February 25, 2011
San Antonio – Derek Moczygemba stepped to the plate in the 11th inning Friday just trying not to pop up.
In doing so, the St. Mary’s sophomore baseball player happened to hammer in the winning run.
Singling up the middle with two away in the bottom of the 11th, Moczygemba drove in Tyler Migl to beat Oklahoma Panhandle State in thrilling fashion, winning 5-4 at V.J. Keefe Memorial Stadium.
Earlier in the day, the Rattlers edged the Aggies 6-4, leaving St. Mary’s with a chance to sweep the three-game series when the teams meet up again at 12 p.m. Saturday.
For Moczygemba, the sophomore leftfielder from Bulverde, Texas made the absolute most of a 1-for-5 night.
“I had popped it up the last three at-bats. It’s exactly what we weren’t supposed to be doing,” he said with a chuckle. “But it was a good pitch to hit, and I put it in play.”
Fittingly, it was Migl (Jr., San Antonio) crossing home plate for the go-ahead run in a game the Rattlers led 4-0 early on.
Migl doubled with one out in the inning, setting the table for the Rattlers’ wild victory.
It was the kind of clutch hit he’s routinely provided of late.
This week, Migl was named the National Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, this days after winning Heartland Conference Hitter of the Week honors.
Entering Friday’s doubleheader, Migl led the Rattlers in just about every significant offensive category, including average (.537), runs scored (15), hits (22), doubles (10), home runs (3), RBIs (13) and total bases (41).
He went 3 for 5 in Game 2.
Shortstop Reagan Moczygemba (Sr., Bulverde, Texas), designated hitter Josh McElroy (Jr., Helotes, Texas), catcher Ryan Morrow (Sr., Bulverde, Texas) and right fielder Billy Richard (So., Schertz, Texas) all drove in one run in the game.
McElroy went 3 for 5 in the game, while centerfielder Jason Garcia (Sr., Falfurrias, Texas) went 2 for 4.
In Game 1, Migl went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Derek Moczygemba drove in two runs and second baseman Weston Baros (Sr., San Antonio) added an RBI.