Box Score
KINGSVILLE, Texas — It happened as it usually does — down to the wire in a heated contest.
St. Mary's Baseball had its season ended in a pitcher's duel against long-standing rival St. Edward's on Sunday, dropping the semifinal game in the South Central Region Tournament by a narrow margin, 2-1.
Both teams put up hard defense, on the field and on the mound, as bats were limited and scoring opportunities few.
The Hilloppers were up on the board first, scoring off a series of walks in the second.
Ivan Sigala (Sr., El Paso, Texas) was responsible for the Rattlers' only run on the game with a sacrifice fly, also in the second. It would be a sacrifice fly that would decide the game, as the Hilltoppers (41-16) popped one in the fourth that would end up being the game-winning run.
The rally caps again were on for the Rattlers in the bottom of the ninth, and a Sigala single brought life to the Rattlers and hope for a comeback.
Luke Garza (RS-Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas) bunted Sigala over to second and a
Nathan Humpal (Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas) groundout brought him 90 feet from home.
Adrian Garcia (RS-Jr., El Paso, Texas) made contact with two outs and the tying run at third, hitting a blooper to left field that had the looks to drop. But St. Edward's snagged the pop-up, denying St. Mary's advancement into the championship game.
Although the scoreboard didn't end in the Rattlers' favor, the game was an all-out effort from St. Mary's, which enjoyed its fourth straight regional berth.
Derek Moczygemba (Sr., Bulverde, Texas) had a supreme performance on the hill, tossing six solid innings with three strikeouts. Moczygemba, who was named Daktronics All-Region First Team, ended his season with a 2.35 ERA and a 2-4 win-loss record along with a .303 batting average.
Another member of the Rattlers' star senior-class, Daktronics All-Region First Team
Brandon Bates (Sr., Boerne, Texas), put up a strong showing Sunday pelting two hits with one run scored. Bates' power at the plate led the Rattlers' all season, ending with a .389 average and 41 RBIs.
The Rattlers' season had several memorable moments, namely making head coach
Charlie Migl the fourth most-winningest active coach in all of Division II baseball with his 1,000th career win while ranking as high as No. 3 in the nation. The Rattlers also notched their fourth straight Heartland Conference regular-season championship and saw ace
Carl O'Neal (Sr., San Antonio) honored as the NCBWA and Daktronics South Central Region Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season.
The 2013 season is officially in the books for St. Mary's Baseball, with plenty to be proud of.
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.
