Starting pitcher, Kaleb Rogers, sat down the first 6 Unicorn batters and set up the Rattler offense to go into attack mode in the bottom of the 2nd. Reagan batted the lineup in the 2nd plus 1. The inning started off with Isaiah Robledo reaching on an error followed by a ground ball single to LF from Ryland Rangel that moved Robledo to third base. Elias Leon got Robledo across the plate with a ground ball to RF with Rangel advancing to third. Michael Yzaguirre was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Rangel scored on a wild pitch, and Caleb Crider collected 2 RBIs on a line drive to RF, scoring courtesy runner, Keegan Baldwin, and Yzaguirre. The hits kept on coming with Caden Roy singling on a line drive to CF, Jeter Battles singling on a ground ball to SS, and Javi Cuevas singling on a textbook bunt that created a hush over the Unicorn stands. Caden Crofts drew a walk, getting the RBI and bringing the score to 5-0. Red-hot Robledo singled on a line drive to CF, scoring Battles and Cuevas. Rangel grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Robledo and Rangel moved into scoring position on a passed ball. The inning ended with Leon singling on a line drive to CF, scoring Robledo and Rangel and bringing the score to 9-0. The Rattlers would not score for the rest of the game and relied on clutch pitching and defense to maintain their lead.
After the hitting showcase of the 2nd inning, the Rattlers seemed a little cold defensively. Rogers pitched the first batter into a fly out to Yzaguirre, then walked the next. Two errors allowed the next 2 batters to get on base, followed by a sac fly that scored 1, and a double that scored 2 more runs for the Unicorns. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, Cody Pictrowski came in for relief. “Pic” pitched into a ground out to third base, fielded by Crider to first baseman Roy. Pictrowski went 3-up, 3-down in the top of the 4th and gave up 2 runs in the 5th. Pictrowski buckled down in the 6th and struck out 3 Unicorns with his commanding curve ball. The Unicorns got another dose of Darden Wetherell in the 7th inning. Wetherell recorded the save, pitching 16 pitches to 4 batters. Wetherell struck out 1, walked 0, and gave up 1 hit and 0 runs. Kaleb Rogers recorded the win, striking out 2, walking 1, and giving up 1 hit and 3 runs (0 earned). Pictrowski led the Rattlers in strikeouts with 5. He walked 2 and gave up 1 hit and 2 runs (2 earned) in his 3.1 innings pitched.
The Rattlers finish the series against the Unicorns today at SAISD Sports Complex (1000 Edwards St in SA) at 1 pm. Tickets are available at https://my.hometownticketing.com/agency/0860c4d5-ec4b-4a34-986d-e515203c55c8/events/fec33e22-e18b-402b-b532-8dbae7bb8ab0
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