LUBBOCK, Texas - The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team's season came to a close on Sunday in a high-scoring battle with Lubbock Christian, 20-13, at Hays Field in Lubbock, Texas. It was a historic season for the Falcons who won 35 games, their most since 2010, and won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
 
The Falcons had 15 hits on the day, led by three by Gibrian Pena. Jack Haggerty, Ethan Flodstrom, Austin Hall, and Payton Matthews all had two hits on the day. Hall drove in three runs to lead the team.
 
Needing a win to extend the season to a winner-take-all game, the offense jumped out to an early lead over the Chaps in the eighth match-up between the two this season. Pena opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first to drive in Mason Hamlin. 
 
The second inning opened with a bang for the Falcons, with Clayton Coats launching a solo home run to center for the 2-0 lead. Matthews followed with a triple and scored on a ground ball by Carson Johnson for the three-run lead. 
 
The Chaps put up a four-spot in the bottom of the second but the Falcons tied it in the third thanks to a lead-off homer by Hall. The home side continued to score and by the time the Falcons came to bat in the fifth it was 9-4 in favor of the Chaps.
 
An error allowed the Falcons to score a run in the fifth to make it 9-5. The Falcons got back in the game in the sixth thanks to their offense. A ground ball by Hall scored a run before an RBI single by Pena made it 9-7. A bases-loaded walk by Coats made it a one-run ballgame heading into the bottom of the sixth. The Chaps scored again to make it 10-8 with nine outs to go in UTPB's season.
 
In the seventh, Flodstrom tied the game with a two-run double before scoring on a single by Hall to give the Falcons the 11-10 lead. The lead wouldn't last long as LCU scored three in the bottom of the inning and seven in the eighth to put the game away. Brent Rigtrup tripled in a pair in the ninth but it wasn't enough for the comeback.