Box Score
SAN ANTONIO — With outs dwindling, the Rattlers settled in for a heart-racer as pinch hitters claimed the hero's stand in a walk-off victory over Texas-Permian Basin on Sunday.
Head coach
Charlie Migl ticks another one away in his countdown to 1,000 wins, as Sunday's 2-1 victory was spurred from pinch hitter
Matt Bienek's (Jr., Bulverde, Texas) double followed by pinch hitter
Adrian Garcia's (RS-Jr., El Paso, Texas) walk-off single with two outs in the ninth.
Earning Win No. 999 with Sunday's walk-off, Migl's Rattlers will have a shot to give him his 1,000 against Tarleton State on Wednesday or in the three-games series against Oklahoma Panhandle State that starts Friday.
Rene Solis' (Jr., San Antonio) quality start saw seven complete innings and two strikeouts with the Falcons snaking their only run with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Innings passed without the Rattlers able to score their first run, until a stretch in the eighth that started with a
Derek Moczygemba (Sr., Bulverde, Texas) single to right field with one out.
Brandon Bates (Sr., Boerne, Texas) took a free base after he was hit by a pitch with two outs, and
Weston Heiligman (RS-So., Castroville, Texas) then pinch ran for Bates. It would be
Ivan Sigala (Sr., El Paso, Texas) in the clutch.
A powerful Sigala single brought the tying run in from Moczygemba to start a whole new ballgame.
“I was just looking for a good pitch to hit,” said Sigala of his game-changer. “We've been struggling at the plate and it was about time to get a hit for all of us and I came through.”
Down to the final out in a tie 1-1 ballgame, Migl made the switch for Bienek and Garcia to step up big, and the two did just that.
It took one pitch for Bienek to smack a hard double to put St. Mary's on the radar of the W. Bienek's speed then advanced him to third off a wild pitch, priming Garcia for a 90-foot win opportunity. Garcia delivered, pelting a single just inside the foul line for a walk-off celebration from the Rattlers' bench.
“Coach told me I was going to pinch hit and I just went up there looking for a good pitch,” said Garcia of his walk off. “And I got the pitch. It feels good coming off the bench and getting a big hit like that.”
Sunday marked off another series for the Rattlers as the season flirts with its close, winning the season series with UTPB 5-1. The Rattlers smacked nine hits to the Falcons' (11-22, 7-17 in conference) six with Sigala leading with two hits in three at-bats.
Jonathan Perez (RS-Sr., San Antonio) had the decision after tossing two innings, bumping the closer to 5-2 on the season.
Sealing the three-game series with UTPB hopes to provide momentum for the Rattlers to roll through the rest of conference play, which includes three more series. Now at 24-11 overall and 20-6 in conference play, win No. 25 holds a milestone moment for Migl to reach 1,000. But in true and humble Migl fashion, it's just like any other in his 26-plus seasons as head coach.
“It's a great honor to do that and everyone's been really excited about it and it just makes me feel really good,” said Migl, who will become the 11th coach in Division II baseball history to reach 1,000. “It would have been nice to get it at home but it didn't happen. Maybe some of the guys were trying too hard; it looks like some of the guys were trying real hard for it and hopefully they just relax and play because it is just another game.”
St. Mary's plays regional contender Tarleton State University at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Stephenville, Texas.
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.
