ODESSA, Texas (January 30, 2026) – The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team hung with No. 12 Angelo State University for five innings in its season opener, but an eight-run top of the sixth inning broke the game open as the Rams won 14-4 over the Falcons at Odessa College's Wrangler Field on Friday afternoon.

A two-run home run to left center field by ASU's Austin Beck in the top of the first inning was the difference in the game in the early going.

Earning the start for UTPB was newcomer Santana Hernandez (0-1), who ultimately threw 87 pitches and bounced back after the home run to record three straight punchouts and strikeout the side in the first inning. He then tossed a 1-2-3 second inning and totaled seven strikeouts through four innings after again striking out the side in the fourth.

Hernandez finished with just three hits allowed in his four innings, but also allowed four walks and four runs.

Angelo State's lefty from Midland, Texas, Josh Reed (1-0), who was named a Lone Star Conference Pitcher to Watch, finished with six innings pitched allowing seven hits, two runs and two walks.

In the bottom of the second, freshman standout Daylon Jefcoats recorded UTPB's first hit of the season with a one-out triple to right field, but the Falcons would ultimately leave two runners on base after a great catch by the Rams' shortstop on a liner to end the inning.

In the bottom of the third, UTPB again looked to get on the scoreboard as Demetrius Deramus led off with a single to right center and immediately stole second base, but the Falcons could not cash in as a double play on the next at bat saw Deramus tagged out trying to reach third base.

The Falcons threatened again in the bottom of the fourth, getting back-to-back singles for the first time this season by Carlos Chavez and Braeden Dyck, putting two runners on with nobody out, but again they were unable to cash in as they left ultimately left runners at the corners with a flyout to center field.

Reed was cruising for ASU, throwing just 80 pitches to get to two outs in the sixth inning before being tagged with a two-run home run to left field by Jeffcoats, brining in the first two runs of the season for UTPB.

Jefcoats finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a triple in his collegiate debut while Chavez was 2-for-4 with a double, accounting for all three of UTPB's extra-base hits in the opener.

As a staff, the Falcons issued 13 combined walks and hit by pitches while both teams finished nine hits.

After a few scoreless innings, the Rams' offense broke the game open by scoring 11 runs from the fourth through the sixth innings. The big sixth inning for the Rams featured eight runs on five hits, three walks, a hit by pitch and an error.

In the seventh inning UTPB came up just one run short of forcing the game to continue into the eighth inning. After an RBI-single to right center by Gael Bernal and a sacrifice fly to right field by Kaegan Costa, a double to left center field by Chavez put two runners in scoring position with two outs, but a flyout to right field brought an end to the first game of the season.

"We have to learn our identity," said UTPB's second-year Head Baseball Coach Justin Phillips. "We have it take it one day at a time and win each pitch. Today we only played one facet of the game early in the game. You have to at a minimum play two of the three. We have to bounce back tomorrow."

The Rams are ranked No. 12 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA), are No. 9 by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), and are No. 11 by D2 Baseball in their respective preseason polls. Last season, ASU accumulated a 48-10 overall record and went 39-7 in Lone Star Conference play on the way to capturing the LSC Regular Season and Tournament Titles before falling to UT Tyler in the South Central Super Regional. In 2023, the Rams claimed the Division II National Championship for the first time in program history.

Game two of the three-game, season-opening series between UTPB and ASU will be back at Roden Field in Odessa, Texas, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 31.