AUSTIN, Texas — One inning tilted the finale, and despite a relentless response, St. Edward's couldn't quite tilt it back.
In a back-and-forth Battle of the Saints finale at Lucian-Hamilton Field, St. Mary's used an eight-run third inning to seize control, and the Hilltoppers spent the rest of the afternoon chipping away before ultimately falling 11-9, dropping the series 3-1.
St. Edward's struck first, manufacturing a run in the second when
KADE NATHMAN lined an RBI single to left to give the Hilltoppers an early edge, but the tone of the game flipped an inning later. A sequence of hit batters, walks and well-timed swings snowballed into a crooked number for the Rattlers, culminating in a grand slam that capped an eight-run third and forced St. Edward's into an immediate uphill climb.
The Hilltoppers didn't blink.
BOSTON LEE answered in the bottom half of the inning with a grand slam to right-center, pulling St. Edward's back within striking distance and resetting the energy in the ballpark. An inning later,
CONNOR COX — who tied the program record for career RBI in the process — laced an RBI double to center to trim the deficit to two, continuing a steady push that refused to let the game slip away.
Even after St. Mary's added two more runs in the fifth to stretch the lead back to four, the Hilltoppers responded again with their most complete rally of the afternoon.
TREVOR SEBEK drove a two-run double deep to right, and
BEN MERRIMAN followed with an RBI single down the line to bring St. Edward's all the way back to within a run at 10-9, turning what once looked like a runaway into a tense, late-inning battle.
From there, the margin tightened, and the opportunities grew more fleeting. St. Edward's continued to put pressure on, finishing with 10 hits on the day, but couldn't find the swing to draw even. A balk in the eighth allowed St. Mary's to tack on a crucial insurance run, and the Hilltoppers were unable to mount one final push in the ninth as the Rattlers closed it out.
St. Edward's will travel next week to play Lubbock Christian in a four-game series, starting Friday, March 27, at 6:00 p.m.
