SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Rogers State baseball team started Heartland Conference action with two losses at No. 22-ranked St. Mary's on Thursday (March 22) at Dickson Stadium. RSU was blanked in both games, falling 3-0 and 9-0.
 
RSU dropped to 14-10 overall and 0-2 in the league, while StMU moved to 18-6 and 2-0 in the Heartland Conference.
 
StMU 3, RSU 0
 
The Rattlers scored two early runs and used a strong pitching performance from Fernando Fernandez-Beltran to earn the 3-0 win in game one.
 
St. Mary's posted two runs in the second inning with an RBI groundout and single to right field for a 2-0 score. The final run came in the sixth inning due to a wild pitch for the 3-0 final score.
 
The Hillcats tallied four hits in the game and only advanced baserunners into scoring position three times in the seven-inning game. Brooks Douglass finished 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the RSU offense.
 
Fernandez-Beltran of StMU went the complete game pitching with nine strikeouts and four hits given up. He allowed one walk and moved to 4-2 on the season.
 
RSU's Spencer Bivens started on the mound in game one for RSU, going 5.0 innings with five hits and three earned runs give up.
 
StMU 9, RSU 0
 
In the second game of the doubleheader, StMU again scored early with three runs in the first inning and pulled away with six runs in the fifth inning for the 9-0 victory.
 
The Rattlers went up 2-0 with a triple to plate two runs and added one more in the first inning with a single to left for the 3-0 edge after one inning.
 
Six runs in the fifth made it 9-0. Back-to-back RBI singles extended the lead to 5-0, and a double after a pitching change upped the score to 6-0. The Rattlers added the final three runs on a fielder's choice, error and sac fly for the 9-0 margin.
 
Drew Van Winkle went the first 4.1 innings as the RSU starting pitcher. He allowed eight hits and four earned runs with two strikeouts. Sean Robinson and Hunter Johnson came in for relief for the final 3.2 innings of work.
 
Brendan Griffith went 2-for-4 for the Cats.
 
StMU starter Zach De La Garza earned the win for the Rattlers, going 6.0 innings with three hits allowed and six strikeouts. Matt Merrill picked up the save with 3.0 innings of work to end the game with one hit given up. The Cats once again totaled only four hits.
 
The Hillcats and Rattlers continue the four-game series on Friday (March 23) with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas. Live stats and video streaming will be available.