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Box Score 2 AUSTIN, Texas — Earlier this season, St. Mary's redshirt freshman
Al Gonzalez's first career play at third base resulted in an error. On Friday, he saved the game.
After losing Game One of Friday's doubleheader 1-0 thanks to a St. Edward's walk-off, RBI single, Game Two threatened a repeat. With runners on first and third with two out in the bottom of the ninth, a hard line drive looked to give the Hilltoppers another walk-off victory.
Enter Gonzalez.
Gonzalez (Pasadena, Texas) made a thrilling, diving snag to deny another Hilltopper celebration, proving he has come into his own as the Rattlers' sudden primary third baseman by forcing an extra inning. The Rattlers would go on to win it in the top of the 10th, with Gonzalez scoring the final run in the 5-4 victory after
Billy Richard (Sr., Schertz, Texas) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in the winning run.
“I figured out that I just need to stay calm,” said Gonzalez of his game-denying catch and his overall stance as third baseman. “After that first error I was like, 'That happens to anyone.' I just stay focused throughout all the games and luckily I came through in the final innings.”
Gonzalez also made the final out of the game in the bottom of the 10th, causing the end to an intense and heated day of baseball. Although a large chuck of the season remains, the season series between the Rattlers (13-4, 11-3 in Heartland Conference) and the Hilltoppers (10-6, 7-4 in conference) could possibly determine the host of the conference tournament, making the Rattlers' win in Game Two carry heavy weight.
A sweep over rival St. Edward's would have been ideal, but the high-intensity and tight game will help St. Mary's in the long run.
“It gets us focused,” said Gonzalez, who is hitting .303 on the season. “We definitely need to experience these games for later on because most of the time you're not going to win by 10 runs.”
The Rattlers smacked 12 hits for Game Two with
Mario Maldonado (So., El Paso, Texas) going 4-for-6 at the plate, including a double and his first triple on the year.
Adrian Garcia (RS-Jr., El Paso, Texas) and
Kyle Bumpas (Jr., El Paso, Texas) each had two hits apiece.
Bumpas also pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief before
Jonathan Perez (RS-Sr., San Antonio) went 2 2/3 innings for his third win on the season.
Rene Solis (Jr., San Antonio) had the start, pitching 5 2/3 innings for the no-decision.
The Rattlers were contained to three hits in Game One with Bumpas, Gonzalez and
Derek Moczygemba (Sr., Bulverde), who hit a double in Game Two, all coming away with singles.
Carl O'Neal (Sr., San Antonio) picked up his first loss after winning 21 straight in Game One, as the Hilltoppers scored off a walk-off RBI single with two away and a full count in the bottom of the seventh. O'Neal, 4-1 with a 0.54 ERA on the season, finished tied with the official NCAA all-time consecutive win streak and fell three short of the unofficial mark of 24.
The Rattlers will complete the series with the Hilltoppers Saturday in Austin, Texas at 1 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.
