The UTPB baseball team continues their historic run this weekend as they're set to host the opening round of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) playoffs, a first for the program. Head Coach Gabe Grinder says the success this year comes after a lot of hard work and determination. "The guys are buying in to what we have," said Coach Grinder. "I think we got the culture right and that's why we ascended very quickly. We have the right guys playing for us and that's why we are seeing success." 

That quick ascension has not only led to the Falcons being fourth in the LSC, but also to them having the best record (30-20 overall, 28-20 LSC) the program has had since joining the Lone Star Conference and being ranked No. 6 in the NCAA South Central Regional rankings.  

"I don't want to say it's what we expect from our guys, but it is. We expected to ascend quickly and compete at a high level," said Coach Grinder. "So, to watch our guys be able to do that I'm more proud for them than anything else. They are the ones who do it each and every day and have done a lot of good stuff over the course of the last 12 months that have led us to where we are at now." 

The Falcons nearly missed out on the opportunity to host, as they needed to win their final series of the regular season against Oklahoma Christian. Heading into the final game (Apr. 28) of the four-game series, the Falcons were up 2-1 and had to battle in game four to come out on top. 

"That was a roller-coaster. We knew we had to win to host and if we lost we'd be going on the road to UT Tyler," said Coach Grinder. "Being down four nothing early was a tough pill to swallow. But our guys fought back, we blew the lead, got the lead, almost blew the lead again. So, to be staying at home this week, we are really excited to have the opportunity to have playoff baseball here in Odessa." 

The Falcons will be home on Friday (May 3), taking on UT Tyler in a best-of-three series at Roden Field. Friday's game will start at 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday's games will start at 1 p.m.  

During the regular season, the Falcons split their four-game series 2-2 against UT Tyler. The Falcons won game 2 (7-6) and game 3 (11-7), while the Patriots won game 1 (0-11) and game 4 (11-12).