ODESSA, TX - The only thing hotter than the UT Permian Basin baseball team's offense might be a summer day in West Texas. The Falcons could not be stopped on Saturday, scoring a combined 37 runs over two games in a pair of wins over Oklahoma Christian, giving them 60 runs this series.
The Eagles struck first, taking a 1-0, in the opening game of the afternoon but the Falcons immediately responded.
Ethan Flodstrom hammered a lead-off home run to left field to tie the score, followed by a pair of walks. With a runner on third,
Brent Rigtrup continued his big series with an RBI single to right and a 2-1 lead.
The offense poured it on in the second, plating three runs.
Michael Clapperton brought in the first run on a single to left before he would later come around to score with
Jay DeSoto for the 5-1 lead. They blew the game open in the bottom of the third. An error with the bases loaded scored the first run of the inning before DeSoto drove in a run on an infield single. Flodstrom brought in two more on a single of his own to push the lead to eight.
In the fourth, Desoto brought in a run with a bases-loaded walk before a single by Clapperton scored two more. Flodstrom drove in another with a single of his own, making it a 13-1 game.
Cooper Ciesielski continued the scoring in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run home run.
Stephen MacKenzie followed with a double before scoring on another single off the bat of DeSoto. In the sixth, Ciesielski, MacKenzie, and Haggerty all drove in runs in the 20-2 final.
The Falcons found themselves in an early hole in the second game of the day, trailing 4-0.
Austin Hall got a run back with a base hit in the bottom of the inning. The offense broke out for six runs in the second inning and the Falcons never looked back. After scoring the first run on an error, Flodstrom doubled to left field to score two and tied things at four. Hamlin then launched a three-run home run to put the Falcons on top.
Hall crushed a two-run home run as part of a five-run third inning to push the Falcon lead to 12-5. The Eagles trimmed the lead to five, but the home team blew things open with a five-spot in the sixth.
Ethan Babcock-Barrie opened the frame with a solo home run. Later in the inning, Flodstrom doubled in two more in what would eventually end in a 17-7 score.
Creede Jeffers earned the win in the opening game, throwing six innings and striking out seven.
Parker Goin threw six innings of relief in the second game, allowing just three runs in the win.
