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Scoreboard

Taylor Vidrine
Antonio Morano Photography
The Rattlers saw an emotional end to their memorable 2015 campaign.
1
St. Mary's STMU 48-12
2
Winner North Georgia UNG 50-8
St. Mary's STMU
48-12
1
Final
2
North Georgia UNG
50-8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
St. Mary's STMU 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
North Georgia UNG 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 3 0

W: Courtney Poole (43-4) L: Gutierrez Touchtone, Vianna (28-7)

Game Recap: Softball | | RattlerAthletics.com

Rattlers eliminated from Softball Championship in extra innings

By Chad Peters | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Rattler defense had been almost impenetrable throughout the NCAA Women's College World Series.
 
From diving snags to double plays, St. Mary's had done it all.

But with the season on the line in extra innings Saturday, No. 6 North Georgia finally found a soft spot in shallow right-center field.
 
Meagan May hit a two-out blooper to right-center to bring in the winning run in a 2-1, eight-inning victory at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
 
The loss eliminated No. 7 St. Mary's (48-12) from the national championship tournament, ending a season that saw the Rattlers advance to the grand stage for the fourth time under longtime head coach Donna Fields.
 
"They played their hearts out," Fields said. "To lose on a Texas Leaguer, something we've even battled since (the start of the season), it doesn't sit well. But this group of girls fought all year long."
 
The play, coupled with a defensive error that put the winning run on base, spoiled a gem pitched by St. Mary's ace Vianna Gutierrez Touchtone. The senior struck out five and had a no-hitter going through 3 2/3 innings until it was broken up on a solo shot from Tiffanie Burns.
 
"The defense has won us a lot of ballgames," Gutierrez Touchtone said. "One little mistake will cost you, especially on the big stage.  The other team, they took advantage of that."
 
In St. Mary's first-round loss to Shorter, the Rattlers turned inning-ending double plays to draw an end to three straight frames. Then on Saturday, with the winning run at first base in the bottom of the seventh, shortstop Miranda Medina made a potentially game-saving diving grab on a hard-hit liner to end the inning.
 
Four of the six runs St. Mary's surrendered in the tournament came on home runs.
 
Burns' homer Saturday evened up the score at 1-1, erasing the momentum St. Mary's had built up in the top half of the fourth inning on Laura Benavidez's pinch-hit-, go-ahead RBI single.
 
St. Mary's outhit North Georgia (50-8) 5-3, but failed to string together hits outside of the fourth. Nine-hole hitter Hannah Fields led off the eighth with a single to center field, and later stole second base with two outs. But the Rattler bats couldn't move her over any farther.
 
Alex Rodriguez went 1 for 2 with a walk for the Rattlers, while Benavidez had the RBI single in her only at-bat. Nicole Sardelich was 1 for 4, and Haley Richter had one hit in three plate appearances.
 
"This group of eight seniors will be truly missed," Fields said. "They've set a standard for our program. I think our underclassmen respect that and will honor that."
 
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