SAN ANTONIO – Potent offense, solid defense and strong pitching throughout both games with a combined shutout in game two lifted the St. Mary's Baseball team to a doubleheader victory over UT Permian Basin on Sunday afternoon, 8-2 and 8-0.
The Rattlers are now 3-0 on the young season and conclude the series on Monday at 1 p.m. at Dickson Stadium. The team scored eight runs on 11 hits in game one and eight runs on 12 hits in game two, while only allowing two runs on 11 hits combined between the two contests.
The Falcons (0-3) scored their two runs in the top of the first inning and the St. Mary's defense held them scoreless the next 13 frames.
Senior
Brian Juarez (Corpus Christi, Texas) led the offense with a 4-for-5 day at the plate. He drew three walks, hit his first home run of the year, scored four times and stole a base. High school teammate
Brandon Broughton (Corpus Christi) added a 3-for-6 day with two doubles, three RBI and three runs and senior
Ryan McGowen (San Antonio) also went 3-for-6 with a double, two RBI and he was hit by a pitch.
GAME ONE
Junior
Clay Bradford (Atoscocita, Texas) settled in after the first inning, pitching five frames, where he allowed two runs on four hits, walked one and struck out two in his first win of the year. He also helped his own cause, going 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Freshman
Chase Bright (San Antonio) threw the final two innings where he struck out one and gave up two hits.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the Rattlers offense went to work. Senior
Jake Mares (Fort Worth, Texas) and sophomore
Jacob Elizondo (San Antonio) each walked. With one out, Broughton doubled down the left field line to knot the game at 2-2. Juarez walked to force a pitching change and junior
Trey Guajardo (San Juan, Texas) doubled down the right field to give the Rattlers a 3-2 lead. Junior
Elias Koury (Lecheriá Anzoátegui, Venezuela) grounded out to the shortstop, but Juarez was able to score from third for the 4-2 score.
McGowen singled up the middle to begin the fourth, but was erased on a fielder's choice off the bat of Mares. Elizondo doubled to right center to put Mares at third. Bradford laid down a fantastic suicide squeeze to plate Mares and then was caught in a run-down long enough to score Elizondo. Broughton was plunked in the elbow and Juarez cleared the left field fence for the 8-2 final.
GAME TWO
The Rattlers kept up the offensive pressure in game two, plating one run in the second and seven in the third for the 8-0 victory.
Senior
John Curtis (Athens, Tenn.) started on the hill, scattering only four hits over four frames with two walks and six strikeouts for the victory. Senior
Caden Floyd (Corpus Christi, Texas), freshman
Billy Baehr (San Antonio) and junior
Brett Brown (Sinton, Texas) each worked a scoreless inning in relief.
UTPB started the nightcap with a walk, but after Curtis struck out the next hitter, junior
Easton Parrish (La Vernia, Texas) threw down to second in time to erase the would-be base stealer.
Juarez and senior
Rudy Solis (El Paso, Texas) walked to begin the second. Solis was erased on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners and Juarez scored on a ground out by Guajardo as the scoreboard read 1-0.
A hard-hit ball to the gap in right center in the third inning by Jack Haggerty looked like it was going to give the Falcons their first run, but Bradford threw to Elizondo on the edge of the infield, who whipped it to Parrish at home plate to tag out Jay DeSoto trying to score from first for the third out of the frame.
The Rattlers put up a seven spot in the bottom half of the inning – all with two outs to do in the Falcons. Mares led off with a single up the middle, but remained at first after the next two recorded outs. Early in Broughton's at bat, he swiped second and scored on a double down the left field line by the first baseman. Broughton moved to third on a wild pitch and Juarez walked. Solis singled to deep in the hole at short and beat the throw to first, but an overthrow of first allowed him to go to second and Broughton scored on the play. Parrish and Guajardo followed with back-to-back singles in the 5-6 hole on the left side, plating Juarez. A double off the bat of McGowen scored two more to break open the game. In his second bat of the inning, Mares again singled up the middle and scampered to second on the throw home, but both runs were in safely for the 8-0 tally.
StMU had base runners in each of the next three innings, but were unable to plate any more.
