First Pitch
• St. Mary's takes to the road for the first time in Lone Star Conference action, playing a mid-week series at Texas A&M Kingsville. The series begins with a doubleheader on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and wraps up with a single game on Wednesday at 1 p.m.
• The Rattlers and Javelinas are no strangers to each other as the teams have played 113 times in school history - including eight meetings a season ago. StMU holds the 74-39 lead in the series, but the Javelinas won the last two games to win the NCAA South Central Regional title. Three of the eight games in 2022 went extra innings and four of the eight were decided by one run.
• After patiently waiting for a spot to open in the outfield, senior Lauren Garcia has made the most of her opportunities and is tied for the team lead with 13 RBI. She has nine hits this season and seven of those have come with a runner on third and less than two outs, where she is 7-for-8. Garcia currently is one of seven players tied for the nation's lead with three sacrifice flies.
• Senior Catalina Cavazos currently leads the Lone Star Conference and is ranked third amongst Division II pitchers with six complete games.
• The Rattlers are ranked 21st in the Feb. 21 NFCA poll. StMU received 72 points and it is the seecond-straight week the team appears in the top-25. There are three other Lone Star teams in the national rankings and two others are receiving votes.
• Once again, the Rattlers are one of the nation's leaders in double plays. The team leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks eighth nationally with six double plays. The Rattlers have finished in the top 25 in the nation each of the last three years, ranking 22nd with 21 in 2022, leading the nation with 24 in 2021 and finishing second with 13 in the shortened year of 2020.
• StMU hitters are willing to do whatever it takes to score a run, as the Rattlers are currently tied for the nation's lead with nine sacrifice flies. The club is tied with Central Oklahoma and Nova Southeastern. The Rattlers also rank second in the nation in sacrifice bunts with 16, trailing only Lone Star foe Texas A&M International, which has 22.
• Senior Catalina Cavazos pitched the entire 11 innings against Eastern New Mexico on Friday, throwing 177 pitches and 125 were strikes. The 125 strikes almost matches her previous season high for pitches thrown of 128 against Regis. Her 11 IP is the sixth-highest total in school history.
