May 8, 2009

Final Stats

Texas A&M International University baseball turned in one of its best days in the three-year history of the program on Friday afternoon at Dustdevil Field. TAMIU knocked St. Mary's out of first place of the Heartland Conference standings with a doubleheader sweep of the Rattlers.

The Dustdevils won the opener 7-2 before posting a come-from-behind 10-7 win in game two.

Danny Cornejo gave TAMIU a 2-0 lead in the opener with a two-run home run to center field in the bottom of the second inning. Zeke Sosa added a two-RBI single in the third inning to extend the lead to 4-0.

St. Mary's scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning but TAMIU took control of the game with a three-hit, three-run bottom of the fourth. A two-out, two-RBI single by Kike Granados in the fourth pushed the lead to 7-2.

Jorge Guarneros (9-4) picked up the win with a solid complete-game effort. He allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Guarneros has now won his last four starts.

St. Mary's (35-17, 31-14 Heartland) scored three runs in the top of the third of game two to take a 4-0 lead. A leadoff double by Rey Alvarez in the bottom of the third sparked a seven run rally that pushed TAMIU (22-33, 20-28) to a 7-4 lead.

The Dustdevils notched eight hits in the third. Six of those hits were singles that allowed TAMIU to take the lead by advancing one base at a time. Guarnernos capped the inning with a RBI double that extended the lead to 7-4.

Cornejo blasted his second home run of the day in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Dustdevils a 9-4 lead. Alvarez scored an unearned run on a fielding error by the St. Mary's pitcher in the eighth inning to push the lead to 10-4.

St. Mary's scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning but the game ended on a bases loaded fielder's choice groundout by Michael Brezinski.

John Gonzáles (7-7) picked up the win for the Dustdevils after allowing six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in an 8.0 inning outing. He scattered four singles after TAMIU took the 7-4 lead before allowing a walk and double to lead off the ninth inning. Danny Navarro closed out the game for the Dustdevils but it was not a save situation.

The Dustdevils and Rattlers will close out the regular season with a single game tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for noon.