AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas baseball team concluded the four-game series with UMass Boston, falling 12-5 in the series finale Saturday.
 
The Beacons exploded for big innings from the start, scoring 11 runs in the first three innings, and the Tornados were unable to mount a comeback.
 
Kalen Moreno turned in a 3-for-5 performance at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring one, and Dalton Watts picked up two hits and scored two runs on the day.
 
UMass Boston took an early lead in the top of the first, gaining a 2-0 advantage on three hits.
 
The Tornados answered in the bottom half as Shawn Huber put down a one-out bunt single, eventually coming around to score on an RBI single from Moreno. EJ Sanchez followed with an RBI single of his own, bringing Watts home, and two more runs scored on an errant throw from UMB. After one inning, Concordia Texas led 4-2.
 
The next inning saw UMB swing back, scoring five runs on two hits and taking advantage of three CTX errors in the inning. Heading into the bottom of the second, the Tornados trailed 7-4.
 
UMass Boston tacked on more runs in the third, plating four runs to extend the lead out to 11-4.
 
The next few innings remained scoreless thanks to Cage Chaney, who was lights out in his four innings of relief. Chaney struck out a career-high eight UMB batters and limited them to just two hits and no earned runs.
 
In the sixth inning, UMB added another run on an error, pushing the lead to 12-4.
 
The Tornados cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the sixth thanks to Moreno's second RBI base knock of the day, bringing the score 12-5.
 
Steven Vejil and David Matthews combined to throw the final two innings, holding the Beacons scoreless and picking up one strikeout each. However, the lead proved to be insurmountable, and the Tornados fell 12-5.
 
Concordia Texas will have a chance to bounce back with a quick turnaround, traveling to Seguin, Texas for a midweek non-conference matchup with Texas Lutheran on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.