Softball Drops Both Games On Day One

CONROE, Texas — The St. Mary's University Softball team had to battle not only their opponents on the field during day one of the DII First Pitch Invitational but also the elements as the team's first game of the day featured a 55-minute weather delay as lightning and rain flowed throughout the area, and high winds blew all day.
 
The Rattlers dropped both games on Friday, falling 7-2 to Pittsburg State and 8-2 to No. 19 Rogers State during the first day of the three-day tournament.
 
Sophomore Arianna (AJ) Sanchez (San Antonio) started the year with a bang, going 2-for-3 over the doubleheader with three walks and .833 on-base percentage.
 
The Rattlers were aggressive on the base paths when they got the opportunities, swiping eight bases with three against the Gorillas and five against the Hillcats.
 
In the opener against Pitt State, the Gorillas scored four in the top of the fourth inning for the first runs of the game. StMU plated one in the bottom half of the frame when junior Lauryn Ramos (Marion, Texas) singled to centerfield, plating senior Ericka Gomez (Stafford, Texas).
 
The Rattlers cut the deficit in half with another run in the fifth when senior Reba Reyes (Brownsville, Texas) doubled to left center to plate sophomore Raegan Tennill (Corpus Christi, Texas). PSU scored three in the top of the seventh for the final score of 7-2.
 
StMU struck first in game two on a successful double steal with Tennill taking second and senior Destiny Salinas (San Antonio) swiping home. Rogers State broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and one in the fifth. The Rattlers got one back in the sixth, but RSU immediately answered for the 8-2 final.
 
Junior Madeline Bloom (Poway, Calif.) pitched 6 1/3 innings in game one, allowing seven runs on 10 hits, while junior Savannah Youngblood (Kingwood, Texas) threw four innings in game two, surrendering five runs (two earned) on six hits. Senior Sara Robertson (Lorena, Texas) pitched in relief in both, giving up three runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings of work.
 
St. Mary's plays Central Washington at 12:15 and Regis at 4:45 on Saturday and concludes the tournament against Cal Poly Humboldt on Sunday at 12:15 p.m.