LUBBOCK, Texas - It took 10 innings but after the University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team's 4-3 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith, only one team stands between the Falcons and their first Lone Star Conference Championship. UTPB fought off elimination twice, beating No. 18 Angelo State earlier in the day, to face Lubbock Christian on Saturday. The Falcons must beat LCU twice on Saturday to claim the conference title and automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Bryan Adams earned the win after throwing 4.0 scoreless in relief while striking out five. Drew Wenske had a strong start, allowing three runs in 6.0 innings. Mason Hamlin and Clayton Coats powered the offense with three hits each. Gibrian Pena had both of UTPB's RBI on the night while Hamlin scored twice.
 
Coats got the offense started in the second with an infield hit. He would later score on a throwing error by the second baseman for the first run of the game. The Falcons added to their lead in the third with three straight singles to start the inning. Pena's sac fly to left scored Hamlin to put the Falcons ahead 2-0. 
 
The Lions joined the action with a run in the fourth but the Falcons answered right back. A single by Hamlin and an error on the Lions put a pair on the corners. Pena grounded into a fielder's choice to push the lead back to two. The momentum didn't last long as the Lions tied it in their half of the fifth. 
 
Both teams threatened in the ninth. Singles by Jack Haggerty and Hamlin, followed by a stolen base by Hamlin, put runners in scoring position with only one out. After a ground out, a pitch hit Brandon Glowacki to load the bases but the Falcons couldn't push across a run. 
 
A pair of singles and a walk juiced the bags for UAFS in the bottom half of the inning. Adams escaped the jam with a strikeout, sending the game to extras.
 
Caleb Boswell started the extra frame with a single and moved to second on a hit by Coats. Boswell was then lifted for a pinch runner, Quincy McGraw Jr., who advanced to third after a pickoff attempt went into center field. Payton Matthews walked, but the pitch bounced away from the catcher and allowed McGraw to score. Now leading 4-3 in the bottom of the 10th, Adams had a stress-free inning, striking out two before a fly out to left to end the ballgame.
 
The Falcons face Lubbock Christian tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. UTPB needs to win twice over the Chaps to clinch the LSC Championship in the double-elimination format after the Chaps defeated the Falcons earlier in the bracket.