SAN ANTONIO – Only 14 other softball coaches in Division II have accomplished what
Donna Fields and the St. Mary's Softball team did on Friday evening, as Fields won her 1,000th game with a doubleheader sweep over Eastern New Mexico, 4-3 and 9-2.
In her 25th season, Fields is now 1,000-443 and the Rattlers are 26-7 and 10-4 in Lone Star Conference play.
The Rattlers host #6 West Texas A&M for a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. The Lady Buffs split at St. Edward's, winning game one 8-3 before dropping game two 4-3.
GAME ONE RECAP
Freshman
Jadyn Abrego (San Antonio) evened her season record at 4-4 with the 4-3 victory in game one, while fellow freshman
Savannah Youngblood (Kingwood, Texas) earned her third save.
Abrego allowed three runs on four hits with one walk and two strikeouts in four innings, while Youngblood didn't surrender a hit, fanning three in the final three frames.
The Rattler offense scored four runs on four hits with four walks and a pair of sacrifices. Senior
Abigale Carney (El Paso, Texas) had two of the team's RBI and senior
Jayme Johns (Elgin, Texas) drew two walks.
After ENMU took a 2-0 lead on a home run in the top of the first, the Rattlers immediately went to work. With one out, senior
Victoria Aldridge (Elgin) singled to left center. Johns walked and both moved up on a wild pitch. Freshman
Jamison Holder (Magnolia, Texas) hit a sacrifice fly to center and senior
Bari Christian (San Antonio) was hit by a pitch. Carney singled to left to plate two and give the Rattlers the 3-2 lead.
The Greyhounds tied the score with one run in the top of the fourth and once again the Rattlers answered right away. Senior
Tiffany Licon (Austin, Texas) was hit to lead off, moved to second on a great sacrifice fly by freshman
Cassidy Mageors (Freeport, Texas) and scored on a bloop single to left by Johns for the 4-3 tally.
GAME TWO RECAP
Junior
Catalina Cavazos (Houston) retired the first 10 batters she faced as the team won 9-2 in the nightcap. Cavazos improved to 13-1 on the season with a complete game. She didn't allow an earned run with five hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.
The offense exploded for nine runs on 12 hits and the top four hitters in the lineup each tallied two hits, while both Aldridge and Holder had two RBI. In addition, six of the team's 12 hits were for extra bases as Christian and Aldridge both tripled in the five-run second inning, Mageors, Carney and sophomore
Reba Reyes (Brownsville, Texas) all doubled and Holder hit the second home run of her career.
Christian tripled to left center to kick off the bottom of the second inning and scored on a ground out by Carney. With two outs, Reyes hit a pinch-hit double to left center and scored on a throwing error by the first baseman on a ball off the bat of Licon. Mageors singled to left and Aldridge hit the right field fence for a triple to clear the bases. Johns singled to left center to plate Aldridge for the 5-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, ENMU scored two unearned runs on two hits after the first error of the season by Licon (108 chances).
Mageors doubled down the right field line and Aldridge snuck a single past the drawn in infield. With one out, Holder smashed a ball to the fence in centerfield but was held to a single as the runners had to hold up, but Mageors scampered home from second. Carney took the first pitch she saw to the wall in right center for a double and two more RBIs and the 8-2 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Holder hit a ball that was still on the rise as it left the park and hit the batter's eye in centerfield for the final run of the night.
