Rattlers still figuring things out, defeated at home by New Braunfels

San Marcos has been solid defensively for most of the season.

They pitch low and in the zone. They usually make the right play. Head coach Bryan Webb said the team practiced well heading into Tuesday night’s game against New Braunfels inside the San Marcos baseball stadium. There was no reason to expect anything out of the ordinary.

But the Rattlers didn’t play like themselves, losing 12-1 in six innings.

“That’s kind of odd, kind of strange that we played like that,” Webb said. “There’s just a confidence issue right now and I don’t know why. I’ve tried different lineups, I’ve tried different approaches, I’ve tried different ways, you know, different coaches everywhere. Nothing’s clicking right now. We just, we’ve got to find it.”

The hosts got off to a rocky start in the top of the first inning. Errors plagued the team all across the field. The Unicorns jumped out to a 5-0 lead. San Marcos couldn’t answer in the bottom of the frame and the visitors added another run in the top of the second.

The Rattlers showed signs of life in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore infielder Selvin Anderson singled to right field and seniors Eric Velasquez and Colt Ozmen walked in the next two at-bats to load the bases for the hosts. The team’s next two batters struck out, leaving junior infielder Sean Esquivel to knock in a run.

Esquivel hit a grounder to the left on a 1-1 count. The New Braunfels third baseman got to it in time but the ball slipped out of his glove as he tried to pick it up. Esquivel reached first safely and advanced the other three runners, allowing Anderson to cross home and cut the deficit, 6-1.

San Marcos flied out on the next pitch, though, leaving three stranded on base.

“We tried to peck away at it and get back in it and the old goblin set back up and got us there in the second inning,” Webb said. “You know, we left them out there again. And so, I don’t know. We’re gonna go to work tomorrow and figure it out.”

The hosts didn’t register another hit for the rest of the game. The Unicorns added six more in the final four innings, ending the game 12-1 in the sixth. The team used four pitchers during the outing.

The Rattlers (9-16, 2-6 district) will look to bounce back on Friday, when they face New Braunfels (12-11-1, 7-2) on the road Friday at 7 p.m.

Webb said he wasn’t sure what went wrong in Tuesday’s game. He hopes he’ll find a way for his team to return to form in the final stretch of the season.

“We could get hot here and go cause some damage there towards the end,” Webb said. “And I’m hoping we can go win a few and cause a train collision there at the very end for some tie breakers. Right now, just play good baseball, man. Let’s just go out there and do what we do. We’re not showing how good we can really be.”