SAN ANTONIO – Playing its first game since April 25, the St. Mary's Baseball team dropped a non-conference game against a Lone Star Conference foe, falling 5-1 to ninth-ranked Angelo State on Friday night.
The two teams each had their final regular-season series cancelled due to Covid-19 protocols and decided to square off in a non-conference series to remain fresh for the Lone Star Conference Tournament, which begins on May 14.
Angelo State (32-6) scored its five runs on nine hits and committed two errors, while the Rattlers (22-16) scored one run on eight hits with one miscue.
Despite the loss the Rattlers defense made several stellar plays, with junior
Ryan McGowen (San Antonio) and senior
Derek Mueller (Carrolton, Texas) both making terrific catches in the outfield -- including McGowen leaping and catching a ball that cleared the right field fence to save a home run. Senior
Mitchell Caskey (Houston) made a great bare-handed grab down the third-base line, senior
Johnny Hernandez (El Paso, Texas) saved a throwing error on a pickoff attempt and sophomore
Brandon Broughton (Corpus Christi, Texas) made a few solid digs out of the dirt at first base.
Mueller has now reached base safely in 30 straight games after going 3-for-5 and scoring the Rattlers lone run in the third. His hitting streak also stretches to 14 with his 15
th multi-hit game of the year. Caskey also pushed his streak of reaching base to 19-straight with a 1-for-4 night, while junior
Jake Mares (Fort Worth, Texas) and sophomore
Mauro Bustamante (Helotes, Texas) extended their hitting streaks to 12 and 10, respectively with one base knock each.
Senior
Dylan Bells (Regina, Saskatchewan) took his first loss of the season (6-1) after allowing four runs on eight hits over six innings. Bells walked two and struck out four. Sophomore
Josh Buske (San Antonio) allowed an unearned run and only gave up one hit, walking three and striking out two over the final three innings.
Both Broughton and McGowen were hit by a pitch, bringing in the Rattlers season total to 74. The all-time school record is 76 by the 2006 team. In 2001, the Rattlers were hit 75 times by a pitch for second.
The two teams conclude the regular season on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The Rattlers will honor the eight seniors on the club prior to first pitch of game one, with festivities starting at approximately 12:40.
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