SAN ANTONIO — Miscues by the No. 23 St. Mary's University Baseball team helped West Texas A&M force the 'if necessary' game in the best-of-three series in the opening week of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, as the Buffaloes won 5-3 on Sunday afternoon at Dickson Stadium.
The Rattlers (37-15) committed three errors, allowing three unearned runs to score, and the Buffs (28-23) also had three errors, making all three of the Rattlers runs unearned.
StMU scored its three runs on eight hits, with all nine spots in the batting order reaching base at least once. The top eight in the batting order each recorded one hit, while
Ethan Hughes (League City, Texas), pinch-hitting in the ninth spot, drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the ninth inning.
Sophomore
Derek Maples (San Antonio) pitched six innings, working out of several early jams, allowing two earned runs (three total) on three hits with three walks, and he struck out seven, one off his career high of eight from earlier this season against Lubbock Christian. Senior
Joel Burgess (Atascocita, Texas) gave up an unearned run on one hit with a walk and a strikeout in the loss. He falls to 5-2 on the year, and senior
Edward Mendoza (Eagle Pass, Texas) pitched the final two innings. He surrendered one unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts.
All eight hits for the Rattlers were singles, as WT's Nick Yeager and Bryan Raitz did a good job of limiting the StMU offense. Yeager walked two and allowed seven hits, with three unearned runs in 5 1/3 innings, while Raitz only gave up one hit with a walk and a strikeout over the final 3 2/3 innings to get the victory (5-4).
West Texas A&M scored on a fielding error in the first inning, and the Rattlers took the lead with two runs in the bottom half of the frame. Freshman
Blake Allen (Bulverde, Texas) scored on a wild pitch, while junior
Ashton Beaird (San Antonio) scored on a groundout off the bat of
Ryan Alaniz (San Antonio).
The Buffs regained the lead with two runs in the second inning, and the score remained 3-2 until the Rattlers knotted the score in the sixth. With the bases loaded, junior
Matt Mendez (Natalia, Texas) hit a soft roller to second base to score
Rob Gonzalez (San Antonio) as
Matt Gauna (San Antonio) was erased off the base paths on the fielder's choice.
WT took the lead for good with two runs in the eighth inning, scoring on a squeeze bunt and a sacrifice fly.
St. Mary's outhit the Buffs, 8-to-5 on the day, but stranded nine runners on base.
The two teams will meet in a winner-takes-all game three on Monday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Dickson Stadium. Lubbock Christian defeated St. Edward's to advance to the second week of the tournament at UT Tyler, while Texas A&M-Kingsville defeated Angelo State, 6-4, to force a game three in that series.
