the inning. After Thornton's one-out single to right field, Oswaldo Godina knocked a one-two pitch over the left field fence to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead.
 
Berg stuck out two Rattlers in the second, holding St. Mary's scoreless despite allowing two baserunners. Subsequently, Berg's teammates helped him out of a two-on, one-out situation in the St. Mary's half of the third. Shortstop Michael Clapperton fielded a ground ball, relaying it to second baseman Pena, who completed the double play with a strike to first baseman Godina.
 
Berg recorded his fourth consecutive shutout inning in the top of the frame, again stranding a Rattler baserunner at third. St. Mary's used consecutive doubles to score a run in the top of the fifth, but Berg preserved a 2-1 lead with two Rattler runners on base – enticing a swinging strikeout on a three-ball, two-strike pitch.
 
St. Mary's scored twice to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth, but the Falcons answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to regain the advantage. With one out, Devin Ferrari singled to right field and then scored on Astacio's triple down the left field line. Then, Cole Dickie drove a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Astacio and making the score 4-3 in favor of UT Permian Basin, going into the seventh inning.
 
The Rattlers rallied for three runs in the top of the inning, making the score 6-4 at the seventh- inning stretch. Then UT Permian Basin erupted for its own big inning.
 
Hayden Matthewson singled to right field to begin the bottom of the seventh and was subsequently replaced by pinch runner Christian Rodriguez, who advanced to second base when Melendez walked on four pitches, and then to third base on Clapperton's fly ball. After Melendez stole second, Thornton tied the score, 6-6, with a two-RBI single to center, scoring Melendez and Rodriguez.
 
After a pitching change, Thornton stole second. Godina then reached first base on a strikeout/wild pitch combination while Thornton took third. When Ferrari subsequently walked, the ball-four pitch got past the catcher for a wild pitch that allowed Thornton to score from third – putting UT Permian Basin in the lead, 7-6.
 
After a hit batsman loaded the bases, Dickie singled up the middle, scoring Ferrari and Godina. That capped a five-run inning that gave the Falcons a 9-6 lead at the end of seven.
 
The Falcons added a tenth run in the bottom of the eighth when Clapperton singled up the middle, advanced to second and third on two wild pitches and scored on Thornton's sacrifice fly, to take a 10-6 lead into the top of the ninth.
 
Then came St. Mary's own five-run inning, putting the Rattlers ahead, 11-10, which became the final score.
 
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