Box Score GEORGETOWN, Texas — St. Mary's Baseball made this one look routine.
The Rattlers came charging out of the gate in the opening round of the Heartland Conference Championship Tournament Friday, downing Newman 8-1 to advance to the winner's bracket.
The Snakes will face rival St. Edward's, which shutout No. 4-seeded UA Fort Smith 6-0, in Game 3 at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Georgetown High School.
The winner of the championship Battle of the Saints will advance to play in the championship title game at 1 p.m. Sunday while the defeated will play the winner of Newman and UA Fort Smith at 7 p.m. Saturday in the double-elimination bracket.
The No. 2-seeded Rattlers pulled out all its tricks against No. 3-seeded Newman, including making three successful safety squeeze plays.
"We were just trying to do our jobs," said
Al Gonzalez of the Rattlers' varied scoring opportunities. "If our job was to get on base that's what we did. We did what we needed to do in our situations."
Gonzalez (RS-So., Pasadena, Texas) powered at the plate Friday, leading the Rattlers' offensive attack by batting 1.000 with one RBI and one run scored, putting him on a three-game hit streak.
The scoreless game was broken open in the second by the Rattlers who recorded their first squeeze play off a sac bunt from
Keith Funk (RS-So., San Antonio) for an early 1-0 lead. The Rattlers then put up another run off a
Brooks Orton (Jr., Cedar City, Utah) RBI-double to end the inning 2-0.
The Jets only got on the broad once, scoring a lone run in the third thanks to a pitching gem from
Matt McClain (Jr., San Antonio) and the Rattlers' defense making the plays.
McClain went the distance, tossing the complete, nine-inning victory with nine strikeouts while scattering four hits. The Jets' lone run was unearned for the ace as the lefty improved to 8-5 on the season.
Any Jet hopes of a comeback were silenced by the Rattlers continuing to provide McClain run support, scoring three runs in the fifth, one in the seventh and adding a final two in their last at-bat.
The Rattlers lit up for 14 hits in the victory with Orton,
Drake Roberts (Jr., Brenham, Texas),
Scott Jones (Jr., College Station, Texas) and
Adrian Garcia (RS-Sr., El Paso, Texas) each recording a pair of hits each, following Gonzalez's 4 for 4 day.
"It gives us confidence that we can hit," said Gonzalez of the Rattlers' double-digit hit figure against the Jets. "Especially with two outs and two strikes. With St. Edward's, they're a tough competitor and we're going to need to bring our A-game tomorrow."
The Rattlers improved to 33-18 on the season with the win over the Jets, but the more important win the Snakes will fight for is taking one off of No. 1-seeded St. Edward's.
"We are trying to win the conference," said Gonzalez, whose four hits against the Jets were a season-high. "That's the main goal. It doesn't matter if we're the one or two seed; we are just trying to make it back to the regional."
The No. 22 Rattlers face No. 9 St. Edward's at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Georgetown High School in Georgetown, Texas.
