Baseball Takes on Patriots For Final Series of Regular Season

St. Mary's at UT Tyler
April 25-27 // Games 47-50 // Tyler // Irwin Field
Broadcast: FloCollege
 

UT Tyler Patriots
Record    37-9, 36-8 LSC
Ranking    3/5/6
Head Coach    Brent Porche
UTT Record    283-133 (9th Year)
Career Record    430-216 (13th Year)

St. Mary's Rattlers
Record    28-18, 26-18 LSC
Ranking    NR
Head Coach    Frank Kellner
StMU Record    48-48 (2nd Year)
Career Record    Same

Final Series: St. Mary's faces a tough test in its final regular season series, traveling to #3/5/6 UT Tyler for the final four contests. The Patriots have won 10 straight games and are 36-8 on the year.

On Pace: Senior Cameron Hodges has allowed opponents to hit only .156 against him this season, and is oh, so close to the St. Mary's single season record (minimum 25 innings pitched) of .155 by Aaron Carter from 1996. Hodges has given up only 15 hits in 27.0 innings, striking out 28.

Hogan's (a) Hero: Senior Hogan Heller returned to the lineup for a pinch-hitting appearance on Saturday in game two against UT Permian Basin after being injured two weeks earlier against ENMU. Heller drove a ball to the gap in right center in the eighth inning to tie the game at 8-8. It was his seventh double of the year.

On Second Thought: St. Mary's is outscoring its opponents 65 to 24 in the second inning this season. The +41 run differential is the largest of any of the nine innings. The Rattlers are also +21 in the third frame.

Patience is a Virtue: The Rattlers drew 23 walks last week in the series against UT Permian Basin, the most base on balls in any series this season, surpassing the 19 against Lubbock Christian. Garrett Brooks  walked five times, including the one to end the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with the bases loaded, while Jacob Elizondo drew another four.

No Hits For You: St. Mary's pitchers currently rank second in the Lone Star Conference in fewest hits allowed per nine innings with 9.33. Top-ranked Angelo State leads the league with 9.15. The Rattlers also rank fourth in the league in WHIP (walks + hits/innings pitched) at 1.64.

Whatever it Takes: Junior Garrett Brooks made the move from left field to first base 12 games ago, and has responded by making only one error in 81 chances in the field (.988 fielding percentage). His bat hasn't suffered from the new position either, as he has reached base in 11 of the 12 games with 15 RBIs and nine walks.

Touch Them All: Thirteen different Rattlers have combined to hit the 53 home runs, led by Easton Parrish with 12. The 13 players is the most in St. Mary's Division II history, bettering the previous record of 12 players by the 2003, 2004 and 2007 teams.

Split or Better: St. Mary's has either split or won 10 of the 11 Lone Star series this season, dropping only three of four to then-#2 Angelo State. Last year, the Rattlers split or won six series.

No Runs For You: After not having one last season, the Rattlers have recorded three shutouts this year, which ranks third in the Lone Star Conference and 39th in the nation. Kaleb Gauna has a complete-game shutout, while the other two are combined shutouts. Cameron Hodges and Carlos Flores Jr., have pitched in both.

Regionally Ranked: The Rattlers climbed one place in the NCBWA South Central Regional rankings, sitting eighth after ranking ninth for the previous four weeks. The Rattlers have 21 points, while Angelo State holds the top spot for the fourth week in a row, earning even of the eight first-place votes and 79 points.

Holding the Lead: St. Mary's is a perfect 24-0 this season when leading the game after six innings and is 3-16 when trailing. The Rattlers are also 10-0 when leading after seven, and 2-0 when tied.

Taking the Extra Base: Senior Easton Parrish is the only player on the team who has more (min. 100 AB) extra base hits than singles. Parrish has 24 extra base hits (11 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs) and 17 singles in his 41 hits in 2025. He is one of five players in the Lone Star Conference to have more than 50% of his hits be longer than singles, joining Brevin McCool, LCU (45/75), Kyle Micklus, WT (29/55), Zane Roos, CU (25/48), and Justin Harris, ASU (25/45).

It's An Honor: Junior pitcher Kaleb Gauna was named both the Lone Star Conference and NCBWA South Central Region Pitcher of the Week on March 25-26. Gauna pitched a two-hit shutout against then-#15 St. Edward's, and had a no hitter through 6 1/3 innings. He needed only 90 pitches for the complete game, and is the first since 2022 to throw a complete game shutout for the Rattlers (Steven Medrano at ENMU).

Quite the Career: Senior Jake Elizondo currently ranks among the Division II active career leaders in four categories, ranking 17th in at bats (714), 21st in games played (193), 30th in hits (212), and 35th in runs scored (155). Easton Parrish also ranks 234th with 150 hits. 

Swiper, No Swiping: Junior Tristan Moreno tied the school record stealing three bases in the first game on Saturday at Oklahoma Christian. Moreno becomes the ninth different Rattler to swipe three bags in a single game, and the first since Clay Bradford stole three against UT Tyler on April 23, 2022. Moreno is second on the team with 13 stolen bases this season.