Box Score
SAN ANTONIO — With a run-rule, the Rattlers swept Oklahoma Panhandle State in the final game of their series Saturday, closing out the three-game stretch without allowing a single Aggie run.
The 10-0 victory over the Aggies came in the bottom of eighth with an RBI single from
Al Gonzalez (RS-Fr., Pasedena, Texas) after four consecutive innings of Rattler scoring, backed by stellar defense.
The three-shutout weekend came with the usual stacked Rattler pitching staff, as
Matt McClain (So., San Antonio) picked up the win Saturday, following suit after
Carl O'Neal (Sr., San Antonio) and
Rene Solis (Jr., San Antonio).
McClain continued his streak of striking out eight per appearance, retiring eight Aggies in seven innings to lead the pitching staff in strikeouts with 32 for the season.
Kyle Bumpas (Jr., El Paso, Texas) pinch-hit for his first career double that brought in a run before pitching an inning in relief, striking out two of his three batters faced.
The Rattlers' lineup sliced 10 hits on the day to the Aggies' four, with Gonzalez,
Adrian Garcia (RS-Jr., El Paso, Texas) and
Mario Maldonado (So., Laredo, Texas) all recording two hits apiece. The bottom of the fifth saw the Rattlers' first home run on the season with Maldonado sending a solo blast over the left-field fence for his second career home run.
No. 11 St. Mary's scored in all but two of the eight-inning game, with
Ivan Sigala (Sr., El Paso, Texas) leading off the 10-run day with a two-RBI triple in the first. The sweep over OPSU (0-12, 0-9 in conference) improved the Rattlers to 12-3 on the season and 10-2 in conference play, putting them at the top of the conference rankings.
Now on a seven-game winning streak, the Rattlers will have a little extra time to prepare for rival St. Edward's, one of last year's top regional contenders, when they face off next weekend as St. Mary's does not have a mid-week game.
“I mean, it's going to help us out a lot,” said Sigala of the Rattlers' mid-week break, “to get our arms ready, our pitching staff, and for our offense and defense to work on some things that we need to work on. And just get us some rest before we come 100 percent on the weekend.”
The Rattlers start their three-game series with the Hilltoppers (9-4, 6-3 in conference) with a doubleheader Friday in Austin, Texas at 12 p.m.
St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men's basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men's golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men's golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary's also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary's student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.rattlerathletics.com.
