AUSTIN, Texas—Baseball's Battle of the Saints was also a battle between brothers, pitting St. Edward's DIEGO SOLIS against his brother Rudy Solis. The Hilltoppers got the better of the exchange this time, with Diego twice putting his team in the lead, including for good in the bottom of the ninth, in a 15-14 win.
The first two-thirds of the game played out as a microcosm of the series. St. Edward's had overwhelming early success, only for St. Mary's to wrest away momentum late.
DAVIS DREWEK continued his scorching series by almost singlehandedly putting St. Edward's up 2-0 in the first. Overpowering a defense shifted to the right, Drewek ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line to score TREVOR SEBEK. A few pitches later, Drewek stole home with a Superman slide into the plate.
In the second inning, St. Edward's showed a combination of power and resilience, fighting off multiple two-strike counts to add four runs to their lead. MATT JOHNSON fouled off some 0-2 pitches until St. Mary's starter Brennan Greer made a mistake, leaving a pitch over the heart of the plate that Johnson drove to deep left field for the two-run home run.
WESTON SYMES followed with a two-strike single, fighting off an inside pitch through the gap on the left side. Sebek drove him in with a two-run blast to right field, giving the team a 6-0 lead.
After breezing through the first two innings with four strikeouts and picking up two outs to start the third, St. Edward's starter BRENNAN BERDON struggled to locate his slider, surrendering a single up the middle to RJ Galvan, then put two in the dirt to advance him to third on wild pitches to set up Easton Parrish's RBI single.
St. Mary's turned to its bullpen to start the bottom of the inning, calling on Brody Ticer, and St. Edward's responded with two runs. JOEL SHEA led off with a single, then KYLER KERLINe drew a walk. MATT JOHNSON went down swinging, but both runners advanced on a balk, and Shea scored on a wild pitch. After Symes drew a walk, Miguel Bustamante replaced Ticer on the mound, and Sebek put down an RBI single on a bunt for the 8-1 lead.
Things unraveled for St. Edward's in the fourth. After a groundout to open the inning, St. Mary's reeled off three consecutive singles, scoring a second run on Jacob Elizondo's RBI single.
St. Edward's picked up a second out on a groundout, but Berdon walked Galvan and Parrish back-to-back to score two more runs, and Devin Goins launched a grand slam to right-center to pull within one.
After Berdon walked Solis, St. Edward's turned to MARK SELLERS out of the bullpen. Sellers surrendered a single to left-center to Guajardo, but Solis was thrown out at the plate to end the inning with St. Edward's clinging to an 8-7 lead.
After both teams went scoreless in the fifth, Galvan tied the game with a solo blast off Sellers in the sixth. St. Edward's turned to KEVIN SKWERES, who hit Parrish and surrendered a double to Goins before striking out Solis.
Skewers then walked Guajardo, surrendered a two-RBI single to Heller, and struck out Cuevas before being replaced by GEORGE HETTRICK. Hettrick allowed another run on a wild pitch before exiting the inning with an 11-8 deficit.
St. Edward's found its footing in the bottom of the sixth, taking advantage of an error on a throw to second that scored one run, then RBI singles from RYAN FEDDERSEN and Kerlin to tie the game at 11.
Hettrick walked one batter and hit another, exiting the game for AUSTIN ESSEX. Rudy Solis followed with an RBI single to put the Rattlers back on top before Essex induced a double play to get out of the inning.
St. Edward's recaptured the resiliency it displayed in the second inning with three runs in the seventh. TY MURRAY, who's been clutch all season on Sunday, hit a two-out RBI double to left-center to tie the game. Then, DIEGO SOLIS outdid his brother with a two-run home run on a frozen rope down the left-field line for the 14-12 lead, dropping to a knee in the batter's box as the ball sailed over the fence.
Essex kept the momentum back in the Hilltopper dugout by retiring the side in order in the eighth, striking out Cuevas and Elizondo. St. Edward's relief pitcher was pressed into extended action over the weekend, putting in three appearances over the weekend.
Whether it was the innings over three days catching up to Essex or the heart of the order, St. Mary's managed to tie the game on an RBI triple from Parrish and a sac fly from Goins before Essex dug deep to get out of the inning and turn the game back over to his offense.
St. Mary's reliever Carlos Flores Jr. hit Symes to open the bottom of the ninth. Sebek tried to move him over with a sacrifice bunt but popped out. Symes stole second, the Rattlers intentionally walked Drewek, and Flores hit Murray to load the bases for Solis.
Facing a 2-2 count with the defense in, Solis fouled a ball off his leg with Symes sprinting across the plate as a dress rehearsal for the next pitch. Flores went for the outside corner, and Solis sent the ball back to him, glancing off his glove and scoring Symes as the Hilltoppers erupted from the dugout in celebration.
Solis finished the weekend hitting .500 with eight hits, including a double and a home run, with five runs scored and three RBI. Drewek hit .600 over the series, including a double, two triples, two home runs, five RBI, six runs scored, two stolen bases, and six walks.
Sebek closed the series much like he opened it, with a nearly perfect performance at the plate, hitting 4-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored on Sunday.
By splitting the Battle of the Saints, St. Edward's improves to 18-20 with an 18-18 conference record. The Hilltoppers will hit the road next weekend for a four-game series against Lubbock Christian, starting Friday at 6:00 p.m.
