First Pitch
• Friday marks the start of the 42nd season of softball at St. Mary's and the 26th for Head Coach Donna Fields. The Rattlers open with the newly renamed Cal Poly Humboldt, which used to be known as Humboldt State. The teams last squared off in 2008 in Phoenix.
• St. Mary's also takes on #13 Augustana, Arkansas Tech, Pittsburg State and #8 Central Oklahoma in the annual tournament at the Scrap Yard. The Rattlers are 20-14 against the four opponents, with 15 of the wins coming over the Broncos of UCO.
• The Rattlers return the entire pitching staff from the 2022 team that went 38-19, including All-Region selection Catalina Cavazos who was 20-5 with 16 complete games and 127 strikeouts. Jadyn Abrego and Savannah Youngblood added nine wins each as true freshmen, while Sara Robertson and Madeline Bloom combined for 14 appearances and one save.
• The Lone Star Conference schedule has shifted to three-game series for the 2023 season, creating a 42-game league slate. Conference play opens on Feb. 17 for the Rattlers when they host Eastern New Mexico.
• The catching tandem of Jamison Holder and Mene'e Padilla return for their sophomore campaigns. The pair collected 43 hits, five doubles, seven home runs, 26 RBI, 15 walks and threw out 16 attempted base stealers as true freshmen in 2022. Holder also broke the school single season record for fielding percentage, committing no errors in 179 chances (154 putouts, 25 assists).
• The Rattlers welcome nine newcomers to the team in 2023, six freshmen and three transfers. Six of the nine hail from San Antonio or the surrounding communities and eight of the nine are fielders, while one is a pitcher.
• Not only did head coach Donna Fields win the 1,000th game of her career in 2022, but she led the program to its 1,500th victory in the same game - a 4-3 win over Eastern New Mexico on March 25.
• 2022 marked the 16th time in the last 21 seasons the Rattlers advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament. StMU reached the final game, going 2-3 on the weekend.
• Last season, the Gold & Blue ended the season ranked ninth in the nation in fielding percentage at 0.975. The team also finished 22nd with 21 double plays turned.
