RICHARDSON, Texas (March 20, 2026) – Opening its first-ever series against The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team fell 9-5 in game one against the Comets.

UT Dallas (19-8, 19-8 overall) scored exactly one run in each of the first six innings to lead 6-0. Then after UTPB (8-19, 8-19) got on the board with two runs in the top of the seventh, UTD answered with a three-spot in the bottom half.

Timmy LaChappa (1-5) started off the series for UTPB for the second weekend in a row and allowed 10 hits, five runs, three walks and four strikeouts in his five innings.

LaChappa allowed at least two hits in each of the first four innings. He allowed the first two batters in the bottom of the first to get a hit, starting with a leadoff double down the left field line and followed one batter later by an RBI-single through the right side. He then allowed a one-out solo homer to left field by Alex Miller in the second inning, and in the third inning he allowed three of the first four batters in the inning to get a hit, the last of which was an RBI-double to left center by Chris Benavidez to make it 3-0. He then allowed a two-out RBI-single to left field in the fourth inning, and allowed a leadoff home run to left center by Benavidez in the fifth.

After a leadoff walk by Benavidez against Christian Duran in the bottom of the seventh, Miller hit his second home run of the game with a two-run shot to left center field.

UTD's other two runs in the game (lone run in the sixth; third run in the seventh) both came on throwing errors by the catcher during a stolen base attempt.

The UTPB offense, meanwhile, went down 1-2-3 against Seth Taylor (3-1) in the first, fifth and sixth innings and had just one base runner in each of the second, third and fourth innings.

In the seventh, UTPB finally broke through as Gael Bernal led off with a walk and was followed by a double to left center field by Alden Quintanilla to put two Falcons on base for the first time in the game.

Cruz Garcia then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Bernal and get UTPB on the board, and three batters later, Marcos Castro had UTPB's first RBI-hit of the game with a single through the left side to score Quintanilla from second.

That finally chased Taylor from the game. Taylor allowed four hits, two runs and one walk in his 6.2 innings of work.

Up 9-2, Michael Murray made his season debut in the ninth inning for UTD, but UTPB got after him a little bit as Demetrius Deramus led off the inning with a single through the left side and then stole second base to get into scoring position. Castro would score Deramus with a one-out RBI-single up the middle, hit second RBI-hit of the game. Then facing an 0-2 pitch from Murray, pinch hitter James Nolan smashed a two-run home run to left field. Two of Nolan's three hits on the season have been home runs.

However, UTPB would get no closer as the new pitcher, Kasey Klyng, got two of the next three batters out to end it.

Offensively for UTPB, Castro (2 RBI-singles) and Quintanilla would both lead the way with two hits while Braeden Dyck had two hit by pitches.

After coming into the weekend 10 games ahead of the Falcons in the standings, the Comets improved to 8-0 at home on the season and remain vying for a spot in the top-three in the Lone Star Conference. The Comets are receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) Poll and are fifth in the NCBWA South Central Region Poll after taking three out of four games in a series win at No. 13 Angelo State University last weekend.

Games two and three of the series at UT Dallas will be at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, on Saturday, March 21, from the UTD Baseball Field.