This Week in Rattlers Baseball
NCAA South Central Regional
May 14-16 // Grand Junction, Colo. // The Diamond at Hamilton Ballpark
Colorado Mesa Mavericks
Record 49-5
Ranking 1/1/1
Head Coach Chris Hanks
CMU Record 1160-433 (28th Year)
Career Record Same
St. Mary's Rattlers
Record 38-17
Ranking 22/RV/RV
Head Coach Frank Kellner
StMU Record 87-71 (3rd Year)
Career Record Same
Lubbock Christian Chaps
Record 33-19
Ranking NR/NR/NR
Head Coach Nathan Blackwood
LCU Record 870-411 (23rd Year)
Career Record Same
By The Numbers
5 St. Mary's has had five different players reach base safely in 20 or more consecutive games this season. Sophomore Rob Gonzalez became the fifth and he has the longest active streak at 20. Dillon Lopez (37), Jacob King (27), Garrett Brooks (25) and Ryan Alaniz (20) have also done so.
0 In 14.0 innings pitched out of the bullpen this season, junior Brandon Vasquez has not allowed an earned run (5 appearances), including his 5 1/3 IP against Angelo State in the LSC Tournament where he didn't allow a single hit.
8 2026 marks the eighth year that the Rattlers have advanced to the NCAA Regionals. StMU won the Regional titles in both 2001 and 2012.
Back to Back: The St. Mary's Baseball team will face Lubbock Christian for the second-straight game as the two teams are the 4- and 5-seeds at the NCAA South Central Regional, with first pitch set for 4:05 p.m. (CT) on Thursday. The Chaps won 7-1 in the Lone Star Conference Tournament last week, though StMU won three of the four contests in the regular season. The loser faces No. 1 Colorado Mesa at 8 p.m. (CT) on Thursday.
The 411 on the NCAA Regional: There are a lot of events happening in Grand Junction over the weekend, so fans planning on traveling are urged to get hotel rooms quickly. Game tickets will go on sale Wednesday and are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and military per day, and 18-under will be admitted for free.
Eight is Great: St. Mary's is appearing in its eighth NCAA Regional Tournament and the first since 2015 - which was also at Colorado Mesa. The Rattlers won the region in both 2001, en route to a national championship, and 2012. The Rattlers have never faced Lubbock Christian in the NCAA Tournament, and they are 1-1 against the Mavericks.
NCAA History: The Rattlers are 15-12 all-time in NCAA Regional Tournaments, and have won at least one game in six of their seven appearances in the postseason. Twice, the team has won the regional and advanced to the NCAA Championship, but this is the first time since the tournament expanded to include super regionals that the Rattlers have been involved.
Postseason With the Chaps: Though St. Mary's and Lubbock Christian have never met in the NCAA Tournament, the first five meetings between the two teams came in the NAIA Tournament. The Chaps won both games in 1978, while the Rattlers won both in 1987 as well as in 1993. The first four games all took place in Lubbock, while 1993 was in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. See page 8 for a complete series history.
All-Tournament: Both junior Brandon Vasquez and freshman Blake Allen were named to the Lone Star Conference All-Tournament team. Vasquez came out of the bullpen to pitch 5 1/3 hitless innings against Angelo State with four strikeouts, while Allen went 5-for-7 at the plate (.714) in the two games.
Yes, That Really Happened: St. Mary's pitching staff threw a no-hitter in the team's opening game of the LSC Tournament against No. 19 Angelo State but lost 3-2. The Rattlers committed five errors and the Rams took advantage of five walks to score two runs in the first and one in the ninth inning. It is the first no hitter for StMU since Feb. 21, 2014 against Rogers State.
A Look Back: The Rattlers won games one and three in the best-of-three series against West Texas A&M in the opening week of the LSC Tournament. The Rattlers won game one 12-4 and game three 2-1, with the Buffs winning 5-3 on Sunday. Sophomore Ryan Alaniz led the team with a .462 batting average with six singles and two RBI, while Ashton Beaird lead the team with four RBI, and he had a double and a triple among his five hits on the weekend. Matthew Janecek and Gabe Cook earned wins on the hill.
All-Conference: St. Mary's pitchers Gabe Cook and Derek Maples were both named to the Lone Star All-Conference Second Team, while Garrett Brooks, Joel Burgess and Eric Tenery were named to the Third Team. Brooks was also honored on the All-Academic team, while junior Dillon Lopez was named to the All-Defensive Team at catcher.
Stop, Thief: Junior catcher Dillon Lopez has done a great job of erasing runners off the base paths this season. Lopez has thrown out 22 attempted thieves in 2026, which ranks as the fourth-most in a single season by a catcher at St. Mary's and leads the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers have caught 30 runners stealing this year. The single season individual record is 32 by Joseph Contreras in 2001.
Here to Save the Day: St. Mary's pitchers have combined to collect 16 saves this season, which is tied for the second-most in St. Mary's single-season history. Senior Edward Mendoza leads the team with eight, which is tied for sixth on the individual charts, while Gabe Cook has three, Derek Maples two and Joel Burgess, Matthew Janecek and Brandon Vasquez each have one.
Quite the Career: Senior Garrett Brooks currently ranks 34th among all active Division II players for career RBI with 151, while he's 47th in home runs (27) and 82nd in hits (183). Senior Jacob King is 50th in career hit by pitch (37) and 149th in hits (155). Kaleb Gauna ranks 48th in games started (35) and 79th in appearances (55).
Run Differential: St. Mary's has a +103 run differential this season, scoring 410 runs through 55 games, while holding opponents to 307. The Rattlers rank 59th in the nation and fifth in the LSC in runs scored, as well as 41st nationally and second in the LSC with a 4.91 ERA.
Small Ball: St. Mary's ranks fourth in the nation in sacrifice bunts this season with 51. West Florida leads all of Division II with 62. Four different players have five or more sacrifice bunts, led by Dillon Lopez with 13. Matt Mendez is second with nine, while Ashton Beaird has six and Rob Gonzalez and Jacob Tanguma each have five. Lopez ranks fourth nationally and leads the Lone Star Conference, while Mendez is 21st.
Wearing It: The Rattlers have been hit by a pitch 35 more times than their opponents, getting plunked 104 times in 53 games. That shatters the school record of 87 by the 2021 team. Junior Ashton Beaird and senior Jacob King have the most bruises, as Beaird has been hit 29 times, and King 24. Beaird currently ranks third in the nation, while King is 11th. The school individual record is 32 HBP in a season by David Nelson from 2001.
Collecting the W's: The 36 wins in the regular season are the most for the St. Mary's Baseball team since the 2015 team won 37 en route to a 41-16 overall record and a spot in the NCAA South Central Regional. The 36 victories also break the school's single-season record for conference wins in a year, surpassing the 35 that both the 2008 (35-14) and 2010 (35-13) teams won.
Eliminating The Freebies: Three times this year, StMU pitchers have done something that hadn't happened in over four seasons, not giving up a free base during a game. The Rattlers currently rank second in the Lone Star in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.12), and are 22nd nationally.
Getting the K's: Junior Matthew Janecek is averaging 11.60 strikeouts per nine innings, which is good for fourth on the St. Mary's single season lists. The record is 13.39 by J.P. Duran from 2002. Janecek's strikeout average is the best in StMU in over 20 years.
Rewriting the Books: The 2026 edition of the Rattlers appear several times in the single game record books this season.
Stat Rank Total Opponent Date
RBI T8 22 at Sul Ross Feb. 1
Home Runs T6 6 at Sul Ross Feb. 1
Walks 3 16 Okla. Christian Feb. 7
T4 14 at Sul Ross Jan. 31
Hit by Pitch 1 9 at Sul Ross Jan. 31
T2 7 at St. Edward's Mar. 21
T2 7 at St. Edward's Mar. 22
T7 6 at UTPB Apr. 18
Sac Flies T1 4 at ENMU Apr. 3
Sac Bunts T1 6 Cameron Apr. 10
Stolen Bases 3 8 West Texas A&M Mar. 29
DP Turned 1 6 Angelo State Apr. 1
The Mendoza Line: Senior closer Edward Mendoza has walked only seven batters in 32.1 innings this season. The 1.95 walks per nine innings is the fourth-best total in school history. Frank Flores owns the school record with 1.40 per nine innings from 2008. Mendoza's eight saves also tied for sixth on the StMU single-season lists.
Tie Goes to the Runner: Senior Jacob King became the latest to tie the school record for stolen bases in a game, swiping three in the final game at UT Permian Basin. He is the 11th different Rattler to steal three bases, joining Ashton Beaird and Tristan Moreno on the active roster.
Helping Hand: Freshman Blake Allen collected eight assists against Cameron in the first game of the doubleheader, tying for the third most in a game in St. Mary's history. He was one off the record of nine held by Derek Hamilton (5/2/2015) and Johnny Hernandez (5/20/2021), and he is the 11th player to have eight in a game.
Cooking With Gas: Gabe Cook currently ranks 18th in all of Division II in WHIP at 1.08 and leads the Lone Star Conference. Cook is also 34th in Division II in hits allowed per nine innings at 7.10, which leads the Lone Star, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio is 2.76 for sixth-best in the league.
Career Numbers: Garrett Brooks is closing in on the top 10 in career RBI at St. Mary's. Brooks currently has 152 RBI to his name, while Rodney Williams (1993-96) and Donnie Perez (2016-19) are tied for ninth on the chart with 153. Brooks already ranks 10th in career home runs with 27. Fellow senior Jacob King ranks 5th with 37 career hit by pitch. Junior Dillon Lopez is now seventh in runners thrown out with 29.
It's An Honor: The Rattlers had four honored by the Lone Star Conference this season, as Garrett Brooks (Feb. 3), Ashton Beaird (March 23), Gabe Cook (March 23) and Dillon Lopez (March 30) have all been named Athletes of the Week. Brooks, Cook and Lopez were also named the NCBWA South Central Region Athlete of the Week.
Triple Play: St. Mary's is one of 17 teams in the nation to have turned a triple play this season. In the eighth inning of game two against Sul Ross State and runners on first and second base, Raithen Malone snagged a line drive, threw to Blake Allen at second, and he tossed the ball to Garrett Brooks at first, catching both runners off the bags.
Going Bananas: Recent graduate Easton Parrish was drafted in the seventh round of the inaugural BBCL draft by the Savannah Bananas. Parrish will wear No. 17 with the Bananas, the same number both he and his brother, Colton, wore with the Rattlers.
Brooks Knows Ball: Senior Garrett Brooks tied the school single game record for walks in a game with four. Brooks becomes the 13th Rattler in school history to be walked four times, joining Dillon Lopez on the active list, as he drew four base on balls in the LSC Tournament against St. Edward's last season.
They're Smart Too: The LSC released the Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall semester, and 22 baseball student-athletes were honored, including Daniel Vogt who posted a perfect 4.00 GPA in the fall semester. The other players who were a 3.30 or better were Ryan Alaniz, Blake Allen, Chase Bright, Garrett Brooks, Braeden Brown, Miguel Bustamante, Kieffer Doxey, Brandon Ermis, Kaleb Gauna, Rob Gonzalez, Matthew Janecek, Jacob King, Dillon Lopez, Derek Maples, Matt Mendez, Edward Mendoza, Christian Molinar, Tristan Moreno, Jimmy Mowles, Brant Stringer, and Brandon Vasquez.
