AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas baseball team opened the four-game set with UMass Boston, mounting a ninth-inning comeback but falling short 4-3 on Thursday.
 
Trailing 4-2 heading into the final inning, Aaron Gomez poked a two-out RBI single down the line, but the game ended as the tying run was thrown out at third base on the play.
 
Dalton Watts picked up two hits, including a two-RBI knock in the sixth, and Jayden Hernandez recorded a hit, a walk and a run scored on the night.
 
Caleb Fields started on the mound, making his first career appearance, and turned in a solid outing, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing only one earned run.
 
The Beacons took an early lead in the game, plating a run on an RBI single in the first inning to gain a 1-0 advantage.
 
After a few quiet innings, UMB pushed another run across in the fourth, extending the lead to 2-0.
 
In the top of the fifth, an RBI double pushed the UMass Boston lead to 3-0.
 
Noah Pendergrass entered the game in the fifth inning and went the distance, putting together a stellar outing in relief. The senior threw 4.2 innings, allowing no earned runs on only two hits and striking out seven along the way.
 
The Tornados' first runs came in the sixth, as Hernandez and Chris Varljen reached base and were bunted over by Gomez. With two runners in scoring position, Dalton Watts delivered, peppering an RBI single up the middle and bringing the Tornados within one. After six innings, the score read 3-2.
 
The Beacons added what turned out to be a necessary insurance run in the seventh, extending the lead to 4-2 on an RBI double.
 
With one final chance for a comeback, the Tornados put two runners on after back-to-back singles from EJ Sanchez and Hernandez, but an outfield assist ended the game as the tying run was thrown out at third. Ultimately, the Tornados fell 4-3 in game one.
 
With game one in the books, Concordia Texas will return to Tornado Field for a Friday doubleheader, beginning with game two at 1 p.m.