Box Score SAN ANGELO, Texas — St. Mary's Softball has its swagger back.
Looking more and more like the team that won 32 of 33 games earlier this season, the No. 14-ranked and third-seeded Rattlers won their fourth straight in a 6-0 shutout of sixth-seeded Cameron in Friday's opening round of the NCAA Division II South Central Region 2 bracket.
Ace
Emily Brittain picked up her nation-leading 14
th shutout of the season while the Rattler bats produced a trio of home runs thanks to the likes of
Miranda Medina,
Taylor Vidrine and
Alex Rodriguez.
"One game at a time, but we have a different intensity than we did for those two weeks," said head coach
Donna Fields, referring to a 3-7 finish to the regular season. "It was scary at one time."
Now it's just the Rattler bats scaring people.
Medina, the freshman shortstop from San Antonio Southwest High School, blasted her third home run of the season on a shot that landed nearly 30 yards past the 190-foot left-field fence at Angelo State's Mayer Field.
The home run gave St. Mary's a 3-0 second-inning lead — but perhaps more importantly gave the young Medina a boost in confidence. Though Medina is batting below .300 this season, Rattler coaches and players routinely rave about the hitting displays she puts on in practice.
Her bat is heating up at the perfect time for St. Mary's (47-12), going 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
"I always knew my team believed in me," Medina said. "For them to continue to believe in me, I knew I could do it. In practice everybody was freaking out, 'Why can't you do that in the game?' But finally I was able to do it, and I hope to continue to do it."
Solo home runs from Vidrine (third inning) and
Alex Rodriguez (sixth) sandwiched a
Katie Nichols RBI single as the Rattlers pulled away for the 6-0 advantage.
StMU outhit Cameron 11-3, as Brittain improved to 28-6 on the season. Brittain struck out six in the game, one short of matching her season high.
Vidrine finished 2 for 2 with two RBIs, while
Nicole Sardelich was 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored.
Amanda Villa also had two hits and a run scored.
This marked Cameron's (30-20) first-ever regional appearance. St. Mary's improved to 11-2 all-time versus the Aggies.
With the victory, St. Mary's moved to the winner's bracket, where it will take on host and second-seeded Angelo State at 2 p.m. Saturday. The loser will play at 7 p.m. in an elimination game, while the winner advances to Sunday's final.
Angelo State defeated seventh-seeded St. Edward's 2-1 in Friday's other action.
