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Scoreboard

Christian_Bari_20190221SB_vs_OCU_G1_60
Antonio Morano Photography
1
Oklahoma Christian OC 12-2, 0-1 HC
2
Winner St. Mary's STMUSB 10-6, 1-0 HC
Oklahoma Christian OC
12-2, 0-1 HC
1
Final
2
St. Mary's STMUSB
10-6, 1-0 HC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Oklahoma Christian OC 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0
St. Mary's STMUSB 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 3

W: Johns, Staci (7-2) L: Kali Crandall (4-1)

3
Oklahoma Christian OC 12-3, 0-2 HC
7
Winner St. Mary's STMUSB 11-6, 2-0 HC
Oklahoma Christian OC
12-3, 0-2 HC
3
Final
7
St. Mary's STMUSB
11-6, 2-0 HC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Oklahoma Christian OC 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 3 5 2
St. Mary's STMUSB 0 0 0 5 2 0 X 7 10 0

W: McLennan, Alex (2-1) L: Madison Hagood (5-2) S: Johns, Staci (1)

Game Recap: Softball | | RattlerAthletics.com

Softball starts conference play with pair of exciting victories

By Heather Kennedy | St. Mary's Athletics Communications

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's softball team has been a dominant force in the Heartland Conference throughout the history of the league, and the Rattlers began the final conference season with a statement, sweeping the preseason #2 pick, Oklahoma Christian Eagles 2-1 and 7-3 in a doubleheader.

The Rattlers (11-6, 2-0 Heartland Conference) have won either the regular season or the tournament title in 17 of the 19 years of the league's existence, missing only the first year (2000) and 2009 and they are the four-time defending regular season champions. This season, the Rattlers were again picked to win the conference title, while Oklahoma Christian (12-3, 0-2 Heartland) was selected second in the pre-season poll.

Sophomore Abigale Carney (El Paso, Texas) went 3-for-4 over the twinbill with two runs scored, a double and two of the three walks of the night. She also had an RBI. Senior Kristal Salinas (San Antonio) was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, two runs scored, three sacrifice bunts and a stolen base and freshman Bari Christian was 3-for-6 with a run, an RBI, two stolen bases and a sacrifice bunt. Christian hit the game winning walk-off single up the middle in the first game and had the first hit of the second contest.

The Rattlers hit the road for 11-straight games, returning home March 16 for a three-game set against Rogers State. The next series is a doubleheader at Newman on February 28 slated to start at 4 p.m.

Game One Recap (St. Mary's 2, Oklahoma Christian 1)
Junior Staci Johns (Elgin, Texas) improved to 7-2 on the year, pitching her seventh complete game. She didn't allow an earned run and gave up just two hits, walking none and striking out three. It is the fourth start this year where she didn't walk anyone and she's only walked six in 62 2/3 innings.
Carney and Christian each had one hit, while freshman Mikayla Briggs (San Antonio) and Salinas each scored a run and sophomore Alex Moreno (El Paso) and Christian tallied an RBI each for the Rattlers. Carney also drew two walks.

Oklahoma Christian broke onto the scoreboard first with an unearned run in the sixth inning. Johns gave up a single to the Eagles to the leadoff the first and then retired 12 straight until an error in the top of the fifth with one out gave OCU a base runner but she was stranded at second. In the sixth, another error put the leadoff hitter on and she scored after stealing second, moving to third on a sacrifice bunt and coming home on a single to center. Bre Dunckel had both hits for OCU in the game and the RBI.

Carney singled to no man's land between the pitcher and first base and no one was covering first for the team's first hit in the bottom of the seventh. Salinas attempted a sacrifice bunt and the throw to second was not in time to get Carney. Junior Taylor Germain (San Antonio) laid down a fantastic bunt down the third base line to move Carney and Salinas up a base and the Eagles elected to intentionally walk freshman Jayme Johns (Elgin) to load the bases. Moreno hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to the Rattlers first run of the game and Christian singled back up the middle for the walk-off victory, scoring Salinas for the club's 10th win of the year.

Game Two Recap (St. Mary's 7, Oklahoma Christian 3)
The Rattlers scored seven runs on 10 hits and were aided by two Eagles errors in the second game of the doubleheader, while Oklahoma Christian scored three runs on five hits with no St. Mary's errors.

Christian, Johns, Carney and Salinas each had two hits for eight of the team's 10 hits and Carney scored two runs, while Salinas led the club with three RBIs in the nightcap.

Sophomore Alex McLennan (Austin, Texas) improved to 2-1 on the year after pitching 4 2/3 innings where she allowed three runs on four hits, walking three and striking out three. S. Johns pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, picking up her first save of the year. She allowed only one hit and fanned two. In the two games, Johns threw 136 total pitches, 96 in the first game and 40 in the save.

Oklahoma Christian again took the early lead, scoring one run on one hit in the top of the fourth inning.

Christian hit a hot shot to third to lead off the Rattlers half of the fourth and S. Johns followed with a single through the right side. Carney doubled down the right field line to knot the game at 1-1. Salinas singled right between a diving short stop and third baseman to plate Aracelli Sanchez (San Antonio), who was pinch running for Johns. Germain hit a tomahawk chop right in front of the plate and beat the throw to first to load the bases. With two outs in a pinch hitting role, freshman Victoria Aldridge (Elgin) hit a seeing-eye single past a pair of diving infielders on the left side to score another run and senior Raynelle Nash (San Antonio) reached on a throwing error by the third baseman to plate two more runs for the 5-1 Rattlers advantage.

The Eagles got two runs back in the top of the fifth when the Rattlers went to the bullpen and brought S. Johns in and she got out of the inning without any further damage for the 5-3 score.

The Rattlers immediately answered in the bottom of the inning. Johns singled down the right field line, Carney singled to first and Salinas doubled to the wall in left center to score both for the 7-3 tally. The three hits also signaled the end of the day for Melanie Haygood, as the Eagles moved Kaylie Upton from first into the circle and she retired the side.

St. Mary's has now won seven of its last eight games, with the lone loss coming to the #1-team in the nation in Angelo State on Wednesday evening.
 
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