Austin — AUSTIN — The San Marcos Rattler baseball team capped a very busy week by winning three of five games at the Austin ISD Tournament last weekend.

The Rattlers scored wins over Eagle Pass, Marble Falls and Austin-Lanier, while suffering losses to second-ranked Lake Travis and Grapevine.

The tournament games made it 11 games the Rattlers have played in the past nine days, and the physical exhaustion started to show on Saturday, as the team closed out the tournament with an 8-3 loss to Grapevine. But the three wins helped the Rattlers move over the .500 mark with a 9-8 record.

“We got back to a winning record this week, which is what we set our goal for,” SMHS head coach Bryan Webb said. “It’s been a tough run for us because there are not any patsies on our schedule.”

SMHS opened the tournament with a 9-8 win over Eagle Pass in extra innings. San Marcos enjoyed a one-run lead going into the seventh, but Eagle Pass scored a run on a wild pitch and tied the game.

That pushed the game into extra frames, allowing Eagle Pass to claim a 8-7 lead with a run in the top of the eighth. But SMHS rallied back thanks to a home run from Tyler Till and a RBI single from Payton Pringle for the game winner.

Brandon Hill got the start for SMHS and was perfect through four innings, while Jeremy Gonzales picked up the win in relief.

Five errors hindered the Rattlers in their second game of the tournament on Thursday, a 13-2 loss to second-ranked Lake Travis. EJ Alva drove in the only run for the Rattlers with a double that scored Ryan Schweers.

Friday turned out to be a good day for the Rattlers with a 7-6 win over Marble Falls, and a big, 16-2 win over Austin-Lanier.

San Marcos held a 6-3 lead before Marble Falls tried to rally back with three runs in the top of the sixth, tying the game at 6-all.

But EJ Alva came through with a well-struck homer in the bottom of the seventh for the game-winner.

Gonzales picked up the win on the mound, upping his record to 3-0.

Gonzales didn’t have to work that hard in the next game, needing only 39 pitches to record. The Rattler offense definitely had his back, posting 10 runs in the first inning and never looking behind.

Gonzales and Isaiah Cantu  hit a pair of home runs in the inning to give SMHS a very early command. Gonzales finished with four RBIs for the Rattlers.

Signs of exhaustion started to show on Saturday morning in the Rattlers’ 8-3 loss to Grapevine.

“They were pretty fresh and we were kind of tired to be honsest,” Webb said. “We had a little bit of ‘at-em’ fever where we hit the ball right dead in their tracks. A couple of those ball s fall in and it’s a different story. We were right in the ball game. We had our opportunities and we didn’t get it done. Fatigue kind of set in for us. ”

The Rattlers begin District 17-4A play Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. game at Hays.

“It’s not make or break for us, but it is sure going to give us a better idea of where we are at.



Lehman wins pair

AUSTIN — No need to worry about the Lehman Lobos this year, they’re going to be all right.

Lehman finally broke through during its non-district portion of its schedule, posting two wins in the Austin ISD tournament Friday afternoon.

In the first game of the tournament, the Lobos posted a 7-2 win against Austin LBJ.

Lehman got a good outing at the plate from Cesar Ornales and Joey Hernandez (combined 3 for 6, four runs-batted in) and on the mound by Orlando Banda.

Banda tossed the seven-inning complete game, scattering five hits while striking out 13. Control was a problem for the Lobos pitcher, as he walked six.

In the second game of the tournament, Lehman got another sterling performance on the mound, but this time, from Nick Cerda.

Cerda pitched five innings of four-run ball and struck out 12 batters. He left with an 8-4 lead and that’s where it stayed when Banda closed the door.

Ornales led the Lobos at the plate with two doubles and an RBI.