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DENTON, Texas — The St. Mary's softball team is on the cusp of one the biggest days in the program's recent history.
And head coach
Donna Fields says the Rattlers' ability to treat Sunday's showdown with an early-season mindset could be the difference in her team advancing.
No. 25 St. Mary's reeled off a pair of stirring victories in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional 1 on Saturday, earning its way out of the loser's bracket and into the regional final with a 3-0 victory over Incarnate Word followed by a bit of redemption in a 11-7 triumph against Midwestern State.
St. Mary's (45-14), which was defeated 3-0 by Midwestern State in the regional opener, will play host Texas Woman's in Sunday's regional final at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field.
With Texas Woman's having yet to lose in the tournament, a victory in the 2 p.m. game would allow it to advance to the NCAA Super Regional. St. Mary's, having lost a game, needs to beat Texas Woman's twice to advance to the next round, where the winner will face the winner of the South Central Regional 2.
“We have to come in with the mindset of playing a doubleheader,” Fields said. “Approach it like playing in February all over again. If we get the first game then we get another.”
With the way they're playing, there's no reason to doubt the Rattlers' chances.
St. Mary's is in the midst of its best regional showing since 2006, when it won three games in the tournament. The Rattlers have won three regional championships under Fields, most recently in 2005.
Giving this team hope it can achieve a similar fate is the balance it has found between salty pitching and timely hitting.
Ace
Emily Brittain pitched a one-hitter with six strikeouts in six innings of work against Incarnate Word to improve to 27-5 on the season.
Vianna Gutierrez (So., San Antonio) picked up the save, pitching the final 2/3 inning with two strikeouts.
Jared Gonzalez (Sr., San Antonio) broke open a scoreless game with a third-inning RBI single, while
Haley Richter (So., Hondo, Texas) quickly made it 2-0 on a single followed by an error that brought in Gonzalez moments later.
Alex Rodriguez added a sixth-inning home run that provided the Rattlers with all the insurance runs they needed.
Against MSU, those hungry bats continued to feast.
St. Mary's scored in each of the first five innings, including a six-run third inning that saw the Rattlers climb to a 8-2 advantage that proved too great for the Mustangs to overcome.
Gutierrez's two-run home run sparked the six-run rally that saw the Rattlers break open a 2-2 game.
Nicole Sardelich (So., Angleton, Texas) added an RBI single, as did
Shelly Lee Zawadzki (Sr., San Antonio), followed by
Taylor Vidrine (So., San Antonio) with a two-RBI single up the middle.
Gutierrez got the victory in the circle to improve to 6-6 on the season, while Brittain came in and pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to collect her first save of the year.
“Playing under pressure brings out the best in players,” Gutierrez said.
The Rattlers hope that proves true once again Sunday.
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.
