Rattlers go 1-1-1 on first day of tournament play
The Rattler baseball team finished games in every way possible throughout their first two days of tournament play.
San Marcos (7-6-1) began its final tournament before district play against three different opponents, starting off with future district foe Cibolo Steele (4-1-1), then facing out-of-state opponent Norman (Ok.) (3-1-1) and matching up against Seguin (7-4) on Friday.
The purple and white’s matchup against Cibolo Steele ended in one of the more unsatisfying ways a baseball game can end — a tie.
The Rattlers got out to an early 3-2 lead after the first inning, but allowed the Knights to get two runs across the plate in the fifth. Things stayed at a stalemate for the rest of the game until the final at-bat.
The Rattlers prevented opening up their tournament with a loss, as junior Gavin Gomez pushed one run across the board in the final inning. The purple and white weren’t able to put the nail in the coffin, though, leaving runners on second and third base at the end of the game.
“It was a beautiful day to play baseball and we came out flat and we didn’t have any energy (against Steele),” head coach Bryan Webb said. “One thing they did do is persevere. We were down two in the bottom of seventh, and we found a way to get one and gave ourselves a chance to win it and, you know, (doing) good things will do that. I was just upset (about) what their runs came off of, they didn’t really earn them from us.
“And we made some mistakes, and they exploited them, but you know, our kids battled and they found a way to at least tie it. And (if we were to go into) extra innings, we were confident we could win that ballgame.”
San Marcos got back on track in the second leg of its doubleheader, beating Norman 5-1 in a dominant performance.
“(We had) a pretty good talking to in between ball games and we responded and played with the energy we needed to play (with) and played solid,” Webb said. “We got a great outing from (sophomore right-handed pitcher) Reagan (Chomel) on the mound. And, you know, when you’re throwing strikes around the plate, our kids play great defense.
“So we had some pretty timely hitting, we jumped out early, like we usually do, and I said, I’d like to put some opponents away, but I’m OK with how we’re playing right now. We’re pretty solid defensively and our pitching’s pretty solid.”
The Rattler bats got moving early, putting up three runs in the first, including RBIs from Gomez, junior infielder Steven Wilder and sophomore utility player Marco Duenez.
Chomel capitalized on the offensive momentum, allowing only one run throughout five innings and two outs before sophomore RHP Tito Santos came in for closing duties, earning the save.
One of the keys to the purple and white’s offensive success was the 1-2 punch of Gomez and sophomore Kutter Gage Webb at the top of the lineup. Both Rattlers got on base multiple times throughout the game, and scored both runs in the second inning to move their run total to five.
“It’s really fun with (us) two lefties back-to-back and we’re really close,” Gomez said. “So we usually know how each other is gonna do and we just compete up there. We don’t like losing, so we compete and we try our best —“
“That’s the one-two punch of the lineup. You know, them two get on, they get a lead, I go pitch and then we start rolling,” Chomel added.
San Marcos’ third game of the tournament was its most underwhelming performance of the tournament’s first two days, losing to Seguin, 5-4.
The Rattlers went into their pitching depth and experienced some struggles on the mound and at the plate. Seguin jumped out to a one-run lead in the first and had two runners on when the purple and white got out of the jam.
Chomel drove in junior Ryan Hix in the second inning on an RBI double up the middle, and San Marcos kept the game tied until the fifth inning. That’s when the Matadors put up three runs on an RBI single and a two-RBI triple to extend their lead to 4-1.
Seguin also added another run in its next at-bat off an error by the Rattlers on a double play attempt to push its lead to 5-1.
San Marcos started its comeback attempt in the sixth inning. Hix started the scoring off stealing home on an errant pitch from the Matadors. Webb then forced a fielder’s choice that brought home another RBI before the end of the inning.
The Rattlers made one last push in their final at-bat, with the Matadors walking junior Dallas Calderon to make it a one-run deficit. The purple and white popped out in their next at-bat, coming up one-run short and leaving the bases loaded resulting in their first loss of the tournament.
San Marcos finishes off its home tournament Saturday, facing Norman (Ok.) at 10 a.m. and Antonian Prep at 2:30 p.m.
