Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
SAN ANTONIO — With their 18-game winning streak already snapped earlier Tuesday evening, No. 5 St. Mary's Softball was suddenly on the verge of being no-hit some hours later.
Then that Rattler magic struck.
No-hit through six innings, St. Mary's reeled off three straight hits to start the bottom of the seventh inning, capped off by
Maricela Bissaro's walk-off single that drove in
Taylor Vidrine for an exciting 1-0 victory before about 200 fans at the Softball Stadium inside The Park at St. Mary's.
Ace
Emily Brittain dazzled in the circle for St. Mary's (37-5), throwing her fifth shutout in as many starts. She scattered four hits and walked one against Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-31) to improve to 19-3 on the season.
Earlier, St. Mary's dropped Game 1 9-4, as the Javelinas outhit the Rattlers 12-5 and utilized four-run outbursts in the second and third innings to snap StMU's 18-game winning streak before a crowd of more than 250 fans.
Bissaro was hung with the loss — her first of the year after starting the season 7-0.
But she and the Rattlers bounced back nicely.
Despite being no-hit through six innings, St. Mary's created plenty of scoring opportunities in the nightcap. The Rattlers loaded the bases in the fifth on a trio of walks, and put runners on second and third in the sixth. But unable to connect on that one hit, the Rattlers struggled to bring anyone home, stranding 10 innings.
But St. Mary's was ready once the game was on the line.
Vidrine drilled a lead-off single up the middle in the seventh and promptly stole second base.
Haley Richter then added another single up the middle, moving Vidrine to third. Finally, with zero outs, Bissaro dropped a hard-hit single to left field to win the game.
With the win, St. Mary's avoided losing back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Rattlers have now on 33 of their last 35.
St. Mary's will take its act on the road this weekend, traveling to Wichita, Kan., for a three-game series against Newman. The Rattlers lead the Heartland Conference with a 12-0 record, while Newman ranks fourth with a 4-8 mark. The series begins Friday at 3 p.m.
