LUBBOCK, Texas – The St. Mary's Baseball team erased a 4-0 deficit and scored a pair in the top of the ninth to remain undefeated with a 7-5 win at Lubbock Christian on Friday evening.
Junior
Jacob Koehler (New Braunfels, Texas) pitched a gem in his second outing of the year to move to 1-0. In five innings, he allowed only four hits and struck out a career-high 13 in keeping the Chaps (2-2, 2-2 Lone Star Conference) off the scoreboard. Junior
Adrian Gonzales (Pasadena, Texas) picked up his first save of the season. Koehler came in for senior
Zach De La Garza (San Antonio), who allowed five runs (three earned) on three hits with six walks and four strikeouts in the first three frames. The 18 combined strikeouts by the pitching staff ties a St. Mary's single game record from Feb. 8, 2012 at Texas-Permian Basin.
The Rattlers (4-0, 4-0 Lone Star) offense was paced by senior
Johnny Hernandez (El Paso, Texas) who was 3-for-5 with one run and one RBI. The top of the order did a good job of getting on base, as senior
Derek Mueller (Carrolton, Texas) was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and an RBI. He also drew a walk, while the two-hole hitter, sophomore
Jake Mares (Fort Worth, Texas) was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore
Ryan McGowen (San Antonio) also tallied two hits, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
All 12 hits for the Rattlers were singles and the Gold & Blue also walked eight times with four strikeouts. All seven hits by the Chaps were also singles and they had 11 walks, but struck out 18 times and they stranded 16 runners on base.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Walks proved costly for De La Garza in the first inning as he walked the bases loaded with one out and all three came home to score – one on a sacrifice fly and two on an error by Mares.
LCU added one run on two hits in the bottom of the second and Mueller made a great diving catch in right-center to end the Chaps threat with the score 4-0.
Junior transfer
Fernando Zubia (El Paso) walked to lead off the third and senior
Ragan Forrest (Lorena, Texas) followed with a walk on four straight pitches. McGowen bunted for a single, but Zubia was thrown out at the plate. Mueller singled back up the middle to plate Forrest. Mares hit a bloop single behind first base in the grass to score McGowen and cut the deficit in half, 4-2.
The Chaps got one run back in the bottom of the third on a walk that scored on a sacrifice fly to deep centerfield. Koehler came in for the fourth and struck out two.
Mueller singled back up the middle to kick off the fifth frame. He moved to second on a groundout by Mares, advanced to third on a balk and scored on a single through the right side by senior
Andrew Perez (El Paso), which knocked out the Chaps starting pitcher. Senior
Keaton Milford (New Braunfels) singled back up the middle to score Perez, who had moved to second on a balk. Hernandez hit the fourth single of the frame, with a bloop to shallow center. Junior
Mitchell Caskey (Houston) drew a walk but Milford tried to score on the wild pitch and was thrown out at home for the second out. Perez scored on a wild pitch to knot the score at 5-5.
Koehler struck out four in the bottom of the seventh, however one reached via a wild pitch, to bring his K total to a career-high 10. Koehler again struck out the side in the eighth.
Mueller led off the top of the ninth on a squibbler that was thrown into the Rattlers' dugout by the shortstop to put him on second. Mares bunted for a single and Mueller scored to give the Rattlers the 6-5 lead. Perez bunted Mares to second and Mares advanced to third on a balk. Milford walked to put runners at the corners. Hernandez got the safety squeeze down to plate Mares and give the Rattlers a two-run cushion.
Sophomore
Connor Schmidt (Devine, Texas) recorded two outs on the hill, but walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Gonzales came in to record the final out, a fly ball to Perez in right to get his first save of the year.
TEAM & INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
- The 13 strikeouts by Jacob Koehler is the most by a Rattler since Matt McClain 14 against McMurry on May 2, 2013.
- All nine spots in the batting order reached base at least once, with Mitchell Caskey, Johnny Hernandez and Derek Mueller all getting on three times.
- The 4-0 start for St. Mary's is the best since the 2013 club began 5-0.
- The 18 combined strikeouts by the pitching staff ties a St. Mary's single game record from Feb. 8, 2012 at Texas-Permian Basin.
UP NEXT
St. Mary's remains in Lubbock for two more games at Lubbock Christian. Both the Saturday and Sunday games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. The Rattlers then return home to host a four-game series against West Texas A&M beginning Friday at 5 p.m.
