CANYON, Texas – In a back-and-forth battler with 10
th-ranked West Texas A&M, the St. Mary's Baseball team ended on the short end, 7-6 on Friday evening.
Eight of the nine hitters in the starting lineup reached base at least once for the Rattlers (11-11, 9-10 Lone Star Conference), with junior
Jake Mares (Fort Worth, Texas) getting on base four times in five plate appearances (two hits, two walks). Corpus Christi natives
Brandon Broughton and
Brian Juarez were also on base three times each with two hits and a base on balls. Junior
Shawn Tober (San Antonio) scored twice and was 2-for-5.
Senior
Dylan Bells (Regina, Saskatchewan) received a no-decision as he left with the 6-5 lead. During his six innings, Bells gave up four earned runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Senior
Johnny Panatex (Pflugerville, Texas) fell to 1-2 after giving up two runs on four hits. He also walked two and fanned two in two innings of work.
With one out in the first, Mares walked, stole second and scored on a single down the left field line by Broughton. Broughton moved to second on the throw home and scampered to third on a passed ball. He scored when Caskey singled back up the middle for the 2-0 early advantage.
West Texas A&M (19-3, 16-2 Lone Star) got one run back in the bottom of the inning on a single, stolen base and sacrifice fly for the 2-1 tally. The Buffaloes scored one run on a walk and a triple to knot the score at 2-2 and Hernandez made a terrific diving stop and throw back to first to save another run.
Two singles and another sacrifice fly gave the Buffs the lead in the bottom of the third inning, 3-2.
With one out in the fourth, Tober, McGowen and Mueller all drove singles back up the middle to load the bases and knock out WT's starting pitcher. Mares singled to center to plate Tober and tie the score for the second time, 3-3.
Caskey walked and Hernandez sacrificed him to second to kick off the fifth. With two outs, Juarez singled up the middle and the Rattlers regained the lead. With a 2-0 count on Tober, the Buffs again went to the bullpen and Tober singled to third. McGowen was plunked in the numbers to load the bases. Mueller hit a drive off the pitcher's leg which was misplayed and both Juarez and Tober scored for the 6-3 advantage.
West Texas scored one in the fifth on a triple and a sacrifice fly to make it a two-run contest, 6-4. A single and an error in the sixth had the scoreboard reading 6-5. The Buffaloes took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs they had three-straight hits for the 7-6 final score.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. with game two beginning approximately 30 minutes after the end of game one.
