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Scoreboard

Oscar Sepulveda
Logan Lawrence
Oscar Sepulveda struck out 11 in a 134-pitch complete-game victory over Lubbock Christian.
2
Lubbock Christian LCU 35-17
3
Winner St. Mary's STMU 32-20
Lubbock Christian LCU
35-17
2
Final
3
St. Mary's STMU
32-20
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Lubbock Christian LCU 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 2
St. Mary's STMU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 3 9 2

W: Sepulveda, Oscar (5-2) L: B. Bezio (5-2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | RattlerAthletics.com

StMU Baseball 'family' fights to keep season alive in 3-2 win over LCU

By Chad Peters | St. Mary's Athletics Communications 

BELTON, Texas — On the surface, the St. Mary's Rattlers have battled through countless injuries and position changes this season, grinding their way for a berth in the Heartland Conference Championship Tournament.

But behind the scenes, they've been fighting for something much bigger than just the game of baseball.

Their skipper, Charlie Migl, has spent a majority of the season caring for his ailing parents — an emotional, tolling battle the longtime St. Mary's coach says he and his siblings couldn't endure without the support of those in the St. Mary's and baseball communities. 

So when the fourth-seeded Rattlers outlasted No. 2 seed Lubbock Christian 3-2 on Friday, winning the elimination game on Angel Vega's go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning, they spoke of much more than just balls, strikes, hits and errors afterward.

"We're doing this for him," junior pitcher Oscar Sepulveda said of Migl. "We stuck together as a team, as a family."

Migl could barely find the words to describe the team's on-field fight, holding back tears as he thought of his own personal battle when describing the adversity the team has battled.

"I'm real proud of these guys," said Migl, wiping his eyes. "I put them in a tough situation. They answered the call. I'm very proud of them — all of them."

Few more so than Sepulveda on this day.

The junior pitcher/infielder has battled injuries of his own over the years, but "answered the call" Friday in a stellar fashion.

With the Rattlers having deployed five pitchers in Thursday's tournament-opening loss to St. Edward's, they were in desperate need to salvage their staff in Friday's second round. 

Sepulveda allowed just that, going the distance on 134 pitches and striking out 11 Chaps batters along the way. 

"It's an elimination game," Sepulveda said. "They told me before the game to go as hard as you can for as long as you can. If that meant three innings or if it meant six. I just battled."

"To be honest," Sepulveda continued, "I feel like I could pitch some more."

St. Mary's (32-20) jumped to a quick 2-0 lead following a solo shot from Bryce Brandl and Donnie Perez's RBI double down the line. But the Chaps (35-17) battled back, tacking on runs in the second and fourth innings to even the score at 2-2. 

The Rattlers would go seven innings between runs, but Vega's RBI single in the eighth proved to come at just the right time. 

"The at-bat before, I had struck out and had gotten a little down on myself, to be honest," Vega said. "But Coach Migl, he told me to keep your head in there, you'll get another at-bat. I'm just glad I came through for my team."

That has been the Rattlers' tendency all season.

St. Mary's advances to play No. 3 seed Oklahoma Christian in another elimination game at approximately 7:20 p.m. Friday. 
 
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