PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico faced a tough pair of games on Saturday afternoon at the windy Greyhound Baseball Field against UT Permian Basin. In game one, the Falcons held out to win an extra inning contest, 7-5 (9 Inn.), while the Falcons controlled game two, 6-2, against ENMU. With the losses, Eastern slips to 14-15 overall along with a 12-15 LSC standing. UTPB shift to 15-16 overall, while holding the same conference record.

GAME ONE: UTPB 7, ENMU 5

UTPB started off the first inning with a run, taking advantage of a double and a single to score the opening run. Eastern picked up a run in the second inning, to tie the game at 1-1. Beau Preston and Tucker Gideon combined for back-to-back singles, then Dylan Shea pulled a double down the left field line. In the following inning, the Greyhounds put three more runs up to hold a 4-1 advantage. With runners on second and third with one out, Demetrio Archuleta scored on a wild pitch then Cooper Hamilton doubled to bring Willie Ponce to the plate. Two batters later, Gideon singled to make the score 4-1 Eastern.
 
However, the Falcons used a big inning to get back into the game and take the lead. In the top of the 5^th, three consecutive singles loaded the bases with one out. After a strikeout, the Falcons produced three more singles to plate four runs and jump in front 5-4 over ENMU. The Greyhounds responded in the bottom of the 6^th, as Shea leadoff with a double, then Landon Pyles reached first on a bunt single. Luciano Terilli grounded into a double play, but the Greyhounds scored their fifth run to tie the game.
 
Both teams battled over the next few innings, with Eastern cutting down the leading run in the 7^th inning and the 8^th inning and the Falcons getting out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the 7^th. The score changed in the 9^th inning, as a hit-by-pitch and single put two runners on with no outs. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, then a double to left field sent two runners home to giving UT Permian Basin the lead back, 7-5. The Falcons closed out the game with a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to win the extra innings game, 7-5.

NOTABLE STATS

• Each team collected 13 hits, while both defenses were charged with two errors.
• Five Greyhounds finished with multiple hits: Archuleta, Gideon, Preston, Daniel Pruitt, and Shea.
• Adrian Rubio receives the no-decision, tossing six innings for Eastern allowing five runs on 10 hits, with eight strikeouts and one walk. Marc Rios, Jadon Rendon, and Zach Raichel all faced one batter each, while Luciano Terilli was given the loss in 1.2 IP with two runs allowed. Maddux Edmonson fired 0.2 innings, inducing a ground out and a flyout.
• Jalen Johnston earned the victory, tossing two relief innings with two hits allowed. Brock Robarts picks up a save, retiring the three batters they faced. Kevin Plach started the game (1.2 IP, 1 R, 4 H), and Drew Wenske threw a game long 4.1 innings for the Falcons (4 R, 7 H).

GAME TWO: UTPB 6, ENMU 2

Both teams gathered a pair of runs in the opening inning. The Falcons struck from a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch, while ENMU scored their runs on a pair of hits. Terilli started with a leadoff triple, then scored on a groundout. Ponce then reached on a single and moved to scoring position on a groundout. Ponce came home after a throwing error on a Preston grounder, tying the game at 2-2.
 
After an uneventful second inning, a two out single with a runner on third restored the lead for UTPB in the third inning. Eastern were held in the bottom of the third, while the Falcons doubled their lead to 6-2 after the 4^th inning. Two singles, along with a balk, put runners in scoring position with no outs. Another single to right field scored the Falcons fourth run, while a sacrifice bunt pushed a fifth run to the plate. The inning concluded with another RBI single to conclude the scoring. The Greyhounds recorded a base runner in each of the final four inning, but the Falcons held out for a 6-2 victory.

NOTABLE STATS

• UT Permian Basin finished with nine hits, compared to the four hits for Eastern.
• Gideon, Ponce, Preston, and Terilli accounted for the hits, with Archuleta picking up an RBI.
• Griffin Almond allowed six runs (five earned) over 3.1 innings in the loss. Julian Lopez fired five strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief, allowing just two hits and two walks.
• Jaden Wilcox fired a complete game, finishing with seven strikeouts over seven innings on four hits.

FROM THE SOURCE

"Disappointing day. Game one was a tough loss, but we at least competed with confidence and were aggressive," said Head ENMU Baseball Coach Riley Price. "During game two I expected us to respond with a little more fight than that and we didn't have much fight on either side of the ball, except for Julian Lopez coming out of the pen throwing very well. We were timid at the plate and on defense," said Price. "I hope we can show some fight and compete like we are capable of tomorrow,".

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Rubio tossed their best start of the season, tossing a season long six innings and matching a career best with eight strikeouts (season high).
• Almond made their first start of the season for the Greyhounds on the hill, while Lopez tossed a season best five punchouts in game two.
• The Falcons and Greyhounds conclude the series on Sunday, Mar. 24, with first pitch scheduled for 8 a.m. The original start time of 1 p.m. was moved up due to the expected high winds in the afternoon.