SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's University Softball team picked up a pair of wins on Sunday as they earned their first Lone Star Conference sweep of the season. The Rattlers defeated Texas A&M International, 5-3 and 5-0 to move to 11-13 and 3- in conference action.
Game One
After
Abigale Carney doubled down the left field line, she advanced to third on a
Bari Christian groundout.
Amber Gonzales reached after she was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners for St. Mary's in the bottom of the second frame.
Juliana Cerda picked up the first RBI of the game for the Rattlers as she scored Carney on a sacrifice fly. The inning ended with St. Mary's leading 1-0.
St. Mary's offense busted the game open in the fourth inning as they put up four runs to extend their lead to 5-1. Carney blasted her fourth homerun of the season in the inning, a two-run shot over the left centerfield fence, scoring
Jessica Day who came on to pinch run for
Alex Moreno after Moreno led off the inning with a double. Gonzales and Cerda reached on two Dustdevil errors and both were plated by a triple from
Tiffany Licon.
The Dustdevils added two runs in the top of the sixth but freshman
Nikkolette Hernandez came on in relief to close the door for the Rattlers 10
th win of the season. Hernandez earned the first save of her career.
Staci Johns earned the 40
th win of her career as she tossed 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits and striking out five Dustdevil batters.
Carney finished with two hits and two RBI while Licon also drove in two runs.
Game Two
The Rattlers scored early as they plated two runs in the home half of the first inning on four hits.
Victoria Aldridge started the rally with a one-out single through the left side and later moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Moreno drove Aldridge in with a single up the middle to put the Rattlers on the board. Christian slapped a single through the left side, moving Moreno up to third to put runners at the corners with two outs and Gonzales at the plate. Gonzales pulled a single through the hole to score Moreno, making it 2-0 in favor of the Rattlers.
After Gonzales reached on a fielding error by the shortstop in the bottom of the fourth, Cerda connected on her second homerun of the season to give St. Mary's a 4-0 lead.
The Rattlers added another run in the bottom of the fifth when Carney singled through the left side and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Christian. Gonzales doubled deep to left field, scoring Carney to open up a 5-0 lead for St. Mary's.
Starting pitcher
Alex McLennan retired the Dustdevils in order to pick up her sixth win of the season with her second straight complete game. The junior allowed five hits while striking out four batters.
Seven St. Mary's batters recorded a hit led by Gonzales who collected two hits. Cerda and Gonzales each drove in two runs.
Up Next
The Rattlers will hit the road to take on Angelo State on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Lubbock to take on Lubbock Christian on Sunday.
