Rattlers sweep Unicorns under stormy skies

San Marcos capped off the regular season in emphatic fashion as the Rattlers defeated New Braunfels, 7-0 to complete the season sweep of the Unicorns.

It was a crazy day of baseball as both teams had to deal with the recent spate of thunderstorms which caused a near two hour delay.

“Things happen for a reason,” Webb said. “It is playoff baseball and you have to handle what is thrown at you. We could have canceled and moved it to tomorrow but during the playoffs, you have to adjust what is thrown at you. I wanted the kids to refocus and rewarm and handle the situation against a good baseball team.”

“New Braunfels is a good team,” Webb said. “They are a playoff team. I thought we played pretty well defensively. Our pitching was on point as usual, and we hit the ball when we needed to.”

San Marcos struck first blood in the bottom of the first inning when shortstop Kutter Gage Webb recorded the first hit of the game with a two -out single.

Outfielder and pitcher Reagan Chomel then hit a single into center field to advance Webb to third base.

However, the throw by New Braunfels that was heading into third base went into the visitor’s dugout, allowing Webb to score and moving Chomel to third base as the Rattlers took the early 1-0 lead.

The Unicorns were able to get out of the first inning with a groundout.

Following a scoreless second inning, New Braunfels looked to answer back with a runner on first base.

The Rattler defense pulled through as San Marcos converted with a double play to end the inning.

San Marcos responded to a great defense play in the bottom of the third inning with a leadoff walk by second baseman Dallas Calderon.

Calderon scored as Webb ripped a RBI triple down the right field line and the Rattlers went up 2-0.

The Rattlers were unable to bring Webb home from third and the Unicorns converted three consecutive outs.

A line of thunderstorms forced the game to be delayed for nearly two hours as both teams waited out the weather before continuing play.

With Gavin Gomez taking over the mound, the Rattlers kicked the re-started game off with an easy 1-2-3 inning. New Braunfels responded with a 1-2-3 inning of their own as both teams went into the fifth inning.

After another flawless defensive performance by the Rattlers, San Marcos faced trouble in the bottom of the fifth, as they were down to two outs.

Webb kicked things off once with a two-out single in the center field to give San Marcos their first base runner of the inning. The duo of Chomel and outfielder Major Pillien forced consecutive walks as the Rattlers loaded the bases. First basemen and starting pitcher Stephen Wilder earned the RBI the hard way after getting hit by the pitch to put San Marcos up 3-0.

After Chomel scored on a wild pitch, outfielder Ryan Hix then hit a two-run RBI single into center field to score both Pellien and Wilder as the Ratters extended their lead to 6-0.

Following a single by third baseman Dylan Nunez, catcher Sunray Estrada then hit a ground ball RBI single into left field to score Hix as San Marcos held a commanding 7-0 lead.

It was a proud moment for Webb as his team did their damage while down to their final out in the inning.

“We did that while facing two outs,” Webb said. “Kutter Gage led it off with that single and it just exploded from there. They made a few mistakes and we took advantage of it. Hix had a big hit followed by Nunez and it was just contagious. They battle their guts out.”

With the regular season now concluded, the Rattlers will enter the playoffs with the district title in tow and will look to win their first Bi-District Championship since the 2018 season when San Marcos defeated Round Rock Cedar Ridge.