February 6, 2011
San Antonio – St. Mary’s catcher Ryan Morrow almost hit for the cycle Sunday, falling just a triple short of achieving the rare feat while fueling the Rattlers to a sweep of Newman University in their season-opening series.
Scattering four runs over the first three innings, the Rattlers cruised to a 9-3 victory Sunday at V.J. Keefe Memorial Stadium.
Hitting a home run, two doubles and a single, Morrow (Sr., Bulverde, Texas) finished 4 for 5 on the day with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
Carl O’Neal (So., San Antonio) picked up the victory on the mound, striking out five and allowing four hits in six full innings of work. O’Neal surrendered just one earned run in his first outing of the year.
Jumping right into the thick of Heartland Conference play to start the season, the Rattlers improved to 3-0 overall and in league play. St. Mary’s, voted the team to beat in the conference, was originally supposed to open the season against Abilene Christian earlier this week, but the game was postponed to March 1 because of weather.
The Rattlers picked up a pair of victories over Newman on Saturday.
For Morrow, the performance was just a continuation of his terrific weekend. Morrow is now batting .455 with two home runs and two doubles through three games.
Not that the star catcher, who was drafted in the 44th round by the Atlanta Braves last year, was the only standout hitter Sunday.
First baseman Tyler Migl (Jr., San Antonio) drove in three runs in a 3-for-4 effort and leads the team with a whopping .667 batting average.
Right fielder Grant Harrelson (Sr., San Antonio) drove in two runs on one hit, while shortstop Reagan Moczygemba (Sr., Bulverde, Texas) and second baseman Weston Baros (Sr., San Antonio) added one RBI apiece.
The Rattlers will be back in action Tuesday, when they host Tarleton State at 3 p.m. at V.J. Keefe Memorial Stadium.