It’s safe to say the team made the most of it.
The Dustdevils capped the week with a 9-5 victory at No. 9 St. Mary’s, giving them the 2-1 series victory on the road in San Antonio. TAMIU also won against No. 12 Incarnate Word on Tuesday.
“It was a really good week,” Dustdevils coach Chad Porter said. “We played really good baseball and we were able to come away with two big conference wins.”
The three wins against ranked opponents should put the Dustdevils heavily in the discussion to finally move into the NCAA Division II top 30 rankings, which the team has flirted with all season. TAMIU was last two spots out of the poll, receiving eight votes in the poll released Monday.
“I absolutely believe that we deserve a spot in the rankings,” Porter said. “I think our record, opponents and wins speak for themselves. At the same time though, our focus is on the conference. That’s the most important thing because the conference provides the opportunity to get into the regional and national tournament.”
After beating St. Mary’s, the Dustdevils are now one game ahead in the loss column at 16-6 overall with an 11-4 record in the Heartland Conference. St. Mary’s (15-6, 13-5), however, remains a half-game up on TAMIU in first place, having two more league victories.
Following a split in Friday’s pitching-heavy doubleheader in San Antonio, the Dustdevils No. 1-ranked offense finally showed what it could do against SMU’s No. 1 pitching staff. TAMIU racked up nine runs on 17 hits against the Rattlers — all tied for season highs from a St. Mary’s opponent — and were helped by six errors as they rolled to the 9-5 win.
“All week we continued to put together good at-bats,” Porter said. “Their pitching staff is good enough with swing and miss stuff that they can strike you out 10-12 times a game. We made adjustments and battled.
“(Saturday) we had some key hits, got some guys on and applied a lot of pressure,” Porter said. “Because of that we scored nine runs.”
Junior shortstop Alvaro Rondon led the way, going 2 for 5 on the day with a team-high five RBI and a stolen base out of the leadoff spot.
Much of the damage offensively came from the bottom of the order as the last four TAMIU hitters went a combined 9 for 14 at the plate with seven runs and an RBI. Seniors Sean Smedley (3 for 4, 3R) and Jaron Shimmel (3 for 4, 2R, RBI) each racked up three hits out of the seven and eight spots.
“They came up with key hits and were also able to put down key, well-placed bunts to advance runners and ultimately for hits as well,” Porter said. “They were able to get good fastballs to hit and made good two-strike adjustments to get hits as well.”
In his second start since taking over the No. 3 spot in the rotation, Baylr Bickerton had a no-decision despite allowing just one run in four innings. Stephen Dickerson (2-0, 4.14 ERA) picked up his second win this season in relief, allowing one run in two innings.
The Dustdevils’ battle with ranked teams is not quite over as they will remain in San Antonio for a rematch with No. 12 Incarnate Word on Tuesday at 6 p.m., exactly one week removed from beating the Cardinals 3-2. TAMIU will then return home for a three-game series with St. Edward’s (13-7, 10-5) consisting of a doubleheader on Friday at 3 p.m. and the finale Saturday at 1. Both games will be held at Uni-Trade Stadium.
