SAN ANTONIO — Last season, the St. Mary's softball team claimed its third straight regular season Heartland Conference Championship. This season, the Rattlers are returning all but one starter and are expected to claim the league crown for the fourth time.
The Rattlers will welcome back eight All-Conference selectees as well as two of the league's best overall players.
Taylor Vidrine (So., San Antonio), in her first season last year, led the Rattlers and the conference in several categories to claim the league's Freshman of the Year award. Her blowout season also earned a NFCA All-Region Second Team selection. Also returning is the now two-time Pitcher of the Year,
Emily Brittain (Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas), who was also named Daktronics All-South Central Regional Second Team after an impressive season that included a perfect game and a no-hitter.
But as last season showed, the Rattlers aren't confined to two.
The Rattlers went 34-19 overall last season and claimed the regular-season championship with a 13-2 conference record, all while housing three freshmen starters. Freshman Vidrine at first,
Nicole Sardelich (So., Angleton, Texas) at third and one-time-newcomer
Vianna Gutierrez (So., San Antonio) as the No. 2 pitcher and designated hitter helped hold the core of the Rattlers' success. All three were named All-Conference First Team; Vidrine and Sardelich tied for the team-high batting average at .363 and Gutierrez led in strikeouts with 89, while pounding at the plate with a .342 average.
Now a season older, the Rattlers will no longer be labeled as a young team.
With seasoned sophomores, the Rattlers also return veteran seniors to the field. Infielder
Jared Gonzalez (San Antonio), center fielder
Katie Nichols (San Marcos, Texas) catcher
Christina Rodriguez (San Antonio) and right fielder
Shelly Lee Zawadzki (San Antonio), all of whom made All-Conference last season, will provide continued leadership in the last season of their Rattler careers.
Although the Rattlers fell in the Heartland Conference Tournament to rival St. Edward's last spring, the conference has predicted St. Mary's as the No. 1 team to beat in this year's preseason poll. The biggest advantage for the Rattlers was having the benefit of worrying about only one position to fill, shortstop. The vacancy will be filled easily, with senior
Sarah Perez (San Marcos, Texas), who made All-Conference her sophomore season, expected to play the hole.
The Rattlers will charge this season with a possible vendetta after last season marked the first time in six seasons St. Mary's did not advance to the South Central Regional Tournament. The conference has already set their aim for the Rattlers — and St. Mary's will hope their seasoned, awarded squad will cast looks from the region as a team to watch.
They'll open the season this Friday when they open play over the three-day St. Mary's College Classic, held at the SAISD Sports Complex.
St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men's basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men's golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men's golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary's also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary's student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.stmarytx.edu/athletics.
