CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M ran their win streak to seven games on Friday afternoon as an eight-run opening inning propelled the Buffs to a 16-13 slugfest win in the Lone Star Conference series opener over the UT Permian Basin Falcons at Roden Field in Odessa, Texas.
 
The game started with a dominant first inning for the Buffs as Jake Alwine walked, Jacob Police doubled, and Daniel Castellanos singled for two RBI, contributing to the eight-run inning. Police's sacrifice fly later brought in another run for the 8-0 lead. The Falcons responded with a pair of runs in the home half of the frame to make it 8-2.
 
In the third inning, Zac Rackham singled and Tristin Thomas followed with a single, setting up Police's sacrifice fly to score Rackham, extending the Buffs' lead to 9-4.
 
The fourth inning saw further gains for the Buffs. Luis Reyes was hit by a pitch, and Will Franklin walked, culminating in Timothy Haynes' single to load the bases. Rackham grounded into a double play, allowing Reyes to score, and Thomas singled to bring in Franklin, pushing the score to 11-4.
 
A scoreless fifth for the Buffs was followed by a three-run seventh inning. Alwine was hit by a pitch and Castellanos tripled, scoring Alwine and Police. A sacrifice fly by Reyes added another run, making it 14-5.
 
In the eighth inning, Anthony Picciano and Alwine reached base, allowing Picciano to score on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly by Ronan Hella brought Alwine home, increasing the lead to 16-8. Despite a five-run rally by the Falcons in the ninth inning, the Buffs held on for a 16-13 victory.
 
Shea Lake picked up the win (3-0) for the Buffs, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts in his 5.2 innings of work. Bryan Raitz claimed his second save, allowing no runs on just two hits in his 0.1 frames.
 
The Buffs and Falcons return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon with first pitch of a doubleheader set for 12:00 p.m.