ODESSA, Texas – Everyone got involved in the offense for the St. Mary's Baseball team as they defeated Texas-Permian Basin 9-4 on Sunday afternoon. All nine hitters recorded at least one hit and six of the nine crossed home plate as the Rattlers evened their season record at 9-9.
The Rattlers took three of four games from the Falcons (5-13) over the weekend and scored at least five runs in all four contests and nine or more in the three wins.
Senior
Johnny Hernandez (El Paso, Texas) was 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while senior
Steven Wynn (San Antonio) was 2-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs and senior
Keaton Milford (New Braunfels, Texas) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Senior
Ragan Forrest (Lorena, Texas) also was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
The pitching staff also did a great job of limiting base runners as junior
Dylan Bells (Regina, Saskatchewan) got his first win as a Rattler (1-2). He allowed two earned runs – four total – on nine hits, walking two and striking out eight. Seven of his eight strikeouts were looking in his 7.1 innings of work. Senior
Johnny Panatex (Pflugerville, Texas) pitched the final 1.2 innings and retired all five batters he faced with three strikeouts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons struck first with one run in the second on a throwing error by Forrest in attempting to catch a runner stealing third.
Hernandez doubled down the left field line to start the fourth, was bunted to third by Caskey and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Zubia for the 1-1 tie.
UTPB regained the lead in the fifth in the same way they scored in the second.
The Rattlers answered right away with two runs in the top of the sixth with two outs. Milford doubled to left center and Wynn homered over the left field fence for the 3-2 lead.
The Falcons took the lead with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth as the scoreboard read 4-3. The Gold & Blue bats got right back to work as Caskey singled down the left field line, Zubia singled to second on a bunt and the pair moved up 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt by Forrest. With two outs, McGowen was hit to load the bases. Perez singled up the middle to score a pair, but he was thrown out at second as the Rattlers took the lead back, 5-4.
Milford singled past the shortstop to begin the seventh, but was erased on a fielder's choice off the bat of Wynn. Wynn promptly stole second and scored on a single up the middle by Hernandez, which knocked the Falcons starting hurler out of the game.
The offense continued to roll as Forrest doubled down the left field line to begin the eighth inning. Mueller bunted for a single and a throwing error allowed Forrest to scamper home to stretch the lead to 7-4. With one out in the eighth, Panatex came in on the bump for the Rattlers and retired both batters he faced.
Milford drew a walk to start the ninth and Wynn singled past the shortstop. Hernandez advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt and the Falcons went to the pen again. Milford scored on a wild pitch to double up the Falcons, 8-4. Caskey walked to put runners at the corners and both advanced 90 feet on another wild pitch for the 9-4 advantage. Panatex retired the side in order to lift the Rattlers to the 3-1 series win.
TEAM & INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
- Steven Wynn extended his hitting streak to 14 straight games and hit the first home run of his career.
- Ryan McGowen also stretched his reached base safely streak to a team-best 15 games. McGowen was 1-for-2 and was hit by a pitch twice.
- Johnny Hernandez is now tied for the team lead in multi-hit games with seven after going 3-for-4 on Sunday. He and sophomore Jake Mares both have seven on the year.
- The 14 hits by the Rattlers are tied for the third-most in 2020. It's the third straight game the team has reached double figures in base knocks and the ninth time overall.
- St. Mary's is now 4-1 in games where a player hits a home run.
UP NEXT
The Rattlers return home to host Texas A&M Kingsville in a four-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m.
