KINGSVILLE, Texas - Plenty of theatrics punctuated the Texas A&M-Kingsville baseball program's pair of wins in Saturday's Lone Star Conference doubleheader against St. Mary's to complete a series sweep.
JASON GONZALES POSTGAME INTERVIEW | AUSTIN DE LEON POSTGAME INTERVIEW
The Javelinas (9-3, 9-3 LSC) picked up the first win in walk-off fashion at 8-7 in the 11th inning, while the Rattlers' (9-9, 7-8 LSC) rally in the bottom of the ninth of game two was squashed to secure the second win of the day at 7-6.
GAME ONE
TAMUK jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second after senior Austin De Leon (Frisco, Texas) dropped a base hit into center and converted it into an inside-the-park home run. His diving line drive missed the outstretched glove of Derek Mueller by mere inches and the lack of backup allowed De Leon to hit the afterburners for his second round-tripper of the season.
StMU flipped the script in the top of the third with a four-run rally ignited by Shawn Tober, but the hosts got two runs back in the bottom half of the frame after sophomore Steven Bonuz (Port Lavaca, Texas) pushed a single back up the middle to plate redshirt senior Kohl Ullman (Houston, Texas) and newcomer Garrett Thompson (New Braunfels, Texas).
The visitors pushed the lead to 5-3 in the top of the fourth when Brandon Broughton brought in Fernie Zubia on an infielder grounder, but Bonuz erased the two-run deficit with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fifth as he lifted the 2-1 offering from reigning LSC Pitcher of the Week Zach De La Garza over the left center wall.
Zubia put the Rattlers ahead with a single to right in the top of the sixth before freshman Matthew Castro (Corpus Christi, Texas) turned in a critical at-bat to lead off the bottom of the eighth. He chased the 1-0 pitch from De La Garza to left center for his second home run of the year and finally prompted a pitching change from StMU skipper Charlie Migl.
The Rattlers upped the pressure in extras when Broughton skied a solo shot to left to lead off the top of the 11th. The Hogs turned to freshman Damian Rodriguez (McAllen, Texas) to start the bottom of the stanza and he responded with a bounding-ball single into left to lead off the half-inning.
Damian Rodriguez soon stood on second after moving up on a failed back-pick attempt from Brian Juarez and ended up at third on a wild pitch before Johnny Panatex got a groundball to second for the first out.
De Leon followed up with a one-out walk to pass the torch to junior Reid Baty (Laramie, Wyo.) for another crucial trip to the plate. The junior college product from Trinidad State faced the 1-2 count and ripped a double that caromed off the left field wall to knot the game at seven apiece, and the Rattlers issued a free pass to Thompson to load the bases for Ullman.
Ullman never had to lift his bat during his plate appearance as he drew a four-pitch walk to end the game.
Redshirt junior Amado Almanzar (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) started on the hill but was given the hook in the fourth for redshirt senior Alex Canul (Edinburg, Texas). Almanzar ended his day with 3.1 innings pitched and three strikeouts to five runs and eight hits allowed but took the no-decision with Canul who ended his day with 2.2 innings thrown, one strikeout, one unearned run and four hits.
Junior Mason Foster (Dilley, Texas) was handed the keys in the top of the seventh and he ended up with his first win in the Blue and Gold with five innings pitched, four strikeouts, one run and one hit allowed.
GAME TWO
The Rattlers took over the lead early in the backend of the doubleheader after Derek Mueller skied a sacrifice fly to left in the top of the second for the first run, while Zubia and Mauro Bustamante brought in two more runs in the third on a fielder's choice grounder and a safety squeeze, respectively.
StMU starter Dylan Bells stymied the Hogs through the first four innings before the dam burst in the bottom of the fifth when Ullman sparked a four-run rally with a single to center that capped Thompson.
TAMUK got some help from a handful of Rattler miscues, the first of which was a dropped foul ball during Ullman's at-bat. The bases were soon loaded after Castro was plunked on the second pitch of his time at the plate and the second error of the inning by way of Broughton allowed Ullman to score the second run.
A soft ground ball to the right side of the infield from Damian Rodriguez split the difference between Broughton and Johnny Hernandez as the latter of the two scooped the ball and tossed it to a retreating Broughton who failed to step on the bag before the Hog raced up the baseline.
Senior Aldo Buendia (Laredo, Texas) followed up with another hit-by-pitch to tie the game at 3-3, while a five-pitch walk to De Leon put the Javelinas ahead heading into the sixth.
Jake Mares tied the game for the visitors in the following frame with an infield single, but another bases-loaded walk, this time from Baty in the bottom of the seventh, ensured the hosts remained ahead for good.
TAMUK got a few insurance runs in the bottom of the ninth, and both proved crucial to the cause. Redshirt sophomore Caleb Nash (San Antonio, Texas) was brushed back by Logan Taylor on the first pitch he saw but came right back and ripped a solo home run to left for the first collegiate hit on the second offering.
One batter later saw Damian Rodriguez mirror Nash's trip from earlier in the stanza as he took the second pitch from Taylor over the right field wall for a 7-4 lead going into the ninth.
Buendia was tasked with his third pitching appearance of the young season and he ended up with his third decision in as many tries. He picked up his second save of the year, despite allowing two runs, one unearned, in the ninth as he struck out Broughton to end the game.
Junior Logan Garza (Round Rock, Texas) was given the start and turned in five innings with seven strikeouts, three runs and seven hits allowed for the no-decision. He was followed by classmate Brandon Symmank (Cypress, Texas) who struck out two and allowed an unearned run in the sixth, while fellow upperclassman John Mike Rodriguez (Corpus Christi, Texas) took his first win with two innings pitched and four strikeouts ahead of Buendia's effort on the bump.
The Javelinas return to the road this week as they face Lubbock Christian for the first of three games starting Friday, March 19, at Jorge Haynes Field with first pitch set for 6 p.m. CT.
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