Softball Hosts For Final Time in 2024 Regular Season

Lone Star Conference Play • San Antonio • The Park at StMU
Oklahoma Christian (28-18, 23-13)
Thurs., Apr 18, 2&4 p.m. • Fri., Apr 19, 11 a.m.
Series History: 25-15
Home: 15-5
Away: 7-10
Neutral: 2-0
Extra Innings: 2-1
Longest W Streak: 9
Longest L Streak: 6
Current Streak: L6

First Pitch

•    St. Mary's plays its final home series of the 2024 season, hosting Oklahoma Christian in a battle for fourth place in the Lone Star Conference standings.

•    Due to Oyster Bake this weekend, parking in the D Lot by softball will be limited. Please give yourself extra time to find parking before the game. The lot also must be cleared by 8 p.m. on Thursday and 3 p.m. on Friday. Any cars remaining in the lot will be towed at the owner's expense.

•    St. Mary's holds a 25-15 edge in the all-time series with Oklahoma Christian, though the Eagles have won the last six games and eight of the last 10.

•    Freshman Gabriela Banda hit two doubles in her first 30 games of the year. She's now doubled four times in the last six games. She's raised her batting average 24 points over the stretch to .274.

•    Last week, the Rattlers swept their fourth series of the year with three wins against Midwestern State. The two teams battled through 10 innings in game one, before StMU run-ruled the Mustangs in game two with sophomore Breanna Ford throwing a no-hitter and going on to win 5-1 in game three.

In the National Rankings: St. Mary's ranks in the top 50 in the DII statistics in several categories:
Category    Rank    Total
Double Plays    11    19
On-Base %    49    .397
Sacrifice Bunts    12    44
Stolen Bases    29    85
Walks    4    201

Eight Is Great: Junior Savannah Youngblood has four saves this season and eight in her career, moving into a tie for second all-time at St. Mary's with Alex McLennan (2018-21). Youngblood is one shy of tying the school record of nine held by Ashley Mills (2016-17).

Not A Stat You Want To Lead: Senior CF Reba Reyes was hit by another pitch in game one against Midwestern State, giving her 20 for her career. That moves her within three of tying Syndey Wellmann for the record with 23 HBP (2015-16).

Sacrificing for the Team: Senior 2B Ericka Gomez has 32 sacrifice bunts in her career, needing one more to tie for 10th on the St. Mary's career chart. Gomez currently leads the Lone Star and ranks 37th in the nation with 0.22 sacrifice bunts per game.

Tough Schedule: St. Mary's has six opponents on the 2024 schedule either ranked or receiving votes in Week 10 of the NFCA poll and five of those are in the top 10 (#1 West Texas A&M, #5 UT Tyler, #7 Colorado Christian, #8 Rogers State, #9 Pittsburg State).

In Rare Company: Senior Reba Reyes is one of only three players in St. Mary's history with 15 or more home runs and more than 40 stolen bases.

Player    HR    SB    Yrs
Taylor Vidrine    37    97    2012-15
Miranda Medina    15    45    2014-17
Reba Reyes    15    43    2021-24

Speedy Gonzales: Senior LF Lauren Gonzales currently ranks fifth in stolen bases on the St. Mary's career charts with 73. She is three away from tying Jennifer Zapalac (1988-91) for fourth. Gonzales is the only two-year player to rank in the top 10 in school history. She recently announced she will return for her fifth year, and has a chance at the all-time record of 123 by Tiffani Craft (2003-06). Gonzales also ranks ninth on the single season steals list with 31 this season.

No Hits For You - Times Two: So. Breanna Ford became the second Rattler this season to pitch a no-hitter, doing so on April 13 against Midwestern State. Ford gave up an unearned run off a throwing error of her own to first base, but struck out three. Jr. Madeline Bloom threw the first one of the season at Cameron on March 13, where she walked three and struck out one. It is the first time since 2013 the Rattlers have had two different pitchers throw a no-hitter in the same season. On Feb. 16, 2013 both Crystal Keller (vs CSU-Pueblo) and Vianna Gutierrez (at Angelo State) threw five-inning no-hitters.

Turning Two: St. Mary's historically ranks as one of the best in Division II in turning double plays. The Rattlers have ended each of the last five seasons ranked in the top 25 and this year they rank 11th.

Year    Rank    # DPs
2019    21    21
2020    2    13
2021    1    24
2022    22    21
2023    10    23
2024    11    19    

Back-to-Back: Twice this season senior CF Reba Reyes has hit home runs in back-to-back at bats. She is the 14th player in St. Mary's history to leave the yard in consecutive at bats. She is also the sixth player to go back-to-back on multiple occasions. Jared Gonzalez accomplished the feat four times, while Elizabeth Beyer did it three times.

It's An Honor: Both Sr. CF Reba Reyes and Jr. P Savannah Youngblood have been rewarded by the Lone Star Conference with a weekly award this season. Reyes was named the hitter of the week on March 11 after hitting .600 in the series against Lubbock Christian where four of her six hits went for extra bases. Youngblood earned pitcher of the week on March 4 after winning two games and adding a save in three appearances against St. Edward's and Texas A&M International. She retired 17 straight Hilltoppers, allowing only one hit in 6.1 innings and didn't allow a run in the three appearances. 

They're Smart Too: A total of 19 of the 22 players on the 2024 roster were named to the Lone Star Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll in the fall. Senior P Sara Robertson also earned a 4.00 GPA in the fall. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.30 GPA for the semester.