COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: UTPB softball team set to recognize seniors

Apr. 12—The 2021 season has presented several challenges for the UTPB softball team but head coach Tiala Tagaloa said that her team felt like it can move forward after Sunday's weekend split at St. Edward's.

The Falcons won the second game of a doubleheader, 3-1, to snap a 15-game losing streak and earn their first win in more than a month.

"I think we've been working our tail off and it's been tough," Tagaloa said during a virtual press conference Monday. "You want the wins to justify how hard they're working and what they're doing and unfortunately it just hasn't come through these past weeks.

"I think everyone got to exhale and just said let's keep it rolling."

UTPB was able to get things going in Sunday's win thanks to strong pitching. Sierra Camacho and Becky Berth combined to allow just three runs over the two games with Berth getting the victory in the second game.

Tagaloa also spoke highly of Camacho's performance in Game 1 in which the Odessa High graduate allowed two runs on seven hits in a six-inning performance.

"I think that every week she's gotten better and better and was phenomenal against St. Ed's," she said. "She pitched really well and she deserved to get that win and unfortunately, we had runners in scoring position and we just couldn't push them across for her."

The Falcons will look to find a way to put together a winning streak this weekend in the final homestand of the season at UTPB Field. UTPB hosts Oklahoma Christian in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. Friday followed by a doubleheader against Cameron at noon Sunday.

It will be the final weekend at home for seven seniors for the Falcons and Tagaloa said that it will be an emotional weekend for everyone. She also recalled a conversation she had with April Arellano and had a similar message for her and the rest of her team.

"We have however many weeks left so let's go out with a bang," she said. "They're determined to make their senior weekend and these last weeks the best they can.

"They just want to go out and do whatever they can to leave it all on the field."

>> HITTING FOR THE CYCLE: UTPB baseball coach Brian Reinke said that he was caught up in the middle of the game before realizing that one of his players had accomplished a program milestone.

Jay DeSoto's solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning completed an afternoon in which he hit for the cycle in Sunday's series finale against Oklahoma Christian.

It capped off another strong weekend for the junior from Las Vegas, finishing with nine hits and bumping his batting average to .372.

DeSoto is the first Falcon to accomplish the feat since Jack Miller did so in 2016.

"It's just a testament to what he's done and he continues to work and be that guy day in and day out for us," Reinke said. "He's our sparkplug guy and it was really neat to see him do that."

Unfortunately for the Falcons, it was not enough to take the series against the Eagles as they fell 17-11.

The game got away from UTPB after Oklahoma Christian scored eight runs in the top of the ninth inning to break a 9-9 tie.

Reinke said that one of the challenges has been finding that consistency.

"There's some of it but there's still not enough of it," he said. "The biggest thing is with guys coming in and being able to throw strikes. That's the part where we're really struggling."

It's also to the point where Reinke said that the strategy moving forward will focus on having to out-hit teams. He's been pleased with the offensive production as the Falcons scored 31 runs in three games.

As the Falcons get ready to hit the road and face St. Mary's in a three-game series starting Friday in San Antonio, Reinke again pointed to the pitching as the key.

"St. Mary's doesn't have as much power as Oklahoma Christian but they'll run more," he said. "This will probably the first team that we've seen in about a month that will bunt a lot, do more hit and runs and try and steal a lot of bases."

>> TENNIS: The UTPB women's tennis team returns home to host Tarleton State at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Bush Tennis Center in Midland. The men's tennis will travel to New Mexico for a second straight weekend as it faces New Mexico State at 1 p.m. Saturday in Las Cruces.

>> TEEING OFF: The UTPB women's golf team is competing at the Lone Star Conference Championships this week at Texas Rangers Golf Club in Arlington.

The Falcons shot 323 as a team in Monday's first round, led by Emily Serrano, who opened with a 3-over-par round of 75. The tournament continues with the second round Tuesday and the final 18 holes Wednesday.

>> Follow Tony Venegas on Twitter at @OA_TVenegas