Rattlers take two from Hounds

SAN ANTONIO — After dropping a tough one in the lidlifter, Eastern New Mexico University’s baseball team was quickly taken out of contention in the nightcap.

St. Mary’s sent 14 men to the plate in a 10-run first, and the Rattlers went on to crush the Greyhounds 21-3 for a sweep of Friday’s Lone Star Conference doubleheader.

Third baseman Fernando Zubia drove in five runs with a single and a pair of two-run doubles in a game stopped in the seventh inning by the 10-run rule. The Rattlers (14-13, 11-12 LSC) pounded out 16 hits and took advantage of 10 walks and two hit batsmen en route to the lopsided victory.

In the much more competitive opener, the Rattlers held off a late ENMU comeback bid for an 8-6 victory. The teams were slated to wrap up their series with a single contest on Saturday.

Second baseman Johnny Hernandez drove in four runs with a squeeze bunt, a two-run double and an RBI single as 10 players hit safely for the Rattlers in Game 2. Left fielder Nicholas Tamez had a pair of hits for the Hounds (5-18, 5-17), including a double.

Senior left-hander Zach De La Garza (4-2) went five innings for the win, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) with two walks and five strikeouts.

ENMU lost for the eighth time in a row and 10th time in its last 11 contests.

St. Mary’s 8, ENMU 6 (1st game) — The Rattlers opened a 7-1 lead in the third inning, and after the Hounds closed to 7-6 in the seventh, St. Mary’s right-hander Johnny Panatex bailed his team out of that inning, working three hitless frames for his second save of the campaign.

ENMU outhit the Rattlers 11-10 and had five extra base hits to one for the hosts. The Hounds wasted no time jumping in front on a leadoff triple by freshman Braeton Matthews — the team’s first three-bagger of the season — and an RBI single by Cole Luedeking.

St. Mary’s responded with three in the bottom of the first, then added four more in the third to take control. Junior Josh Lewis (0-3) was lifted after three innings and took the loss.

Catcher Andres Quintana belted his second homer of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, to make it 7-3. The Hounds pulled close in the seventh when right fielder Nicholas Tamez hit an RBI single and rode home on a two-run shot by designated hitter Rio Granger, also his second of the year.

The Rattlers added an insurance run when ENMU left-hander Cooper Hamilton hit Hernandez with the bases loaded in the bottom half, but he prevented further damage by inducing a 6-4-3 double-play grounder from Rattlers catcher Brian Juarez.

Left-hander Dylan Bells (4-0) worked six solid innings, allowing eight hits and three runs with two walks and four strikeouts.

Matthews led ENMU, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Quintana and Tamez were both 2-for-4.