April 12, 2012
SAN ANGELO, Texas – A match-up between two of the top 10-ranked teams in the country had the Rattlers seal a victory over Angelo State University on Wednesday, taking back a win as the Rams were the Rattlers’ first loss of the season earlier this year.
It proved to be a long way away from their first encounter in early February, which had No. 8 Angelo State (27-11) defeating No. 2 St. Mary’s (32-7, 23-4) in its first loss. This time, though, the Rattlers pounded the field for an 8-4 victory with nearly every Rattler connecting with a hit.
Along with several singles in the 12 total hits for the Rattlers, there were also three doubles, a triple and a homer to fill out the Rattler bats for a team cycle, while a two-man pitching rotation held strong on the mound opposite the Rams’ seven-pitcher rotation.
The heavy rotation of arms for the Rams was likely due to the Rattlers’ sparking from their first at-bat, scoring three runs off two hits in the first inning that apparently served as a warm-up for the four-hit cycle in the fourth to put another three runs on the board.
Ivan Sigala’s (Jr., El Paso, Texas) leadoff single in the fourth put him in scoring position for Derek Moczygemba (Jr., Bulverde, Texas), who smacked his second triple of the season only to put another Rattler near home for big-shot Billy Richard (Jr., Schertz, Texas).
The Rattlers’ leadoff man, who houses the highest batting average on the team, let the Rams experience it with a two-run shot over left field to bring his home run tally to six on the season. M.P. Cokinos (Jr., Houston) followed the bomb with a hard-hit double to round out the Rattler cycle, cracking double digits in his total doubles for the year with 10.
Sigala remained hot for his next at-bat in the fifth to pelt a double that led to a two-run inning to end the game, 8-4.
Leading the Rattlers by nearly going perfect at the plate was Brandon Bates (Jr., Boerne, Texas), who went 3 for 4. Sigala and Richard were the other multi-hit Rattlers on Wednesday, with each smacking two each while Richard and Esteban Raygoza (Sr., San Antonio) also brought in two RBIs apiece.
The triple-maker of the day, Moczygemba, was also on the mound for St. Mary’s for a quality six-inning start with four strikeouts to improve his record to 4-2 on the season. Moczygemba handed the ball over to Jeremy Narvaez (Sr., Corpus Christi, Texas), who pitched his first save of the year with two strikeouts over three innings.
The Rattlers redeemed themselves Wednesday over the No. 8 team in the country of Angelo State on the Rams’ home turf, and will continue on the road for a weekend Heartland Conference series.
St. Mary’s will face Oklahoma Panhandle State in a doubleheader Friday in Goodwell, Okla., starting at 12 p.m.