SAN ANTONIO - Josh Buske picked up his first win of the season as the right-hander tossed four innings, allowing just two hits and striking out three Our Lady of the Lake (OLLU) batters. The Rattlers scored eight runs on nine hits, snapping their three-game skid.
Justin Ortega made his third appearance out of the bullpen tonight as the freshman tossed three shutout inning, allowing just one hit.
The Rattlers got on the board early as
Brandon Broughton drew a two-out walk in the first inning. Broughton moved up 90 feet on a single through the right side by
Mitchell Caskey.
Johnny Hernandez put a ball in play with two outs and the Saints' shortstop mishandled the ball, allowing Broughton to score, giving St. Mary's a 1-0 lead.
Jake Sims drove in a run in the home half of the second inning scoring
Mauro Bustamante who singled and stole second to start the inning. After two complete, the Rattlers led 2-0.
A solo homerun by OLLU in the fourth inning made it a 2-1 contest but the Rattlers offense responded in the bottom of the inning with four runs. Bustamante got things going again in the inning with a leadoff walk.
Logan Taylor laid down a sacrifice bunt to put a Rattler at second with one away. Sims reached first on a four-pitch walk, putting runners at first and second for
Derek Mueller. A single through the left side earned Mueller an RBI and gave St. Mary's a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Broughton was intentionally walked, loading the bases with Caskey coming to the plate. Caskey delivered a two-RBI single up the middle to extend the St. Mary's lead to 5-2. Another OLLU error with two outs allowed Broughton to score, making it a 6-1 game after four complete.
St. Mary's added a seventh run in the sixth frame when
Brian Juarez ripped a double into the left centerfield gap scoring Hernandez who was walked earlier in the inning.
The Bustamante and Sims combination struck again in the seventh inning as Bustamante reached on a leadoff single and stole second. With one out, Sims picked up his second RBI of the night as he drove in Bustamante for the Rattlers' eighth and final run of the evening.
The Saints added two runs in their final at-bat, making the final score 8-3.
Caden Floyd tossed the final inning for the Rattlers and struck out two of the six batters he faced.
Caskey and Sims both finished with two RBI.
St. Mary's will resume Lone Star Conference play on Friday as they host Eastern New Mexico in a doubleheader. The first game is slated for a 2 p.m. start. All the action will be live on the
Lone Star Conference Digital Network.
