Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

St. Mary's University Athletics

Official Athletics Site of St. Mary's University

Scoreboard

NCAA Regional Champions
Antonio Morano Photography
St. Mary's celebrates its regional championship.
6
Winner St. Mary's STMU 48-10
3
Tarleton State TSUSB 33-22
Winner
St. Mary's STMU
48-10
6
Final
3
Tarleton State TSUSB
33-22
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
St. Mary's STMU 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 6 11 0
Tarleton State TSUSB 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 8 1

W: Rangel, Kristi (3-0) L: H. Freyman (23-14) S: Gutierrez Touchtone, Vianna (1)

Game Recap: Softball | | RattlerAthletics.com

CHAMPS! Softball claims 4th NCAA regional championship

Rattlers defeat Tarleton State 6-3 to advance to the World Series

By Chad Peters | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

SAN ANTONIO — As St. Mary's Softball knocked on the door of a World Series berth a year ago, the storyline couldn't have been written any more perfectly.
 
Outfielder Hannah Fields sat sidelined with a knee injury, just like her mother, Rattlers head coach Donna Fields, was some 30 years earlier. St. Mary's went on to win its first national championship in any sport with the elder Fields on the bench in 1986, and the Rattlers seemed destined to repeat history with the younger Fields facing a similar fate in 2014.
 
It was meant to be.
 
But destiny can be tricky. St. Mary's fell in the Super Regional to West Texas A&M last year, and the Buffaloes — not the Rattlers — went on to claim the national prize.
 
A year later, the Rattlers' time seemingly has arrived.
 
No. 7-ranked St. Mary's hoisted the regional championship trophy Saturday at the Softball Stadium inside The Park at St. Mary's, punching its ticket to the NCAA Division II Women's College World Series with a 6-3 victory over Tarleton State in the South Central Super Regional championship game.
 
All-Region slugger Haley Richter was 3 for 3 with an RBI in the victory, while all-time hits leader Nicole Sardelich went 3 for 4 with an RBI to help the Rattlers (48-10) complete the series sweep.
 
Fields — a year after being sidelined on this very stage — produced a key RBI single as the Rattlers won their fourth regional championship under longtime coach Donna Fields.
 
"I'm so happy," Hannah Fields said. "This is what I told my mom right when I came. We're going to go back. We're going to bring a national championship back to this school. It's been awesome, and we're not done yet."
 
St. Mary's survived a scare from Tarleton State late, as the TexAnns loaded the bases with no outs against ace Vianna Gutierrez Touchtone, who entered the seventh inning in relief of reliever Kristi Rangel.
 
But the South Central Region Pitcher of the Year proceeded to shut the door on Tarleton State, forcing three straight pop-ups, including the game-ending flyout to Richter in right field.
 
"I like being under pressure," said Gutierrez Touchtone, who collected her first save of the season. "I actually work better under pressure. Getting in those situations is just like another game. … To produce three pop-ups in a row was ideal."
 
St. Mary's came out swinging against Tarleton State (33-22), taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Richter drove in Sardelich on an RBI single to right field. The TexAnns answered in the bottom of the frame to even the score, so the Rattlers answered once again in the second when Fields singled up the middle to drive in Medina.
 
Alex Rodriguez helped the Rattlers break things open in the third, capping off a three-run inning with a two-run shot to center field that put the Snakes up 5-1.
 
The teams continued to trade punches, as Tarleton State scored twice in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit in half. But Sardelich put an insurance run on the board in the sixth, as her RBI single to center field put St. Mary's back up 6-3.
 
"We got it done," Sardelich said. "Just knowing that we're one game away from going to the place that was our goal the entire season, and knowing we were in the same place last year, we went out and got the job done."
 
Rangel pitched three effective innings in relief to pick up the victory, improving to 3-0 on the season.
 
St. Mary's outhit Tarleton State 11-8 in the game, while also capitalizing on one TexAnn error.
 
For coach Donna Fields, the regional championship adds to the 2002, 2003 and 2005 regional titles she already possesses. But this one will forever hold special meaning.
 
In addition to a special eight-member senior class that is arguably as good as St. Mary's has ever seen, the title came with her daughter manning center field.
 
"I'm still enjoying the moment," she said, with pride beaming from her face. "You could pinch me. It doesn't even feel real."
 
St. Mary's will travel to Oklahoma City to play in the World Series, where it will open up the first round against No. 24 Shorter (41-15) at 12 p.m. (CT) Thursday, May 21 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Click here for the full bracket. 

 
Print Friendly Version

Sponsors