Box Score SAN ANTONIO — Texas-Permian Basin brought in its left fielder to challenge
Brooks Orton with a seven-man infield with bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
But Orton was due for a walk off.
The junior smacked a hard-hit single right over the inflated infield to right, bringing in
Al Gonzalez for the winning run to win it, 8-7, after the Rattlers fought back from a 7-1 deficit for a stunning comeback.
After flashing the walk off, the Snakes capped off the doubleheader with a shutout in Game 2, winning 3-0.
"Sometimes they (the opponent) bring the infield in," said Orton of his walk-off single. "And my approach to that was to just hit the ball hard. I knew if I hit the ball hard my chances were good."
The Rattlers bit their way back into Game 1, which had them trialing 7-1 by the fourth.
The Falcons (17-18, 8-9 in conference) scored every inning through the fourth, recording two-run innings in the second, third and fourth.
But they fell silent the next five innings in the originally scheduled seven-game inning that went nine, just as the Rattlers sparked.
St. Mary's chipped away at the six-run deficit, scoring two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to tie it 7-7.
Steady relief pitching helped keep the Rattlers in line for the walk off as
Garrett McKenzie (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) and
Adrian Garcia (RS-Sr., El Paso, Texas) tossed a combined 5 2/3 scoreless innings with just one hit allowed for each of them.
Garcia picked up the win, improving to 5-1 on the season.
The Rattlers powered for 15 hits in the series opener with Orton (Cedar City, Utah) going 3 for 4 with a stolen base, and
Scott Jones (Jr., College Station, Texas) going 3 for 3 with two runs scored.
Omar Garcia (RS-Jr., El Paso, Texas),
Drake Roberts (Jr., Brenham, Texas) and Gonzalez (RS-So., Pasadena, Texas) each recorded a pair of hits with Garcia notching a triple and Gonzalez two doubles.
Rene Solis (Sr., San Antonio) propelled the Rattlers to victory in Game 2, tossing his seventh complete game in a complete-game shutout with seven strikeouts.
The ace scattered just three hits in seven innings of work.
Orton broke open a stalemate game in the third, connecting on a sac fly for the first run of the game and the Rattlers' 1-0 lead.
Keith Funk (RS-So., San Antonio) sealed the game with a two-RBI double in fourth, which topped him as the Rattlers' RBI leader with 22.
"Every game is important," said Orton who leads the Rattlers in stolen bases with 24. "Especially in conference. When you try to win conference play you have to try to win every game because it usually comes down to a game or two."
The doubleheader sweep improved the Rattlers to 25-11 in the season and 12-5 in Heartland Conference play, keeping them tied for first in league standings along with rival St. Edward's.
The Rattlers complete the series with the Falcons at 1 p.m. Saturday at Dickson Stadium.
