Late Rally Not Enough for Baseball

SAN ANTONIO – Despite scoring five runs in the final four innings, the St. Mary's Baseball team couldn't complete the comeback, falling 13-6 in the first game of the four-game series against Texas A&M Kingsville on Saturday.
 
The Rattlers (5-14, 3-14 Lone Star Conference) out-hit the Javelinas (15-4, 13-4 Lone Star) 13-to-11 but left 15 runners on base and committed five errors in the four-hour, 11-minute game.
 
Junior Rudy Solis (El Paso, Texas) led the team going 3-for-4 at the plate with a walk and an RBI, while Clay Bradford (Atoscocita, Texas), Devin Goins (San Antonio) and Ty Luper (League City, Texas) all had two hits and five others reached base multiple times.
 
The Rattlers turned three double plays on the night, bringing their season total to 19. StMU leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks among the nation's leaders as well.
 
TAMUK jumped out to an 8-1 lead through six innings and was able to keep the seven-run edge despite the Rattlers scoring one in the sixth, two in the seventh and two in the eighth. The team had at least one base runner in every inning and multiple base runners in eight of the nine frames. The 15 runners stranded is the most this season and the most since they left 15 on base against Eastern New Mexico on April 3, 2021.
 
Senior Connor Schmidt (Devine, Texas) lost his second-straight start. In three innings, he allowed two earned runs on three hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore Andrew Girod (San Antonio) worked two innings, allowing four runs while walking two and fanning a pair. Sophomore Karlo Kalifa (Round Rock, Texas) pitched the next 2.1 frames, giving up three runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts and junior Caden Floyd (Corpus Christi, Texas) was on the hill for the final 1.2 frames, allowing one earned run on two hits with a walk.
 
The two teams continue the series on Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Both games are scheduled for seven-innings.