Box Score
SAN ANTONIO — No. 5 St. Mary's Baseball bounced back after a tough loss Saturday to defeat William Jewel College at Dickson Stadium 3-1 spurred by timely hits and none other than ace
Matt McClain.
As the reigning National Pitcher of the Week, lefty McClain (Jr., San Antonio) pitched lights out against the Cardinals Saturday, recording eight strikeouts in eight innings of work.
Now at 45 strikeouts on the season, McClain kept the Cardinals (1-1) at bay throughout the game, scattering four hits in a contest that only saw WJC score off a wild pitch to improve McClain's record to 4-1 on the season.
WJC took a 1-0 lead in the fifth that it saw squandered in the seventh when a powerful triple from
Al Gonzalez (RS-So., Pasedena, Texas) brought in the Rattlers' first run on the day from pinch runner
Kenny Corona (Fr., Katy, Texas) after a leadoff single from
Omar Garcia (RS-Jr., El Paso, Texas).
Taking advantage of the runner on third,
Joe Hermsen (Jr., Overland Park, Kan.) sliced one to centerfield to bring in Gonzalez as the Rattlers took hold of the lead.
The Snakes picked one more insurance run in the eighth after
Drake Roberts (Jr., Brenham, Texas) scored off back-to-back throwing errors but the Cardinals were already quieted after their first run, failing to score again.
Adrian Garcia (RS-Sr., El Paso, Texas) came in from center to close out the game, tossing the final inning to pick up his first career save after retiring all three of his batters faced.
The Rattlers' seven-hit victory was led by Roberts and Hermsen who recorded two hits apiece.
Currently leading the Rattlers with a statement .400 batting average, Hermsen continues to be a stronghold in St. Mary's lineup as he recorded another critical hit Saturday.
"It takes a lot of stress off me when you have hitters like Brooks (Orton) and Mario (Maldonado) and Omar (Garcia) in front of me," said Hermsen of his ability to connect in key situations including Saturday when his RBI-single captured the lead for the Rattlers. "They (pitchers) tend to throw me a lot better pitches than what they get which is why I've been seeing a lot of good pitches."
Hermsen aided the Rattlers in soothing a tough sore from their series opening loss to the Cardinals despite 10 hits.
"We came out a lot more ready this morning," said Hermsen of the Rattlers' bounce back victory. "We realized we still had two more games and we could win the series in the next two days."
The win improved the Rattlers to 13-4 on the season.
The series winner between the Rattlers and Cardinals will be decided with a single game at Noon Sunday at Dickson Stadium.
