SAN ANTONIO - Texas A&M International baseball (13-23, 5-6 HC) split a Heartland Conference doubleheader against St. Mary's (23-15, 4-7 HC) on Thursday.
GAME 1 - STMU 9, TAMIU 8
TAMIU got on the board early with three runs in the first inning. Matthew Rosales brought home Anthony Handel for the game's first run with a RBI single up the middle. Nate Campos singled home Rosales later in the inning. A RBI single by Phillip Sanchez scored Adrian Castillo to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Rattlers got a run back in the bottom of the second off a RBI single through the right side to cut into the lead 3-1. They managed to tie things up at 3-3 in the third with two runs. One run came in on a RBI single to left, with the other coming in on an error by the pitcher.
The Dustdevils got back in front in the fourth inning as an error by the first baseman scored Obi Obinwa. However, St. Mary's tied things again at 4-4 in the bottom half on a solo shot to right field.
The TAMIU offense responded in the fifth by exploding for four runs to take a 8-4 lead. Campos singled home Castillo. Andrew Holsey brought in Sanchez and Campos with a two RBI single to left. Handel scored Obinwa with a RBI single up the middle.
The Rattlers would have an offensive explosion of their own in the bottom of the sixth with five runs. One run scored on a balk. A grand slam on a 2-1 count sealed the 9-8 victory for St. Mary's.
Branson Hall (3-2, 2.0 IP, 5 H 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO) earned the win, with Johnny Panatex (2) earning the save. Justin Diaz (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO) took the loss.
GAME 2 - TAMIU 13, STMU 8
The second game of the twin bill was another back-and-forth affair with five lead changes.
Once again, TAMIU jumped out to an early lead, this time thanks to a solo bomb to left field by Jorge Napoles to take a 1-0 lead. They added another run in the third off an RBI single from Castillo that scored Napoles, pushing the lead to 2-0.
The Rattlers took their first lead in the bottom half of third, scoring three runs and taking a 3-2 lead. One run scored on a RBI fielder's choice, with the other two runs coming in on a two RBI double to left center.
The Dustdevils responded by retaking the advantage 5-3 in the fourth. Daniel Espinoza blasted a long solo round-tripper over the right field fence for the first run of the inning, then Napoles got his second dinger of the day with a two-run blast to left.
St. Mary's would tie things up at 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth. A RBI single to center scored one, with the other run coming home on a bases loaded hit by pitch. They took a 7-5 lead in the sixth as one run scored on a throwing error by the pitcher and another scored own a RBI double to left center.
The Dustdevils offense exploded for five runs in the sixth inning to take a 10-7 advantage. Handel came home as Castillo was plunked with the bases loaded. Sanchez cleared the bases with a three RBI triple, and Obinwa followed suit with a triple of his own to score Sanchez.
St. Mary's would get one run back in the bottom half of the sixth off a RBI double to center to cut the lead to 10-8.
TAMIU continued to score, getting two more runs in the seventh to take a 12-8 lead, as Handel tripled to right center to bring home Holsey. Rosales doubled to center to bring home Handel. They plated one final run in the eighth as Handel singled to left to score Obinwa and seal the 13-8 victory.
Zach Pena (1-0, 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) earned his first win of the season. Tyler Dick (2-1, 1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, r ER, 1 BB, 0 SO) suffered his first loss of the season.
The Dustdevils will look to take the series tomorrow as both squad face off in a rubber match at 11 a.m.
