CANYON, Texas (February 28, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team allowed 24 runs in the first three innings, including 13 runs in the second inning, during a 26-6 defeat at No. 23 nationally-ranked West Texas A&M University on Friday.

Pitching a bullpen game in game one, the strategy did not pay off for UTPB (2-15 overall, 2-15 Lone Star Conference) as WT (11-4, 9-4) started off the bottom of the first with five straight hits, including a leadoff double down the left field line and a two-run home run to right center just three pitches later. That was followed by a single, another double, and a two-run triple to right center.

In the bottom of the second, it was 13 runs on just five hits for WT. The inning featured three different pitchers for the Falcons and a three-run home run and a grand slam home run by the same player for the Buffaloes.

After back-to-back strikeouts by the new pitcher, Dylan Ranallo, to start the bottom of the third inning, a hit by pitch, a walk and another hit by pitch loaded the bases with two outs before a two-run single and later, a bases-clearing triple again to right center field. It was six runs on three hits in the third inning for WT.

WT finished with 26 runs on 18 hits and drew 10 walks, four hit by pitches and three wild pitches. The Buffs totaled a double by five different players and had 10 extra-base hits and 11 RBI-hits. First baseman Dylan Fesperman was 5-for-5 with two home runs, two triples, a ground-rule double, and set a new Lone Star Conference record while tying the NCAA Division II single-game record with 13 runs batted in.

For the UTPB offense, Kaleb Scull led off the contest with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a groundout to second base by Jack Haggerty and scored on a fielding error at shortstop on a ball of the bat of Carson Johnson. A single by Brent Rigtrup put two runners on base and a two-out walk by Wiki DeLeon loaded the bases, but a flyout to center kept the Falcons from adding anymore runs.

Scull finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored from the top spot in the UTPB lineup while Johnson added an RBI-double in the third inning. UTPB's biggest hit of the day was a two-run home run to left field by Taylor McDaniel in the fifth inning. It was the fourth home run of the season by the Falcons.

Taven Hathaway pitched the longest and was the most effective among the Falcons' seven pitchers, tossing 2.1 innings and allowing four hits and two runs while pitching a scoreless bottom of the fourth, the only scoreless inning of the game by the WT offense.

Games two and three of the series at West Texas A&M will be at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, March 1, from Wilder Park.