March 2, 2007
San Antonio – St. Mary’s University set numerous school and NCAA records as they swept a doubleheader against Oklahoma Panhandle State, 39-8, 14-1, in Heartland Conference baseball action Friday afternoon.
In the first game the Rattlers broke nearly every offensive record conceivable in a 39-8 win. The Rattlers set a school record for runs in a game with 39, breaking the old mark of 28, set against Incarnate Word during the 2001 season by 11 runs. The total is also the third highest in NCAA Division II history. The 47 combined runs between the two teams is the seventh most in NCAA history. The Rattlers also tied for the ninth most homeruns in a single inning when they smacked four in an inning. St. Mary’s set a school record with 15 runs in the second inning, and then followed that up with 11 more in the third.
Eleven Rattlers had at least one hit in the game, with nine picking up two or more. Ray Camacho (Sr., Helotes) set a school record with six hits. He went 6-of-7 with seven RBI and six runs scored. Cory Jacobi (Sr., Corpus Christi) scored seven runs, a school record and tied for the fifth most runs scored in NCAA history. Cody Pyle (Sr., Spring) went 2-of-4 with two homeruns and six RBI. He hit both of his blasts in the fourth inning, tying an NCAA record for homeruns in an inning.
The 35 combined walks between the two teams is a new NCAA record, while the 24 walks issued by OPSU is the second most for a single game in NCAA history.
The beneficiary of 39 runs was pitcher Zach Kucera (Jr., Spring), who improved to 2-1, tossing a complete game. Jeremy Hingtgen took the loss, falling to 1-2 this season.
In game two Tommy Vrzal (Sr., San Antonio) also improved to 2-1 this season, allowing just one run on four hits and six walks, while striking out nine in the complete game win. Meanwhile the offense kept rolling, posting another 14 runs on 15 hits. Camacho picked up another three hits, including a homerun and drove in three runs. Michael Pawelek (Sr., San Antonio) also had three hits, while Jacobi picked up a homerun for the Rattlers.
With the sweep St. Mary’s improved to 11-3 overall and 9-1 in Heartland Conference play. OPSU is now 3-11, 0-10. The two teams will return to action on Saturday when they finish their four-game series with a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.