ODESSA, Texas (April 11, 2025) – With the 2025 regular season consisting of just 12 more games, The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team begins its second-to-last home series this weekend against Oklahoma Christian University. In the end, the Falcons mustered just one run on seven hits and fell 16-1 in seven innings during game one against the Eagles on Friday.

UTPB returned to Roden Field after a four-game road sweep of Sul Ross State University last weekend that saw the Falcons post two run-rule victories, winning the four games by a combined 83-38. However, both of the Falcons' series wins this season have come on the road. Similar to Oklahoma Christian, UTPB holds a better road record (8-12) than home record (5-13) in 2025.

Facing a team that was working on just two days' rest, it was OC that instead looked like the more energized team, forcing starting pitcher Damian Robles (1-4) to pitch a long first inning and putting three runners into scoring position between the first two innings before getting four two-out RBI-hits over the next two innings.

Facing two runners in scoring position with nobody out in the top of the first inning, Robles regrouped to get back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout to second base to get out of the inning. The Falcons' offense, meanwhile, grounded into two double plays in the first two innings.

Then after a two-out, two-run single to left field in the top of the third inning gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead, three more two-out RBI-hits (RBI-single; two-RBI double, RBI-single) made it 6-0 in the top of the fourth inning.

That put an end to Robles' afternoon, and Jaden Loggins entered to get a swinging strikeout to get out of the top of the fourth inning with two runners on base.

The Eagles were efficient, scoring two runs on two hits and one walk in the third inning and four runs on four hits, one walk and two errors in the fourth.

A 5-3 groundball double play to Makai DeSoto at third base helped Loggins get out of the fifth inning unscathed, but that would not be the case in the sixth inning as the Eagles started off the frame with back-to-back doubles and saw each of their first four batters in the inning get on with a hit. That would chase Loggins and lead to a five-run, five-hit inning for OC to break the game open.

UTPB was down 16-0 and had just four hits to its credit until the bottom of the seventh when a leadoff pinch-hit single to center field by Wiki DeLeon was followed by a single through the left side by Brent Rigtrup. Two batters later, Taylor McDaniel brought in a run with an RBI-single through the right side.

Rigtrup and McDaniel both finished 2-for-3 offensively for UTPB.

David Brown (1-0) picked up his first win of the season for OC with a complete-game performance featuring seven innings pitched, seven hits, one run, zero walks and three strikeouts.

With six more walks drawn against the Falcons pitching staff on Friday, Oklahoma Christian has worked the sixth-most walks (201) in the conference this season, averaging just over five walks per game. The Falcons did not draw a walk on Friday. Paired this weekend with Oklahoma Christian's proclivity to work walks is the Falcons' tendency to throw walks as they are 12th in the league with 222 walks issued, averaging nearly six walks offered per outing. As a staff, UTPB holds a 9.97 ERA, which also ranks 12th. At the plate, UTPB is hitting .308 as a team, which is seventh in the conference.

UTPB drops to 13-25 overall and 13-24 in the Lone Star Conference while Oklahoma Christian improves its record to 9-30 and 8-29. The last time these two teams matched up in 2024, it was the final game of the regular season as UTPB came from behind 6-4 in the final inning to force extras and win 10-9 in 10 innings to clinch the No. 4 seed in the Lone Star Conference Championship. Until today, the Eagles had previously not won in Odessa, Texas, since 2016. UTPB now leads the all-time series 15-12.  

Games two and three of the series between UTPB and Oklahoma Christian will be at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, April 12, from Roden Field, as the Falcons look to rebound.