Baseball Splits Doubleheader With Chaps

SAN ANTONIO – A little small ball and a bit of the long ball led the St. Mary's Baseball team to a split against Lubbock Christian on Saturday at Dickson Stadium. The Rattlers won game on 7-4 before dropping game two, 12-3.
 
The two teams wrap up the four-game series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. as the Rattlers (9-11, 8-11 Lone Star Conference) look for their third-straight series split in Lone Star play.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
The bottom of the lineup did most of the damage as the 7-8-9 hitters posted six of the team's nine hits in the game and senior Ryan McGowen (San Antonio) drove in three runs. 
 
Senior Clay Bradford (Atascocita, Texas) once again helped his own cause, going 1-for-3 at the plate with a sacrifice fly and an RBI. On the mound, Bradford threw six solid innings to improve to 3-1. He surrendered four runs on three hits, walking two and striking out three. Junior Andrew Girod (San Antonio) retired both batters he faced to earn his first save of the season.
 
The Chaps jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but Bradford retired the side in order in the second to get his offense going. With one out, junior Devin Goins (San Antonio) singled up the middle and he moved to second on a bunt single by freshman Jacob King (San Antonio). Junior Jake Elizondo (San Antonio) bunted both runners up 90 feet and McGowen followed with a single through the right side to cut the deficit to one.
 
A solo home run by LCU (15-8, 15-8 Lone Star) had the scoreboard read 4-2 in the fourth frame.
 
Elizondo took the first pitch of the fifth inning through the hole between short and third for a single. McGowen sacrificed Elizondo to second with a bunt. With two outs, Bradford reached on a throwing error by the second baseman, and the run scored. Bradford scampered to second on a wild pitch, senior Rudy Solis (El Paso, Texas) walked and a double off the bat of junior Easton Parrish (La Vernia, Texas) scored Bradford to knot the score at 4-4.
 
In the bottom of the sixth with one out, Goins was plunked by a pitch and sophomore Jorge Cuevas (El Paso) entered to pinch run. King singled to right for his fourth multi-hit game in the last five outings. A single by Elizondo loaded the bases and McGowen laid down the perfect suicide squeeze for a single and RBI. All three runners advanced on a wild pitch, senior Jake Mares (Fort Worth, Texas) walked and Bradford hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield for the 7-4 tally.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
King kept the hot bat going for the Rattlers, going 2-for-2 in the nightcap with a run scored, but the Rattlers scattered only four other hits amongst four different players in the 12-3 loss.
 
Bradford hit his team-leading sixth home run to get one run back in the bottom of the first after the Chaps scored two in the top half on a homer of their own.
 
After LCU scored one in the second, neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth when the Rattlers plated two to knot the score at 3-3. With one out, Solis was hit by a pitch. He moved to second on a single to left by King with two outs. Elizondo doubled to right center to score both runners. 
 
The Chaps put up crooked innings in both the fifth and six for the 12-3 win. Senior John Curtis (Athens, Tenn.) was handed the loss to even his record at 1-1. He threw four innings, allowing six runs on six hits with four walks and two strikeouts.