Box Score SAN ANTONIO — The St. Mary's Rattlers were intent on making a statement at the Heartland Conference Softball Tournament.
So they did — quite literally.
Motivated by a perceived lack of respect after a lackluster finish to an otherwise sensational regular season, every Rattler donned a blue wristband that made visible to the world their collective goal.
"We will show you how great we are," the wristbands read.
Message received.
St. Mary's Softball swept through the Heartland tournament, highlighted by a championship-clinching 4-0 victory over rival St. Edward's in Saturday's title game before a crowd of nearly 200 at the Softball Stadium inside The Park at St. Mary's.
The victory gave St. Mary's back-to-back tournament titles and clinched an automatic berth in next week's NCAA Division II South Central Regional, held at a to-be-announced location.
The win also hammered home the statement the Rattlers intended to make on the field.
"We wanted to show them how great we are," said Rattlers freshman designated player
Reagan Patterson, who went 4 for 4 with three RBI against St. Edward's to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. "The first time we saw them, we dropped three games. We weren't working as a team.
"I wanted to come out and do it for my team."
Once winners of 18 straight and 32 of 33 games, St. Mary's (46-12) clinched the Heartland regular-season championship with eight games remaining, giving the Rattlers their 13
th regular-season or postseason championship in 14 years. But they sputtered down the stretch, including losing all three to the Hilltoppers to close out the regular season.
In the subsequent days, the Rattlers were essentially left in the cold with the postseason superlatives, losing out on Heartland Conference Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year awards to their second-place nemesis, St. Edward's.
Looking to regain their swagger, the Rattlers stoked a symbolic fire on the eve of the tournament.
"We really wanted that spark back," said Brittain, named the Tournament Most Valuable Player after going 3-0 with two shutouts and a one-hitter — this after being denied her fourth straight Heartland Pitcher of the Year award in a season that has seen her finish the regular season No. 4 in the nation in victories and now lead the country with 13 shutouts.
"We lost (that spark) for a couple of weeks," she added. "We even made a fire the other day to start it going. Today, we strung our hits together and showed them how great we are."
It all started in the third inning, when
Nicole Sardelich singled to right field to drive in freshman
Alena Moreno for a 1-0 lead. Patterson singled up the middle moments later, bringing in Sardelich for a 2-0 advantage.
Patterson struck again twice more, driving in
Haley Richter on a fifth-inning RBI single and bringing in Vidrine on a seventh-inning RBI single to stretch the lead to 4-0.
With Brittain on a roll, that was all St. Mary's would need, as the ace improved to 27-6 on the season for her 91st career victory. She scattered five hits in the complete-game triumph, racking up her 13
th shutout on the season in the process.
"If you look at the scoreboard, four to zero, we totally shut them down," said Brittain, who was joined by Patterson, Sardelich, Richter and Vidrine on the All-Tournament Team. "We came out firing today."
Now, St. Mary's will turn its attention to the regional tournament, where its path could very well cross with St. Edward's once more.
"There's nothing we have to lose now," Patterson said. "We're going to go out there and do our best. We want to win. Our goal is (making the World Series in) Virginia. We're working toward that, one game at a time."
All the while making a statement every step along the way.
