Softball Wins Both Over No. 6 West Texas

SAN ANTONIO – Momentum is a large part of sports, and the St. Mary's Softball team grabbed it early and held on throughout in a doubleheader sweep over sixth-ranked West Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Rattlers (28-7, 12-4) won game one, 3-1 and game two, 7-2 to stretch their winning streak to four games and improve to 10-1 at home in 2022. In both contests, the team scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and never relinquished the lead.
 
The top of the batting order did a great job of setting the table, as both freshman Cassidy Mageors (Freeport, Texas) and senior Victoria Aldridge (Elgin, Texas) went 4-for-7 on the day with two runs each. Mageors also had an RBI and a stolen base. Senior Bari Christian (San Antonio) stole four bases and freshman Jamison Holder (Magnolia, Texas) had four RBI with two sacrifices and a home run.
 
The Rattlers take their four-game winning streak on the road, playing at UT Permian Basin on Friday at 3 p.m. and Western New Mexico on Sunday at noon. Both will be doubleheaders
 
GAME ONE RECAP
Jadyn Abrego (San Antonio) threw her second complete game of the season to improve to 5-4 on the year. She allowed only one run on four hits with one walk and one strikeout. The Buffs (19-10, 8-8 Lone Star) hit just .174 against the freshman.
 
The Rattlers scored their three runs on six hits with senior Victoria Aldridge (Elgin, Texas) accounting for two of the base knocks. The 4-5-6 hitters in the lineup each recorded an RBI with senior Abigale Carney hitting her seventh home run of the season.
 
Freshman Cassidy Mageors (Freeport, Texas) led off the Rattlers half of the first with a single to shortstop. Aldridge followed with a single to right and senior Jayme Johns (Elgin) was safe on an error by the third baseman to load the bases. Holder singled to left for the first run of the game and Aldridge scored on a ball hit to left by Christian that resulted in a fielder's choice as Holder had to hold up at first to see if it was caught.
 
With one out in the sixth, Carney hit a home run over the left field fence for the 3-0 advantage. The Buffs got the run back in the top of the seventh, but Abrego buckled down for the win.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
The Rattlers sustained the momentum, scoring two in the first. Mageors took a pitch back up the middle for a single, Aldridge singled to shortstop and Johns laid down a bunt down the third base line for a sacrifice. Holder hit a sacrifice fly to center and Christian singled to right for the two runs.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Carney led off with a double to right field, but was erased on a fielder's choice off the bat of senior Amber Gonzales (Austin). Freshman Lauryn Ramos (Marion, Texas) singled to left and with two outs Mageors singled to left to plate Gonzales. 
After the Lady Buffs scored two runs in the top of the fifth, the offense responded with four runs of its own for the 7-2 final scored. With one out, Johns singled up the middle and scored on a blast to left center by Holder. Christian followed with a single to left and immediately stole second after WT went to the bullpen. Carney walked and sophomore Ericka Gomez (Stafford, Texas) singled back up the middle to score Christian. Ramos walked to load the bases and with two outs, a passed ball plated Gomez.
 
Junior Catalina Cavazos improved to 14-1 after pitching another complete game. She allowed two runs on five hits, did not walk a batter and fanned three. All five hits were singles for the Buffaloes.
 
The Rattlers scored the seven runs on 13 hits, with Mageors recording three, Aldridge, Christian and Johns each hitting two and four of the other five spots in the order each tallying one. Holder paced the offense with three RBIs and each of the seven runs was scored by someone different.