SAN ANTONIO — A big comeback in game two worked a split for the St. Mary's University Baseball team on Saturday against UT Permian Basin. The Falcons won game one 9-5, while the Rattlers won 9-8 in eight innings in the nightcap.
StMU (28-17, 26-17) holds a 2-1 edge in the series, which concludes on Saturday at 1 p.m., with Senior Day festivities beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Game One Recap
Back-to-back crooked innings for the Falcons in the fifth and sixth innings evened the series at one game each with the 9-5 score.
Jacob King (San Antonio) and
Easton Parrish (La Vernia, Texas) each had two hits as the Rattlers scored their five runs on eight hits, while
Raithen Malone (Mont Belvieu, Texas) drove in a pair. Parrish also played first base for the first time in a year, as he's been utilized as either a catcher or designated hitter in his other 37 starts in 2025.
Junior
Kaleb Gauna (Hondo, Texas) took a hard-luck loss, as he only allowed one earned run, but five total, in 4 2/3 innings of work on seven hits. He walked two and struck out three.
Braeden Brown (Sinton, Texas),
Ryan Romine (San Antonio) and
Derek Maples (San Antonio) each worked in relief.
The Rattlers managed to score one run in the fourth, despite a base-running blunder that resulted in the first out of the inning. With two outs and Parrish on second, Malone doubled down the left field line for the RBI and the first run of the game. The Falcons immediately answered and took the lead with five in the fifth.
Matt Mendez (Natalia, Texas) singled through the left side of the infield,
Brendan Concannon (Flower Mound, Texas) drew a four-pitch walk.
Jacob Elizondo (San Antonio) followed with a sharply hit single between shortstop and third, plating Mendez.
Garrett Brooks (Spring Branch, Texas) drew a walk and forced the Falcons to go to the bullpen. With the bases loaded, King drove a ball through the right side to drive in Concannon and keep runners on all three bags. Parrish drew a four-pitch walk for the third run of the inning and a 5-4 game.
Once again, the Falcons immediately answered, plating three runs in the sixth to push the lead back to four, 8-4. Each team scored one in the seventh for the 9-5 final.
Game Two Recap
The Rattlers trailed 7-3 midway through the fifth inning but scored one run in the bottom of the fifth and three in the seventh to force extra innings. As they've done the whole series, the Falcons responded, scoring one in the top half of the eighth for an 8-7 lead.
With two outs and
Trey Guajardo (San Juan, Texas) on first after drawing a walk, senior
Hogan Heller made his return to the lineup after being involved in the collision at second base two weeks ago and had the fans all on their feet. A wild pitch moved Guajardo to second base, and down 0-2 in the count after swinging through two pitches, Heller drove a ball to the gap in right center to knot the score again at 8-8. Senior
Adrian Losoya (San Antonio) pinch ran for Heller, and Elizondo was intentionally walked, setting up the force at any base. A fielding error by the Falcons on a ball hit by
Dillon Lopez (San Antonio) loaded the bases, and Brooks walked on five pitches to give the Rattlers the victory.
Elizondo was a perfect 3-for-3 out of the leadoff spot, scoring four runs, as he also walked twice, and needed only a triple for the cycle. Elizondo hit his eighth home run of the year to score all three runs in the seventh. Brooks was also 2-for-3 with two walks.
Senior
Javier De Alejandro (San Antonio) surrendered two earned runs on five hits in four innings of work. He also walked two in a no-decision.
Brandon Vasquez (Round Rock, Texas) and
Brett Brown (Sinton) combined to pitch the next two innings, while senior
Carlos Flores Jr. (San Antonio) pitched the final two in improving to 3-1 on the year. He gave up one run on three hits with two strikeouts.
