March 4, 2011
AUSTIN, Texas – Considering St. Edward’s might just be the second-best team in the Heartland Conference, what does that say about the St. Mary’s Rattlers?
Winning their ninth and 10th straight games, St. Mary’s swept St. Edward’s in a doubleheader Friday to remain perfect in conference play, rolling to 9-3 and 4-1 victories on the Hilltoppers’ diamond.
St. Mary’s, ranked 11th in the nation, is now 15-3 on the season with a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play.
The two teams will finish up the latest “Battle of the Saints” competition at 1 p.m. Saturday in Austin.
Four Rattlers homered in Game 1, with Reagan Moczygemba (Sr., Bulverde, Texas), Greg Herbst (Sr., San Antonio), Jason Garcia (Sr., Falfurrias, Texas) and Esteban Raygoza (Jr., San Antonio) all going yard.
St. Mary’s ace Matt Holland improved to 5-0 on the mound, fanning eight and allowing just three earned runs while scattering eight hits in 6 2/3 innings of work.
Moczygemba, playing third base, went 1 for 3 with three RBIs and three runs scored, while Garcia drove in two runs on a 1-for-3 performance.
Things were tighter in Game 2, but the Rattlers still prevailed nevertheless.
Knotted up at 1-1, the Rattlers broke open the game with a three-run eighth inning.
Back-to-back walks to lead off the inning and two errors contributed to the big inning for St. Mary’s, while Tyler Migl (Jr., San Antonio) drove in Moczygemba for the inning’s final run. Josh McElroy (Jr., Helotes, Texas) and Raygoza scored the other runs.
Reliever Kyle Bumpas (Fr., El Paso, Texas) picked up the victory despite pitching just one inning, after replacing starter Greg Herbst, who pitched a strong 6 2/3 innings. Herbst struck out four and walked four without giving up an earned run.