May 10, 2008
LAREDO – Michael Villarreal picked up a win and a save on the mound, while Reagan Moczygemba led the offense as St. Mary’s University swept a doubleheader against Texas A&M International University in Heartland Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Veterans Field.
Villarreal (Jr., Eagle Pass) came on in relief in the fourth inning of the first game of the doubleheader and tossed 3 1/3 innings of one-hit ball to pick up his third win of the season. He struck out four and walked none in the game. Then in the second game he came on in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Rattlers clinging to a one-run lead. He retired both batters he faced for his third save of the season.
In the first game of the day the Rattlers ran out to a big lead and held off a charge by the Dustdevils to post a convincing 16-6 win. St. Mary’s scored seven runs over the first three innings to a take a 7-0 lead. But in the fourth inning TAMIU rallied for six runs to chase starter Ryan Morrow (Fr., Bulverde). With Villarreal shutting down the Dustdevil offense, the Rattlers took back the momentum and pulled away. Danny Cantu (Jr., Laredo) smacked homeruns in both the sixth and the seventh innings as the Rattlers scored nine runs.
Michael Brzezinski (Jr., Helotes) and Cantu each drove home four runs in the game, while Jonathon Cisneros (So., San Antonio) and Daniel Soto (So., Lytle) had four hits. Reagan Moczygemba (Fr., Bulverde) went a perfect 4-of-4 with three runs scored.
In the second game of the day the Dustdevils took the early lead and led 5-2 in the late innings before the Rattlers rallied for the win. The rally started in the sixth inning. Cisneros walked to lead off and Cantu doubled. Colin Stock (Fr., Klamath Falls, Ore.) singed home Cisneros to pull the Rattlers within two at 5-3. Morrow then grounded into a double play, but Cantu scored the second run of the inning to make it a 5-4 game.
That set up the dramatic seventh inning. Reliever Roger Gonzalez retired the first two Rattlers in the inning. But Moczygemba singled to start the rally. Brzezinski walked and Cisneros tied the game with single that scored Moczygemba and Brzezinski also came around when second baseman Hugo Sanchez Jr. committed an error. From there Villarreal completed his strong day on the mound, picking up the save.
With the sweep the Rattlers finished the 2008 regular season with a 39-17 overall record and a 35-14 mark in Heartland Conference play. The Rattlers finished the season by winning eight of their last nine games. TAMIU finished the season at 19-39, 17-34.