Box Score
SAN ANTONIO — Newman University may have thought it had the Rattlers with its leadoff home run in the first inning, but St. Mary's responded quickly and mightily to stifle the blast and sweep the series.
The Rattlers won 7-1 over the Jets Saturday to take the series and start their Heartland Conference record unscathed.
Emily Brittain (Jr., Corpus Christi, Texas) picked up the win Saturday for her second victory in the series to improve to 14-2. Brittain recorded her eighth complete game on the season Saturday, allowing one earned run and striking out two.
After the Jets' homer in the first, the Rattlers picked up a run in their first at-bat with an RBI-single from
Christina Rodriguez (Sr., San Antonio) to knot it up 1-1.
A big five-run sixth inning sealed the victory as
Nicole Sardelich (So., Angleton, Texas) and
Laura Benavidez (So., Robstown, Texas) both smacked doubles for two RBIs apiece.
Sarah Perez picked up the first RBI of the inning to start the five-run tally.
Shelly Lee Zawadzki (Sr., San Antonio) shined in the Rattlers' 10-hit outing, smacking three hits and recording an RBI-single in the fifth. Sardelich was the only other Rattler with a multiple-hit day as she tallied two Saturday.
The Rattlers improved to 24-9 on the season with their sweep of the Jets (3-20, 1-5 in conference), getting off to a perfect 3-0 start in conference play.
St. Mary's will face Tarleton State in its next matchup, starting a doubleheader Tuesday in Stephenville, Texas at 4 p.m.
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.rattlerathletics.com.
